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Selected Edible Plant-Derived Therapies for Controlling Dyslipidemia

Michael Anthony Nammour, Nicole Danielle Nammour, Marlene F Daher, Mohamad Mroueh, Joey C Daherand Costantine F Daher

Selected Edible Plant-Derived Therapies for Controlling Dyslipidemia

Dyslipidemia is a well-known major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CD), the number one killer in the United States. One of the major challenges in controlling dyslipidemia is the high annual cost invested in the commonly used therapeutic drugs. Among the many lipid lowering agents available for the treatment of dyslipidemia, statins remain the most widely used. However, the use of statins as well as other therapeutic drugs is associated with various serious adverse effects. Quite often, patients cannot tolerate such side effects. Therefore, it became essential for them to look for a safe but effective alternative approach to manage dyslipidemia. Over the last decades, the interest in herbal medicinal products and supplements as an alternative remedy for the treatment of various metabolic diseases has increased tremendously worldwide. Although therapies involving many plant-derived agents have shown promising potential in term of efficacy in treating dyslipidemia, the issue of safety remains a major obstacle. For the greatest majority of natural product, there is still an inadequate knowledge about their mode of action, contraindications, potential side effects, and interactions with other drugs and other functional foods. The present review examines several plant-derived therapies for managing dyslipidemia and highlights some important challenges when it comes to safety concerns.