Blood lipids lowering effect of medicinal plants

Hyperlipidemia refers to elevated levels of lipids and cholesterol in the blood. It plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, the main cause of death in the world. Medicinal plants can lower blood lipids by many mechanisms included inhibition of the expression of fatty acid synthase, decreasing free fatty acid release, inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase, increasing the fecal excretion of fat and cholesterol, inhibition of the activity of pancreatic lipase and inhibition of cholesterol absorption. The current review will highlight the hypolipidemic effects of medicinal plants as promising effective and safe therapies.