Clinical Trial of the Hypolipidemic Effects of a Brown Alga Ecklonia cava Extract in Patients with Hypercholesterolemia

Abstract

A B S T R A C TEcklonia cava, an edible brown alga, is recognized as a rich source of polyphenols and the lipid-lowering effects of which have not yet been studied well. We investigated the efficacy and safety of Ecklonia cava extract (ECE) on blood lipid profiles in subjects with hypercholesterolemia. Eighty healthy subjects with more than 200 mg dLG 1 of total cholesterol or more than 110 mg dLG 1 of LDL-cholesterol level were randomly assigned to receive ECE (n = 40) or placebo (n = 40) for 12 weeks. Changes in serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride and waist-hip ratio levels were measured after the 12-week intervention. The ECE significantly lowered total cholesterol level by 2.8% and LDL-cholesterol level by 11.1% after 12 week supplementation as compared to the placebo (p = 0.039, 0.030, respectively). The HDL-cholesterol level did not change in the ECE group, whereas an increase of 5.6% was observed in the placebo group with a significant difference between groups (p = 0.021). No corresponding changes were seen for triglyceride and waist-hip ratio levels between the two groups. There was no causal relationship between the ingestion of ECE and adverse drug reactions. We found that ECE supplementation improved blood lipid profiles through decreasing total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels which are known as major cardiovascular risk factors. This result suggests that ECE supplementation may be effective in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases but more studies are needed to establish the long-term safety and effectiveness.

Brown Algae Potential as a Functional Food against Hypercholesterolemia: Review

“…The first approach to preventing cardiovascular disease and lowering cholesterol levels is lifestyle changes together with drug-based therapy [ 17 ]. The two main lipid-lowering drugs used are statins and ezetimibe, which act according to different mechanisms, via the de novo cholesterol synthesis and via the dietary cholesterol absorption, respectively [ 18 , 20 ].…”

“…These changes in the diet and lifestyle habits are recommendations both before and in conjunction with therapies using cholesterol-lowering drugs [ 17 ]. Also, the intake of natural products as supplements is accepted as a strategic therapy in combination with anti-hyperlipidemic drugs [ 18 ]. Different sources of compounds have been used for this purpose, namely yeast extracts, herbal extracts, plant sterols, dietary fiber, and also marine algae, specifically different brown algae species [ 13 ].…”

Effect of Food Preparations on In Vitro Bioactivities and Chemical Components of Fucus vesiculosus

“…According to different studies, phlorotannins reaches 15% of F. vesiculosus dry weight and are characterized by low toxicity and high antioxidant activity [16,17]. Phlorotannins have also been described as having in vitro anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-lipidemic, and anti-hypertensive activities, among others [6,[18][19][20] and therefore have been used as food additives [3].…”

Advances in the Study of Marine Products with Lipid-Lowering Properties

“…Found in some brown algae, phlorotannins are phenolic compounds formed by the polymerization of phloroglucinol or 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene monomer units [61]. Recent data show that the phlorotannin-rich extract extracted from Ecklonia cava diminishes blood serum levels of TC and LDL-C without changing the amount of TG and HDL-C [62]. Other studies [63] show that diphlorethohydroxycarmalol (DPHC) extracted from brown algae Ishige okamurae is able to reduce adiposity and body weight gain in mice fed with HFD.…”