Effects of Supplementation with Heracleum persicum Fruit Extract on Serum Lipids in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: A Pilot Trial

Abstract

Heracleum persicum Desf. Ex Fischer (Apiaceae) is a native medicinal plant in the Iranian traditional medicine and also a safe and common dietary spice. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the impact of supplementation with H. persicum fruits on serum lipid concentrations in a group of patients with minimal coronary artery disease. Subjects who were diagnosed with <50% luminal narrowing in any of the major coronary arteries in coronary angiography were recruited for this trial and were randomized to receive either H. persicum hydroalcoholic fruit extract (n=15; 300 mg/day) or placebo (n=12) for a period of 6 months. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured at baseline and at the end of study. No significant difference in concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was observed between H. persicum extract and placebo groups (p>0.05). However, serum triglycerides levels were reduced after H. persicum extract supplementation in a borderline significant manner (p=0.063). Short-term supplementation with H. persicum fruit extract might be used as an adjunctive treatment for patients with hypertriglyceridemia.

The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of angelica (Heracleum persicum) fruit on performance, immune responses, small intestine histology, haematological parameters and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens

“…Short-term dietary supplementation of Heracleum persicum fruit extract showed that this extract can be used as an adjunctive treatment for patients with hypertriglyceridemia (Dadjo et al 2015). It has been also shown that the hydroalcoholic extract and essential oil of Heracleum persicum have antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects in rats and these results support the traditional use of this plant in relieving pain and inflammation (Hajhashemi et al 2009).…”

Cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity potential of ethanolic extract of Heracleum persicum Desf. ex Fischer

“…ex Fischer with Persian name of Golpar. It has small and white flowers (Dadjo et al, ; Saeidnia, Gohari, Hadjiakhoondi, Afrapoli, & Shafiee, ). The fruits of Golpar is used as flavoring agent and dietary spice in the Iranian cuisine and the young stems are used for making pickles.…”

“…The fruits of Golpar is used as flavoring agent and dietary spice in the Iranian cuisine and the young stems are used for making pickles. Furthermore, it is utilized for miscellaneous remedial purposes including carminative, anticonvulsant, analgesic, cure of neurological, urinary tract and gastrointestinal problems in the Iranian traditional medicine (Bahadori et al, ; Dadjo et al, ; Majidi & Sadati Lamardi, ; Panahi, Dadjo, Pishgoo, Akbari, & Sahebkar, ). Pharmacological studies have demonstrated a wide range of biological activities including anti‐bacterial (Akcin, Seyis, Akcin, Cayci, & Coban, ; Atapour et al, ; Buruk, Sokmen, Aydin, & Erturk, ; Kousha & Bayat, ; Vasanthi, ShriShri Mal, & Das, ), anti‐fungal (Kousha & Bayat, ; Nejad, Rajabi, Mamoudabadi, & Zarrin, ; Vasanthi et al, ), anti‐proliferative (Firuzi, Asadollahi, Gholami, & Javidnia, ; Moshafi, Sharififar, Dehghan, & Ameri, ), anti‐inflammatory (Hajhashemi, Sajjadi, & Heshmati, ; Panahi et al, ), immune‐modulatory (Naeini, Shokri, & Khosravi, ; Sharififar et al, ), antioxidant (Coruh, SagˇdıçogˇluCelep, & Özgökçe, ; Nickavar & Abolhasani, ), analgesic (Hajhashemi et al, ), and lipid‐modifying (Panahi et al, ) properties.…”

“…Pharmacological studies have demonstrated a wide range of biological activities including anti-bacterial (Akcin, Seyis, Akcin, Cayci, & Coban, 2013;Atapour et al, 2009;Buruk, Sokmen, Aydin, & Erturk, 2006;Kousha & Bayat, 2012;Vasanthi, ShriShri Mal, & Das, 2012), anti-fungal (Kousha & Bayat, 2012;Nejad, Rajabi, Mamoudabadi, & Zarrin, 2014;Vasanthi et al, 2012), anti-proliferative (Firuzi, Asadollahi, Gholami, & Javidnia, 2010;Moshafi, Sharififar, Dehghan, & Ameri, 2010), anti-inflammatory (Hajhashemi, Sajjadi, & Heshmati, 2009;Panahi et al, 2015), immune-modulatory (Naeini, Shokri, & Khosravi, 2013;Sharififar et al, 2009), antioxidant (Coruh, SagˇdıçogˇluCelep, & Özgökçe, 2007;Nickavar & Abolhasani, 2009), analgesic (Hajhashemi et al, 2009), and lipid-modifying (Panahi et al, 2011) properties. According to the literature, H. persicum contains a various range of phytochemicals including alkaloids, terpenoids, triterpenes, esters, carbonyls, furanocoumarins, flavonoids and steroids (Afrisham, Aberomand, Ghaffari, Siahpoosh, & Jamalan, 2015;Dadjo et al, 2015;Naeini et al, 2013). Esters including octyl and hexyl may have key roles in the antifungal activity, antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic features of this plant.…”

The Genus Heracleum: A Comprehensive Review on Its Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Ethnobotanical Values as a Useful Herb

“…Especially H. persicum , Heracleum sphondylium , and Heracleum candicans have a broad spectrum in terms of traditional uses. They are widely used for the treatment of flatulence, stomachache, and epilepsy, and as pain killer, carminative, antiseptic, digestive, analgesic, and anticonvulsant agents (Sayyah and others ; Chauhan and others ; Maggi and others ; Radjabian and others ; Dadjo and others ). Also, phytochemical investigations of the genus Heracleum have led to the isolation and identification of several kinds of secondary metabolites (including coumarins, lignans, and flavonoids) (Xiao and others ; Park and others ; Walasek and others ).…”