Abstract

Zingiber officinale is known for its cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant properties. The use of traditional medicine reduces the use of drugs with a risk of toxicity. This study aims to assess the effects of ethanol extract of Z. officinale and atorvastatin on lipid parameters in rats fed with high-fat diet. The experiment was carried out on 40 rats during 9 weeks. The animals were divided into 4 groups; group 1 (normal healthy controls), group 2 (hypercholesterolemic diet controls), group 3 (treated with ethanol extract of Z. officinal at 500 mg / kg / day) and group 4 (treated with Atorvastatin at 20 mg/kg/day). It has been shown, respectively in groups 3  and 4, a stable body weight (289 vs 282 g)  and a highly significant reduction of cholesterol (295.9 vs 275.1 mg/dl), total triglycerides (46.8 vs 41.9 mg/dl) and LDL (278.2 vs 259.1 mg/dl), but not a significant increase in HDL (8.6 vs 7.8 mg/dl). Results showed that Z. officinale is similar to Atorvastatin as a cholesterol-lowering agent in the treatment of patients exposed to risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, combination regimens containing ginger and low dose of statins could be advantageous in treating hypercholesterolemic patients.

Key words: Zingiber officinale, cholesterol, antioxidant, Atorvastatine, cardiovascular disease.