Doi:10.3906/biy-1405-25 Improvement of atropine production by different biotic and abiotic elicitors in hairy root cultures of Datura mete

Background. Dyslipidemia produces atherosclerosis, which in turn results in coronary artery disease (CAD). Atherosclerosis is being considered as an inflammatory disease. Vaccinium arctostaphylos L. is a plant with fruits rich in anthocyanins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fruit extract of this plant on serum levels of lipids, hs‐CRP, and malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker of oxidative stress, in hyperlipidemic adult patients. Methods. In this randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial, 50 hyperlipidemic adult patients were randomly and equally assigned to receive either medicinal (V. arctostaphylos fruit extract) or placebo capsules twice daily for 4 weeks. Each medicinal capsule contained 45 ± 2 mg of anthocyanins. Fasting serum levels of total cholesterol, TG, LDL‐C, HDL‐C, hs‐CRP, and MDA were obtained before and after the intervention and compared. Results. V. arctostaphylos fruit extract significantly reduced total cholesterol (P < 0.001), LDL‐C (P = 0.004), TG (P < 0.001), and MDA (P = 0.013) compared to placebo but did not have any significant effect on HDL‐C (P = 0.631) and hs‐CRP (P = 0.190). Conclusion. Fruit extract of Vaccinium arctostaphylos has beneficial effects on serum lipid profile and oxidative stress in hyperlipidemic adult patients. Therefore, it could be considered as a supplement for treatment of dyslipidemia and prevention of atherosclerosis development.