The protective action of ethanolic ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract in cholesterol fed rabbits

The effects of ethanolic extract of ginger (200 mg/kg, p.o.) were studied in cholesterol fed rabbits. The marked rise in serum and tissue cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum lipoproteins and phospholipids that followed 10 weeks of cholesterol feeding, was significantly reduced by the ethanolic ginger extract and results were compared with gemfibrozil, a standard orally effective hypolipidaemic drug. The severity of aortic atherosclerosis as judged by gross grading was more marked in pathogenic, i.e. the hypercholesterolemic group, while animals receiving ginger extract along with cholesterol showed a lower degree of atherosclerosis. The results indicate that ginger is definitely an antihyperlipidaemic agent. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.