Efficacy of blackcurrant oil soft capsule, a Chinese herbal drug, in hyperlipidemia treatment.
Phytother Res. 2009 Dec 29;
Authors: Fa-Lin Z, Zhen-Yu W, Yan H, Tao Z, Kang L
Blackcurrant oil soft capsule (BOSC) is an effective and safe herbal medicine for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and has been approved for the market in China. No studies have been performed, however, to confirm whether BOSC is effective in reducing the serum lipid level in a large-scale ordinary or special patient population. In this study, we conducted an observational study at five investigative sites that was designed to further investigate the efficacy of BOSC on serum lipid level lowering in a large-scale target patient population and include a relative factors analysis for the serum lipid decrease. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured before and after drug administration. TC and TGs were detected by enzymatic analysis, while HDL-C was detected by PTA-Mg(2+) precipitation. A total of 2,154 dyslipidemic patients were recruited and took BOSC 1.8 g b.i.d. every day for 6 weeks. In terms of serum lipid lowering, the overall curative rate was 37.19%, the marked effective rate was 52.28% and the effective rate was 79.06%. The corresponding effective rate of TC, TGs and HDL-C was 80.98%, 78.28% and 67.07%, respectively. Multivariate analyses with adjustment for centers, gender and age indicated that BOSC was almost ineffective in patients with a disease course <36 months (OR: 0.467, 95% CI: 0.359-0.607) and was effective in mild hyperlipidemia (OR: 3.176, 2.535-3.978) and in subjects with lower BMIs (BMI <24: 3.472, 2.171-5.552; BMI between 24 and 28: 2.310, 1.832-2.911 compared with BMI >/= 28). No serious adverse events were reported during the study period. Therefore, we conclude that BOSC is effective in decreasing TC and TG levels and in increasing the serum HDL-C level, especially in mildly hyperlipidemic patients and those with a lower BMI. Moreover, because it is a natural raw material, BOSC may be safer and more effective in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dr.Steve’s BOTTOM LINE: Although this is not a randomized controlled trial, this observational study strongly suggests that those who have mild abnormalities in their cholesterol and lipid levels can be managed using blackcurrant oil. How well this works compared to pharmaceutical statins is unknown and not answered here. But this study is certainly one that can be shown to your doctor and discussed if one seeks a natural treatment for high cholesterol.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Dr. Steve
Thanks for the review on the BOSC. Will it be more effective if BOSC is taken together with pharmaceutical statins? Does taking natural medicine with Western meds affect the effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs? Sorry to bombard you with these questions but I find your blogs to be balanced and gives a birdseye view on natural alternatives and pharmaceutical drugs.
Regards
Greg
Hi Greg,
Sorry for the delay in response. This was a pretty large study and suggests that initial management can certainly be considered this way before going to statins, but this is HIGHLY individual and depends upon personal lab values, other risk factors etc., all of which needs to be discussed with your physician. Most certainly data using this WITH standard pharmaceuticals is lacking. Therefore, no one can answer this question. There are three possible scenarios in any given person if you combine. First, the natural and pharmaceutical agents work well together and synergize or amplify the beneficial effects. Second, the natural substance is doing nothing and you don’t know if it is or not because the labs got better but you are ALSO on statins. Third, and worst, the two don’t play well together at all and you experience toxicity. Sometimes, liver toxicity can be irreversible. So, for all three reasons we need better data and I personally do not recommend mixing when toxicity is possible. It could be great, could be a waste or could be dangerous and we just don’t know.