The China Cardiovascular Report 2017 shows that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in China has continued to rise in recent years, and it is projected that about 290 million people are currently ill with cardiovascular disease, and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease occupy the first place in the causes of death of urban and rural residents, while hyperlipidemia is one of the most important risk factors leading to cardiovascular disease.

The following is a review of the lipid-lowering functional components and pharmacological mechanisms of several medicinal plants, and an analysis and summary of the current status and problems of the development of medicinal plants in lipid-lowering foods, with a view to providing a reference for the research and development of such foods.

Pueraria Mirifica

Pueraria lobata is a common medicinal food plant, which is the dried root of the legume Pueraria lobata, and its water-soluble solids contain about 12% of flavonoids, including flavonoid glycosides, flavonoid glycosides, and puerarin, etc. The active ingredients of Pueraria lobata in blood lipid-lowering foods are summarized. Pueraria lobata hypolipidemic active ingredients are mainly isoflavonoids, of which puerarin is one of the most important functional components.

Zhang Ru et al. found that the application of Puerarin can antagonize the toxic effects of excitatory amino acids, reduce nerve cell damage, and can be used to treat ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Chen Dongfang et al. showed that Pueraria lobata capsule has auxiliary lipid-lowering effect on hyperlipidemic people, after taking Pueraria lobata capsule continuously for 30d, it was found that the level of TC and TG decreased significantly, and the level of HDL-C did not change significantly. Deng Zuyue et al. gave intraperitoneal injection of Puerarin (50mg/kg) to rats with hyperlipidemia, and found that Puerarin significantly reduced the plasma levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C in rats with hyperlipidemia, elevated HDL-C, and lowered the atherosclerotic index, which had the efficacy of lowering blood lipids.

Puerarin can achieve multiple mechanisms in the liver, including increasing LDL absorption, decreasing cholesterol synthesis, and potentially enhancing cholesterol degradation, which ultimately exerts a hypolipidemic effect.

Dandelion

Dandelion belongs to the family of Asteraceae, its medicinal value is high, the whole herb can be used as medicine, containing dandelion sterol, dandelion cycloheximide, dandelion bitters, caffeic acid, choline, inulin and other components, with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and other pharmacological effects. Zhao Jianhua et al. made dandelion health drink from dried dandelion as raw material, and the results showed that the serum TG and TC of hyperlipidemic model mice decreased significantly, and HDL-C increased significantly, which proved that dandelion drink has hypolipidemic effect after animal testing.

The effective component of dandelion in lowering blood lipids is mainly chlorogenic acid. Wang Yuejiao et al. found that the effect of dandelion decoction on the blood lipid level of mouse hyperlipidemia model was very significant in lowering TC and significantly increasing HDL-C, but the effect on TG and LDL-C was not obvious.

Zhao Jianhua et al. found that dandelion extract could extremely significantly reduce TG and effectively elevate HDL-C in mice, which has certain hypolipidemic ability.

Mulberry Leaves

Mulberry leaves are the dried leaves of mulberry, rich in phenols and flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, polysaccharides and steroids. Mulberry leaves have the effect of “ginseng hot tonic, mulberry leaves clear tonic”. Mulberry leaves in the ecdysteroid can promote production, promote human protein synthesis, exclude the body cholesterol, reduce blood lipids.

Zhu Yejing et al. found that the flavonoids in mulberry leaves have the effect of inhibiting the formation of atherosclerosis and the increase of serum lipids in hyperlipidemia. The main components of mulberry leaf extracts are quercetin, kaempferol and lignans, which have the activities of lowering blood lipids, scavenging free radicals in the body and inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

Li Xiangrong et al. used TritonWR-1399 to induce the establishment of acute hyperlipidemia mouse model and high-fat feed to establish hyperlipidemia rat model, and found that total flavonoids of Morus alba (MTF) could reduce TC, TG, LDL-C, and elevate HDL-C in plasma of mice and rats with hyperlipidemia and effectively prevent the development of hyperlipidemia.

Cassia seed

Cassia seed is a legume small cassia or cassia seeds after maturation and drying, modern pharmacological studies have shown that cassia has hypolipidemic, hypotensive and other effects, and its hypolipidemic effective components for cassia anthraquinones, such as obtusifolia, orangish cassia, obtusifolia cassia glucoside, obtusifolia glucoside and soyabean glycoside, and so on. Yanping Feng found that oryzanthocortin was the main effective component of cassia seed in controlling patients’ blood lipid levels.

Lu Zongliang et al. took 114 patients with hyperlipidemia as the research object, and clinically found that the serum TC, TG, and LDL-C of patients taking cassia seed dispersions were significantly decreased, and the HDL-C content was increased. Clinically, Yishou lipid-lowering tablets with cassia seed as the main ingredient were used to treat 130 patients with hyperlipidemia, and it was found that 87.0% of the patients had a significant reduction in serum TC, and 80.8% of the patients had a significant reduction in TG, and that cassia seed had a lipid-lowering effect.Yen et al. found that cassia seed proteins and anthraquinone components could significantly reduce TC, TG, and LDL-C in rats with hyperlipidemia, but the specifics for which class of lipid-lowering proteins, still need further isolation studies.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn, also known as Shanli fruit and Shanlihong, is the dried mature fruit of Shanlihong, family Rosaceae. It is rich in glycosides, flavonoids, hawthorn acid and other active ingredients, which can promote digestion and treat indigestion. Hawthorn also has antioxidant, blood lipid-lowering, anti-tumor, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory health effects. Li Haigui et al. found that total triterpenoic acid and hawthorn flavonoids in hawthorn can significantly reduce serum TCH and elevate the ratio of HDL/TCH in mice, and their effects are related to the elevation of the percentage value of HDL and SOD activity.

Oleanolic acid and ursolic acid are the main components of triterpenic acid in hawthorn. Hawthorn triterpenoic acid can significantly reduce the level of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and LDL, and the lipid-lowering effect is significant; oleanolic acid and ursolic acid have certain effects on VLDL, LDL and TC when used alone, but the effect is more significant when used in combination.

Zhu et al. found that hawthorn pectin pentasaccharide could significantly reduce TC and LDL-C. A certain dose of total flavonoids of hawthorn leaf could make serum as well as liver TG and TC decrease in rats with hyperlipidemia and effectively improve fat accumulation, proving that the total flavonoids of hawthorn leaf had the efficacy of lowering blood lipids, and had a preventive and curative effect on hyperlipidemia and fatty liver caused by high-fat diet.

Yam

Yam, also known as Dioscorea opposita, Chinese yam, Huai Shan, etc., is the dried rhizome of Dioscoreaceae plant Dioscorea opposita. Yam contains a variety of medicinal and a variety of health care functions of chemical components, such as yam polysaccharides, allantoin, choline, diosgenin and its glycoside diosgenin, yam alkaloids, sterols and other active ingredients, but also contains a structure similar to the dehydroepiandrosterone chemical substances, dehydroepiandrosterone is known as “the mother of hormones”, can enhance the human body’s It can enhance immunity, improve memory, regulate nerves (sedative, sleeping), prevent bone and muscle aging, lower blood lipids, prevent arteriosclerosis, and so on. Yam is now used in clinical formulas such as the Thirst Pill and the Six-flavored Di Huang Pill.

In a mouse model of hyperlipidemia established by feeding mice with hyperlipidemic feed, four types of yam decoctions of different origins were fed, and after 10 consecutive d, it was found that the TG and TC of Chinese yam, Chinese yam, and Guangxi huai yam were significantly reduced, but there was no significant change in the TG and TC of Guangdong huai yam. Gao Qiyu et al. showed that yam polysaccharides could effectively reduce blood glucose and blood lipids in tetroxin-diabetic mice, which could help the recovery of diabetic mice and maintain the normal levels of TC, TG and HDL.

Perilla

Perilla frutescens, also known as gui eba, white perilla, red perilla, etc., is the dried leaves of Perilla frutescens, family Labiatae, containing sterols, flavonoids and their glycosides, monoterpenes, triterpenes and their glycosides, lignans, organic acids phenolic glycosides and other active ingredients. The Compendium of Materia Medica records that it “moves qi and broadens the middle, clears phlegm and benefits the lungs, harmonizes the blood, warms the middle, relieves pain, fixes asthma and settles the fetus”.

Perilla leaf has the efficacy of relieving exterior and dispersing cold, promoting lung and resolving phlegm, moving qi and harmonizing the middle, tranquilizing the fetus, and detoxifying fish and crab; Perilla seed has the efficacy of lowering qi, eliminating phlegm, calming asthma, and moistening the intestines; and Perilla peduncle has the efficacy of regulating qi and broadening the middle, tranquilizing the fetus, and harmonizing blood.

Wang Jingyu et al. divided mice with hyperlipidemia group into four groups, respectively, gavage saline 10ml/(kg-d) and perilla water extract 3, 6, 9g/(kg-d), continuous gavage for 6 weeks, the test found that perilla water extract can effectively reduce the serum TC, TG, LDL-C and increase the serum HDL-C in hyperlipidemic mice, and also improve the serum and liver in mice. Hydrogen peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity, inhibit malondialdehyde activity, of which the high dose of Perilla frutescens aqueous extract has the best hypolipidemic effect and antioxidant effect.

The α-linolenic acid in perilla oil can effectively lower blood lipids, and Li Yongli et al. found that filling perilla oil in the feed can reduce TG and TC in the serum of mice, which proves that perilla seed oil has a certain preventive role in lowering blood lipids.

Lotus leaf

Lotus leaf is the dried leaf of Lotus japonicus, which is rich in alkaloids and flavonoids such as lotus alkaloids, protohypericin and hollandine, and has obvious hypolipidemic effect, regulating blood lipids, antibacterial, antioxidant, hemostatic, and inhibiting lipase.

Guo Huiling et al. found that the aqueous extract of lotus leaf could significantly reduce the levels of TC and TG, and increase the level of HDL-C at the same time. Taking rats fed with high-fat feed as the research object, after feeding lotus leaf extract continuously for 25d, there was a significant reduction of TC value compared with that before the test, which indicated that lotus leaf extract had the effect of lowering serum cholesterol and losing weight. Hawthorn red currant and lotus leaf soup has inhibitory effect on the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in rats, and has certain effect on the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis caused by hyperlipidemia.

Rafflesia

Rafflesia, also known as radish seed, Luo Bai Zi, vegetable head seed, etc., is the dried mature seeds of cruciferous plant radish, with asthma, cough suppression, expectorant, antioxidant, blood pressure, blood lipid, antibacterial, enhance the power of gastrointestinal tract, improve the urinary system, and many other pharmacological effects.

Zeng Zaifan in the test with fried Laptopus orally treated 38 cases of hyperlipidemia patients, found that the rate of decline in TG is 50%, TC decline rate of 38%, of which 6 cases of high blood pressure patients have declined after treatment. The treatment of hyperlipidemic patients with 0.5g lycopodium capsule, one month later by the hospital review, blood lipids and so on were reduced to normal.

Mustardine in Rafflesia has the obvious effect of lowering the level of blood lipids. Wistar rats were gavaged continuously with high-fat emulsion for 5d, and blood was collected after 28d, and it was found that compared with the model group, the TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C of the mustardine low-, medium-, and high-dose groups were all significantly reduced.

Lycoris radiata water-soluble alkaloids are the main effective components of lycoris radiata in lowering blood lipids, and some studies have concluded that its water-soluble alkaloids were proved to have the effect of regulating blood lipids in mice on a high-fat diet. Li Tieyun et al. found that the water-soluble alkaloids of Rafflesia chinensis can significantly increase the serum SOD activity of rats and reduce MDA so as to achieve the purpose of lowering blood lipids through antioxidant effect.

Job’s tears

Job’s tears are the seed kernels of the plant Coix lacryma, also known as Job’s tears, Coix lacryma, six grain seeds. Coix seed has a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, blood sugar and blood fat, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and improve the body’s immunity.

The polysaccharide contained in Job’s tears is the active ingredient for lowering blood lipids. Yu et al. found that the water-soluble polysaccharide in Job’s tears can significantly reduce the levels of TC, TG and LDL-C in the test animals, so as to achieve the purpose of lowering blood lipids. With high cholesterol and lipid feed animals to establish hyperlipidemia rat model, found that Coix lacryma ethanol extract can significantly reduce the serum level of TC, LDL-C rats, with the reduction of atherosclerosis, lipid-lowering effect.

Red Currant

Red yeast is inoculated with rice and fermented into purple red yeast rice, also known as danqu, which has the effect of activating blood circulation, eliminating blockage, strengthening the spleen, eliminating food, resolving turbidity and lowering lipids. Red yeast is a natural medicine for lowering blood lipids and blood pressure, and it is also one of the more frequently used ingredients in SFDA-registered auxiliary lipid-lowering health food.

Researchers of Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a new lipid-lowering drug “Le Lipopin” which is based on red yeast as raw material, the efficacy of which is comparable to the statin drugs developed by American companies, and it is called “Chinese statin” abroad.

Song Hongtao et al. found that the red quatrain can significantly reduce TC, TG and LDL-C in the serum of quail with hyperlipidemia, which has the effect of lowering blood lipids. Further research found that the active ingredient of red quatrain in lowering blood lipids is lovastatin. In human trial food study, it was found that lovastatin extracted from red quail has the effect of lowering TC, TG, indicating that red quail capsule has significant efficacy in regulating blood lipids.