PSYLLIUM HUSK TO INCREASE HDL-CHOLESTEROL; PLACEBO CONTROLLED STUDY

To examine the effects of Psyllium husk on HDL-Cholesterol. Design: Single blind placebo controlled study. Placeand Duration of Study: Study was conducted at department of Pharmacology and therapeutics at Basic Medical Sciences Institute (BMSI),Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, from January 2006 to July 2006. Patient and Methods: Forty hyperlipidemic patientswere included, among which 20 patients were on placebo as control group, and 20 were on Psyllium husk, 3 gram daily, in divided doses for theperiod of three months. Patients with peptic ulcer, renal disease, hepatic disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, and alcoholism wereexcluded from the study. HDL- Cholesterol was determined by using kit Cat. # 303210040 by Eli Tech Diagnostic, France. Data were expressedas the mean ± SD and “t” test was applied to determine statistical significance as the difference. A probability value of <0.05 was the limit ofsignificance. Results: Two patients were dropped from the study due to low compliance of metallic taste of psyllium husk. Psyllium husk hasincreased HDL-Cholesterol, in 90 days of treatment, from 34.61±1.85 to 36.77±1.96 (mg/dl), which was highly significant statistically whenpaired “t” test was applied for results. Percentage change was +6.24. Conclusions: It is concluded from this study that Psyllium husk decreasesthe risk of CHD by increasing HDL-Cholesterol.