EFFICACY OF PANSIT-PANSITAN (Peperomia pellucida) EXTRACT AS AN ANTI-HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC TREATMENT ON RATS (Rattus norvegicus)

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INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Hypercholesterolemia, which is a specific type of hyperlipidemia and characterized by excessively high plasma cholesterol level, is a strong risk contributor for many cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis (Stapleton et al., 2010). The by-products of cholesterol cause the stiffening of the arteries by forming a thick tough deposit on their inner walls, leading to the starvation of the heart with blood by making the flow of blood stop entirely (Thomas et al., 2007). As a result of unfavorable dietary habits and a relatively sedentary lifestyle over the last few decades, cases of lifestyle-related disorders including hyperlipidemia, and consequently, atherosclerosis rose significantly (Grundy, 2004).
In the Philippines, according to the 2008 National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 31.3 percent of 7,700 Filipinos polled had borderline high to high cholesterol levels (Tarra, 2012). Moreover, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries, being responsible for almost 20% of total mortality around the world (Thomas et al., 2007).
Because of their prevalence, hypercholesterolemia and its associated cardiovascular diseases represent one of the greatest worldwide economic, social and medical challenges that the whole world is facing right now. Today, a range of synthetic drugs for hypercholesterelomia is available in the market. However, due to the presence of possible side effects of these drugs such as risk of diabetes, potential muscle damage and although more rarely, the occurrence of liver injury (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2014), along with the increased efficacy and practicality of variou...

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Ping, K. Y., Darah, I., Chen, Y., Sreeramanan, S., & Sasidharan, S. (2013). Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Study of Euphorbia hirta L. Methanol Extract in Rats. BioMed Research International, 2013, 14. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2013/182064/cta/
Zakaria, Z., Ahmad, Z., Somchit, M. N., Arifah, A. K., Khairi, H. M., Sulaiman, M. R., et al. (2010). Antihypercholesterolemia property and fatty acid composition of mardi-produced virgin coconut oils. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 4(9), 636-644. Retrieved January 24, 2014, from http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp

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