The effects of γ-oryzanol on serum lipids were investigated by administering the drug to 20 patients with essential hypercholesterolemia at a dosage of 300mg/day for a period of 16 weeks, and observing the change in serum lipids.
1. The total serum cholesterol decreased significantly from a pre-treatment value of 253.0mg/dl to 244.5mg/dl after 8 weeks (p<0.05) and 228.8mg/dl after 16 weeks (p<0.01) of administration.
2. HDL-cholesterol increased from a pretreatment value of 53.8mg/dl to 56.8mg/dl after 8 weeks and 56.2mg/dl after 16 weeks of administration, but these changes were not significant.
3. The atherogenic index decreased significantly from a pre-treatment value of 4.00 to 3.63 after 8 weeks (p<0.01) and 3.48 after 16 weeks (p<0.01) of administration.
4. Triglyceride did not change significantly.
5. Lipid peroxide decreased significantly from a pre-treatment value of 5.2nmol/ml to 4.2nmol/ml after 8 weeks (p<0.05) and 3.7nmol/ml after 16 weeks (p<0.05) of administration.
6. No drug-related side effects were observed during the medication.
These results suggest that γ-oryzanol can be expected to be useful in the treatment of atherosclerosis associated with hypercholesterolemia.
