Algae Extracts Could Cure Cardiac Disease

Algae extract could be used as a key to regulate cardiac disease. Scientists from Wayne State University have found that ProAlgaZyme (algae extracts) increases the good cholesterol levels, which in turn helps cure cardiac disease. They discovered this while studying a group of Hypercholesterolemic hamsters.

Scientists fed 60 male golden Syrain hamsters with a high-fat diet. Among the 60 hamsters, 30 received ProAlgaZymem and the other 30 did not receive any medication for four weeks, according to a Medical Daily report.

Scientists found that the hamsters which received ProAlgaZyme had low levels of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and they had high levels of good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The study claims that high levels of good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein helps reduce harmful cholesterol.

To know exactly how ProAlgaZyme reduces harmful cholesterol, scientists studied the functions of ProAlgaZyme.

The study found that ProAlgaZyme increases good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The HDL lowers the bad cholesterol and it carries the harmful cholesterol out of the arterial wall, which in turn helps cure cardiac disease.

"The cholesterol mechanism is crucial to heart disease," said Smiti Gupta, assistant professor in the department of nutrition and food science at the Wayne State University, in a statement. "Very few agents increase good cholesterol, but we found that this algae extract does. The ratio of total to HDL cholesterol improved significantly. This result, if replicated in humans, would be consistent with a decreased risk of heart disease."

Scientists also found that ProAlgaZyme also changed the expression of genes involved in the reverse cholesterol transport mechanism in hamsters.

Scientists claim that further studies need to be done to know the long-term effects before testing it on humans

"Its biological effect over time and toxic effects, if any, need to be further investigated in a long-term study in an animal model before testing its effects in humans," said Gupta.

"But this is a step in the right direction, since increased HDL is considered an important therapeutic target for improvement of the lipid profile and thus reduction of the risk for cardiovascular disease," she concluded.

The study was first published in the Journal of Nutrition and Dietary Supplements.