COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF LOVASTATIN an‎d CORNUS MAS FRUIT ON FIBRINOGEN LEVEL IN HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RABBITS

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis, which is a result of gradual deposition of lipids in the lower part of blood vessel endothelium, is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity around the world. It has been proved that some inflammatory blood markers such as fibrinogen can predict the risk for cardiovascular disease conditions, not only in cardiovascular patients, but also in those who do not have any manifestations of the atherosclerotic development. In this study, the effect of cornus mas L. was evaluated on fibrinogen of hypercholesterolemic rabbits and it was also compared with lovastatin drug. METHODS: In this study, 25 New Zealand adult male rabbits were randomly divided into five groups of five. They were treated for 60 days by 5 different diets, namely basic, high cholesterol, regular plus 1 g/kgBW cornus mas L. powder, high cholesterol plus 1 g/kgBW cornus mas L. powder, and high cholesterol plus 10 mg/kgBW lovastatin. At the beginning and at the end of this period, blood samples were collected from the rabbits and their serum fibrinogen levels were measured. RESULTS: Cornus mas L. powder and lovastatin significantly decreased fibrinogen levels in comparison with high cholesterol group (P < 0.05). Furthermore cornus mas L. powder could reduce the fibrinogen level more than lovastatin (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that consumption of cornus mas L. might be beneficial in atherosclerotic patients due to its reducing effects on fibrinogen.