Lipid lowering agents of natural origin: An account of some promising chemotypes

Abstract

The role of natural products in the drug development and discovery has been phenomenal. There has been an enormous interest in exploring all possible natural sources to identify structures exhibiting pronounced hypolipidemic activity albeit with no toxicity. The present review describes the profile of some interesting naturally occurring compounds and their derivatives as potential hypolipidemic agents. Some of the interesting natural chemotypes that can control the increased levels of plasma lipids and discussed in this review are compactin, lovastatin, gugglesterone, berberine, lupeol, phytol, polyprenol, aegeline, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, α-asarone, resveratrol, esculeoside A, swertiamarin, rutin, saucerneol B, curcumin and a clerodane diterpene.

Keywords: Bile acids; Cholesterol; Dyslipidemia; Fibrates; Lipoproteins; Natural products; Niacin; Statins; Triglycerides.