Effects of Imperata cylindrica on Anti-hyperlipidemia: A Review

Imperata cylindrica is a well-known species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical South East Asia, which possesses extensive medicinal value. It has major constituents such as saponin, flavonoid, phenols, and glycosides, efficacious as an anti-hyperlipidemia. Studies of pharmacological activities of I. cylindrica, a nutritious, medicinal herb, showed that it could cause blood lipid levels to be reduced. This systematic review article was designed to determine the existing studies related to the efficacy of I. cylindrica to lower blood lipid levels. PubMed and Scopus databases were used to search for suitable keywords such as Imperata cylindrica, cogongrass, hypolipidemic, triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Based on provided protocol, in this systematic review, we extracted the data and evaluated the quality of articles by two reviewers. (4) Results 73 articles were the search results and based on the inclusions and exclusions criteria, 8 articles were included in the final review. These studies demonstrated that two active compounds of I. cylindrica: flavonoids and saponins, were beneficial to reduce blood lipid levels. However, further clinical studies are urgently required to provide adequate evidence on the use application of I. cylindrica in medicinal properties.