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Introduction: More than 400 million of Muslims deal with fasting during the fasting month of Ramadan. Given the high prevalence of diabetes, lipid disorders, and abnormalities in liver enzyme levels and also the presence of contradictions about the effect of Ramadan fasting on metabolic parameters, we decided to assess the effect of Ramadan fasting on the above metabolic indices. Materials & Methods: The before and after study was carried out on 120 subjects referred to the Mustafa hospital in Ilam city during 2012. All subjects were included into research according to ethical standards and after signing a written informed consent. People who were not fasting during Ramadan excluded from the study and the sample size was designed to be 98 subjects. Before and the days of Ramadan, the metabolic indices (fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and liver enzymes) were measured. The indices were measured by BT3000 instrument and the paired t-test was used to analyze data. Finding: The mean levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) enzyme were 17.44±23.15 U/mL before Ramadan and 34.85±29.32 U/mL after Ramadan, which their difference was statistically significant (P=0.02). The mean levels of LDL were 25.84±106 mg/dL before Ramadan and 22.12±94.99 mg/dL after Ramadan, which their difference was statistically significant (P=0.000). The mean levels of glucose were 85.54±12.25 mg/dL before Ramadan and 85.17±13.97 mg/dL after Ramadan, which their difference was not statistically significant (P=0.07). Discussion & Conclusion: In the study, the mean levels of triglyceride, LDL and HDL reduced but significant increase in ALT was created after fasting. No significant difference was found between the glucose levels before and after Ramadan. And total cholesterol levels were significantly increased after Ramadan.

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Introduction: Sugarcane is a giant plant of grain products. Regarding the beneficial usages of medications with herbal origin, in the present study, the impact of sugarcane´s hydro alcoholic extract on Cholesterol, Triglyceride, LDL-c and HDL-c in the serum of rabbits with hypercholesterolemia was studied.
Materials & Methods: 24 adult male rabbits in New Zealand race with an average weight of 2 kg were classified into four groups: the control group had a normal diet (6=n), Sham group and the 1,2 experimental groups took a high cholesterol regime(2%). They received drug solvent and sugarcane´s extract with 3.7 and 7.4 mg/kg doses as an oral treatment per day, respectively. After eight weeks, blood samples were taken, and the rate of cholesterol, LDL-c, HDL-c and triglyceride were measured. The obtained results were analyzed using SPSS and ANOVA.
Findings: The results of the survey showed that in treatment with doses 3.7 and 7.4 mg/kg per day of sugarcane´s extract (experimental groups 1 and 2, respectively), a significant reduction (P<0.05, P<0.01 respectively) in the rate of Cholesterol, Triglyceride and LDL-c, and a significant increase (p<0.05, P<0.01 respectively) in HDL-c were occurred in compare with Sham group.
Discussion & Conclusion: Sugarcane´s extract may be effective in reducing the amount of Cholesterol, Triglyceride, and LDL-c and increasing HDL-c.

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Introduction: In recent years, coronary-heart diseases including atherosclerosis have been a large outbreak. These diseases are associated with increasing low density lipoprotein (LDL). Since Peganumharmala and Piper longum plants are used as decreasing the blood lipid profiles in traditional medicine. So, in the present study the effect of ethanolic extracts of Peganumharmala and Piper longumwere was considered on the cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL, VLDL in mice blood.

Materials & methods: In this study, male NMRI mice were divided into a control group, and three experimental groups. The first treatment group perceived the extract of Peganumharmala with 200 mg/lit concentration(40mg/kg approximately)daily. The second group perceived the extract of Piper longum with 200 mg/lit concentration in drinking water(40mg/kg approximately) daily and the third group perceived daily the combination of both extracts with 200 mg/lit concentration in drinking water (40mg/kg approximately). Treatment period was 30 days. The factors in the serum were measured via Colorimetric method. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software (ANOVA and Tukey tests).

Findings: According to data, a significant decreasing (p<0.05) in cholesterol and LDL levels in each of three groups comparing to the control group were observed. Also, the combination of two extract caused the decreasing LDL level toward the extract of each of these plants loneliness, but no significant differences in the level of HDL, triglyceride and calculated VLDL were observed.

Discussion & conclusions: Due to the decreasing of the rate of cholesterol and LDL of the serum in this research, Peganumharmala and Piper longum plants have been probably decreasing LDL and cholesterol.