Pparα activation by culinary herbs and spices.

Hyper- and dyslipidemia are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of death in industrialized countries. Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) α activation is involved in various mechanisms that improve the lipid profile. We tested various plant extracts and their compounds to determine whether they stimulated PPAR α activity IN VITRO. Out of 34 tested plant extracts, nine exhibited low to moderate PPAR α transactivation, including caraway, chili pepper, nutmeg, licorice, black and white pepper, paprika, coriander, saffron, and stevia tea. The active components of black pepper and chili pepper, piperine, and capsaicin exerted the highest transactivational activities with EC (50) values of 84 µM and 49 µM, respectively. The chalcones, including 2-hydroxychalcone, 2′-hydroxychalcone, 4-hydroxychalcone, and 4-methoxychalcone, moderately transactivated PPAR α. Resveratrol and apigenin only slightly transactivated PPAR α. These results suggest that a diet rich in fruit, herbs, and spices provides a number of PPAR α agonists that might contribute to an improved lipid profile.