Daily date vinegar consumption improves hyperlipidemia, β-carotenoid and inflammatory biomarkers in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults

Dates are delicious fruits with a sweet taste and a fleshy consistency. Dates also have various bioactive components which have effects on different types of diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of date vinegar made from date pulp and pits on the serum lipid profile and inflammatory biomarkers of mildly hypercholesterolemic adults. Seventy-six subjects with mildly raised total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were enrolled. Participants ingested 30 mL of either date vinegar or placebo daily together with their normal diets. Plasma lipids, inflammatory biomarkers, carotenoids, potassium, folic acid, urea and creatinine were measured at baseline after 4 weeks and after treatment. These results suggest that the date vinegar improved several serum lipid profile parameters (mg/dL: Total Cholesterol (TC) 246.40 ± 14.7 to 197.60 ± 14.7, P = 0.001; Low density lipoprotein (LDL) 166.6 ± 11.8 to 109.8 ± 11.8, P = 0.001; Triglycerides (TG) 170.30 ± 16.54 to 161.20 ± 17.8, P = 0.002; High density lipoprotein (HDL) 41.7 ± 8.08 to 44.1 ± 8.05, P = 0.003) and inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein (CRP) 7.05 ± 1.23 to 4.12 ± 0.04 mg/L, P = 0.001; nitric oxide (NO) 31.06 ± 0.47 to 27.01 ± 0.14 μmol/L, P = 0.002; tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) 17.2 ± 2.8 to 13.6 ± 2.4 pg/mL, P = 0.001; fibrinogen 272.54 ± 22.6 to 238.31 ± 11.7 mg/dL, P = 0.014). The findings suggest that date vinegar improved the concentration of lipid and inflammatory biomarkers.