Citrus Compound Cuts Cholesterol

It’s old news now, but a recent visitor to Sciencebase hit the site searching for citrus PMFs, so here’s a link to the information they were probably after: Compound found in the peel of citrus fruit can potentially lower cholesterol more effectively than some prescription drugs, at least if you’re a hamster.

According to multiple media reports, “US scientists fattened up hamsters on a high-cholesterol diet, and then fed them compounds found in tangerine and orange peel. They found the compounds significantly lowered the animals’ levels of LDL cholesterol – which is associated with heart disease.”

The compounds in question are a kind of antioxidant known as polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs).