Hypercholesterolemia is a predominant risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The World Health Organization (WHO), ) recommended reducing the intake of cholesterol and saturated fats. On the other hand, limited evidence is available on the benefits of vegetables in the diet to reduce these risk factors, so this research was conducted to compare the hypolipidemic effect between the extracts of two different types of Iraqi peppers, the fruit of the genus Capsicum traditionally known as red pepper extract (RPE), and Piper nigrum as black pepper extract (BPE), respectively, in different parameters and histology of the liver of the experimental animals. The red pepper was extracted by ethyl acetate, while the black pepper was extracted by 90% ethanol, then each extract was concentrated for further analysis. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) results confirm the presence of a high percentage of alkaloids responsible for hypolipidemic activity studied against hypercholesterolemic rats divided into five rats into six groups for ten weeks. We measured different parameters such as the lipid profile, the oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and the serum level of the most important parameters of the kidney and liver function tests. We also compared body weight after ten weeks. This study showed a slight or nonsignificant decrease in cholesterol, TG, very low-density lipoprotein VLDL, low-density lipoprotein LDL, and oxidized LDL with a considerable increase in high-density lipoprotein HDL in group V (high-fat diet + black pepper extract). Study results were improved by histological changes induced in liver tissue. In conclusion, the results focused on consuming these vegetables and reducing cholesterol levels, as it is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
