INTRODUCTIONBackground of the studyHypercholesterolemia, which is a specific type of hyperlipidemia and characterized by excessively high plasma cholesterol levels, contributes significantly to the risk of many cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis. (Stapleton et al., 2010). Cholesterol byproducts cause arteries to stiffen by forming a thick, tough deposit on their inner walls, leading to blood deprivation of the heart by completely stopping blood flow (Thomas et al., 2007). Due to unfavorable dietary habits and a relatively sedentary lifestyle in recent decades, cases of lifestyle disorders, including hyperlipidemia, and consequently atherosclerosis, have increased significantly ( Grundy, 2004). In the Philippines, according to the 2008 National Nutrition Survey. According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 31.3 percent of 7,700 Filipinos surveyed had borderline high to high cholesterol levels (Tarra, 2012). Furthermore, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries, being responsible for almost 20% of total mortality worldwide (Thomas et al., 2007). Due to their prevalence, hypercholesterolemia and related cardiovascular diseases represent one of the greatest economic, social and medical challenges currently facing the entire world. Today, a range of synthetic drugs for high cholesterol are available in the market. However, due to the presence of possible side effects of these medications, such as the risk of diabetes, potential muscle damage and, although more rarely, the occurrence of liver damage (US Food and Drug Administration, 2014), thus as the increased effectiveness and practicality of these drugs. miscellaneous...... middle of paper ......747-1754.What your cholesterol levels mean. (November 12, 2013). The American Heart Association. Retrieved February 1, 2014 from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/What-Your-Cholesterol-Levels-Mean_UCM_305562_Article.jspPing, KY, Darah, I., Chen, Y., Sreeramanan. , S. and Sasidharan, S. (2013). Acute and subchronic toxicity study of Euphorbia hirta L. Methanol extract in rats. BioMed Research International, 2013, 14. Retrieved January 30, 2014 from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2013/182064/cta/Zakaria, Z., Ahmad, Z., Somchit, MN, Arifah, AK, Khairi, HM, Sulaiman, MR et al. (2010). Antihypercholesterolemic property and fatty acid composition of virgin coconut oils produced on Tuesday. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 4(9), 636-644. Accessed January 24, 2014 from http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp