a-Asarone

?-Asarone is a component of certain essential oils used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Although carcinogenic, ?-asarone has been shown to be neuroprotective and radioprotective in mice when given at 50 mg/kg.{21103,21108,21096} It also lowers serum cholesterol in rats, specifically reducing LDL-cholesterol levels and cholesterol saturation index, by directly inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase (IC50 = 3 mM).{21107,21098} ?-Asarone also directly interacts with and inhibits certain isoforms of cytochrome P450 (IC50 = 55.2 and 65.2 ?g/ml for CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, respectively).{21106}