HMGA1 and familial hypercholesterolemia: Also, the capacity of the extracts to reduce hypercholesterolemia, one of the major risks to cardiovascular diseases and the principal cause of mortality in Europe [28], is evaluated by inhibition of 3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) (E.C.1.1.1.34), the enzyme that regulates the biosynthesis of intracellular cholesterol; also the effect on the in vitro cholesterol cell permeability in the intestinal lining is studied.