Atherosclerosis, a degenerative disease of the arterial system, is the №1 killer in the economically developed countries, and is responsible for 65% of mortality in Bulgaria. Multiple studies have shown the involvement of several pro-inflammatory markers, such as Intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and NADPH oxidase (NOX) in various stages of the disease.The aim of recent review is to focus on the problem from the nutrigenomics point of view and to propose food products and plant substances, with possible positive influence on the clinical symptoms of the disease.
Databases as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and others are used for search on the topic.
Through in vitro and in vivo tests it has been discovered that ursolic acid, found in green apple peels, the rich in lauric acid kernel oil, and extracts from the roots of Paeonia suffruticosa (tree peony) and Clematis chinensis can dose-dependently suppress the up-regulatory effect of inflammation mediators on ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and NOX gene expression. It was reported that fruit infusion of Sambucus ebulus (dwarf elder), a medicinal plant used in Bulgarian traditional medicine improves serum antioxidant activity and lipid profile in healthy human subjects. Due to these observations scientists suggested preventive potential of these plant food products against atherosclerotic plaque formation.
The various studies have proven that the abovementioned food products and medicinal substances of plant origin can lower ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and NOX levels, improve lipid profile and antioxidant activity, and can be successfully used in the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis.
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