How do dietary flavanols improve vascular function? A position paper
- PMID: 18358827
- DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2008.03.004
How do dietary flavanols improve vascular function? A position paper
Abstract
Epidemiological and clinical studies revealed that high-flavanol diet or isolated (-)-epicatechin improves the function of the vascular endothelium, as assessed by flow-mediated dilation, through elevation of bioavailability and bioactivity of NO*. We have demonstrated that exposure of human endothelial cells to (-)-epicatechin elevates the cellular levels of NO* and cyclic GMP and protects against oxidative stress elicited by proinflammatory agonists. (-)-Epicatechin acts like a prodrug, since these effects involve O-methylation of the flavanol and are attributed to apocynin-like inhibition of endothelial NADPH oxidase. Thus, generation of superoxide and peroxynitrite is diminished and, consequently, the cellular NO* level is preserved or augmented. We propose therefore that endothelial NO* metabolism rather than general antioxidant activity is a major target of dietary flavanols and that NADPH oxidase activity is a crucial site of action. Moreover, flavonoid glucuronides appear to serve as plasma transport metabolites to target cells rather than solely as excretion products. Implications for the interpretation of the role of dietary polyphenols for cardiovascular health are discussed.
Similar articles
-
(-)-Epicatechin elevates nitric oxide in endothelial cells via inhibition of NADPH oxidase.Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Aug 3;359(3):828-33. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.05.200. Epub 2007 Jun 6. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007. PMID: 17560937
-
Mono-O-methylated flavanols and other flavonoids as inhibitors of endothelial NADPH oxidase.Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008 Jan 15;469(2):209-19. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2007.10.012. Epub 2007 Nov 8. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008. PMID: 17996190
-
Cocoa flavanols lower vascular arginase activity in human endothelial cells in vitro and in erythrocytes in vivo.Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008 Aug 15;476(2):211-5. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2008.02.040. Epub 2008 Mar 6. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008. PMID: 18348861
-
Myeloperoxidase-mediated LDL oxidation and endothelial cell toxicity of oxidized LDL: attenuation by (-)-epicatechin.Free Radic Res. 2006 Oct;40(10):1076-85. doi: 10.1080/10715760600883247. Free Radic Res. 2006. PMID: 17015252 Review.
-
Is mycophenolate more than just an immunosuppressant?--An overview.Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2009 Feb;46(1):25-30. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2009. PMID: 19374250 Review.
Cited by 51 articles
-
In Vitro Antigenotoxic, Antihelminthic and Antioxidant Potentials Based on the Extracted Metabolites from Lichen, Candelariella vitellina.Pharmaceutics. 2020 May 24;12(5):477. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12050477. Pharmaceutics. 2020. PMID: 32456266 Free PMC article.
-
Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties of a Bacterial Endophyte, Methylobacterium radiotolerans MAMP 4754, Isolated from Combretum erythrophyllum Seeds.Int J Microbiol. 2020 Feb 18;2020:9483670. doi: 10.1155/2020/9483670. eCollection 2020. Int J Microbiol. 2020. PMID: 32184829 Free PMC article.
-
Elucidation of the Interaction between Flavan-3-ols and Bovine Serum Albumin and Its Effect on Their In-Vitro Cytotoxicity.Molecules. 2019 Oct 11;24(20):3667. doi: 10.3390/molecules24203667. Molecules. 2019. PMID: 31614668 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of Theobroma cacao on heat shock protein 90 and asymmetric dimethylarginine of endothelial cells under the influence of plasma of pre-eclamptic patients.J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2017 Dec 22;13(2):129-134. doi: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2017.11.004. eCollection 2018 Apr. J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2017. PMID: 31435315 Free PMC article.
-
Racial disparities in cardiovascular disease risk: mechanisms of vascular dysfunction.Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 Oct 1;317(4):H777-H789. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00126.2019. Epub 2019 Aug 9. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019. PMID: 31397168 Review.
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
-
Full Text Sources
-
Other Literature Sources
-
Medical
