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Review
. 2023 Feb 24:14:1141180.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1141180. eCollection 2023.

Natural flavonoids derived from herbal medicines are potential anti-atherogenic agents by inhibiting oxidative stress in endothelial cells

Ruo-Lan Li  1 , Ling-Yu Wang  1 , Hu-Xinyue Duan  1 , Die Qian  1 , Qing Zhang  1 , Li-Sha He  1 , Xue-Ping Li  2
Affiliations
Review

Natural flavonoids derived from herbal medicines are potential anti-atherogenic agents by inhibiting oxidative stress in endothelial cells

Ruo-Lan Li et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

As the common pathological basis of various cardiovascular diseases, the morbidity and mortality of atherosclerosis (AS) have increased in recent years. Unfortunately, there are still many problems in the treatment of AS, and the prevention and treatment of the disease is not ideal. Up to now, the occurrence and development of AS can roughly include endothelial cell dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, inflammation, foam cell production, and neoangiogenesis. Among them, endothelial dysfunction, as an early event of AS, plays a particularly important role in promoting the development of AS. In addition, oxidative stress occurs throughout the causes of endothelial dysfunction. Some previous studies have shown that flavonoids derived from herbal medicines are typical secondary metabolites. Due to its structural presence of multiple active hydroxyl groups, it is able to exert antioxidant activity in diseases. Therefore, in this review, we will search PubMed, Web of Science, Elesvier, Wliey, Springer for relevant literature, focusing on flavonoids extracted from herbal medicines, and summarizing how they can prevent endothelial dysfunction by inhibiting oxidative stress. Meanwhile, in our study, we found that flavonoid represented by quercetin and naringenin showed superior protective effects both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting the potential of flavonoid compounds in the treatment of AS.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; endothelial dysfunction; flavonoids; herbal medicines; oxidative stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Shear stress helps endothelial cells maintain homeostasis in a healthy state (Ang II, angiotensin II; eNOS, endothelial NO synthase; ET, endothelin; TXA2, thromboxane A2; VSMC, vascular smooth muscle cells).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Endothelial dysfunction contributes to the development of atherosclerosis (GM-CSF: granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor; ICAM-1, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; M-CSF, macrophage colony stimulating factor; ox-LDL, oxidized low-density lipoprotein; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The generation of ROS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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