Cardiology Unit, San Camillo de Lellis Hospital, Manfredonia (FG), Italy.
Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2009 Nov;11(6):434-9. doi: 10.1007/s11883-009-0065-z.
Carotenoids are a class of natural fat-soluble pigments found principally in plants. They have potential antioxidant biological properties due to their chemical structure and interaction with biological membranes. The most abundant carotenoids in the diet are beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin. Numerous epidemiologic studies have supported the hypothesis that antioxidants could be used as an inexpensive means of prevention, and possibly treatment, of cardiovascular diseases, even though findings from interventional trials have been mixed, with some positive findings, many null findings, and some suggestion of harm in certain high-risk populations. Recent smaller interventional studies with carefully chosen populations, such as those under high levels of oxidative stress, have yielded largely positive results. This suggests that we need more hypothesis-driven and rigorous clinical trial designs. The aim of this review is to examine the published studies about the use of carotenoids, especially lycopene and astaxanthin, in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
类胡萝卜素是一类天然脂溶性色素，主要存在于植物中。由于其化学结构和与生物膜的相互作用，它们具有潜在的抗氧化生物特性。饮食中最丰富的类胡萝卜素是β-胡萝卜素、番茄红素、叶黄素、β-隐黄质、玉米黄质和虾青素。许多流行病学研究支持这样一种假设，即抗氧化剂可以作为一种廉价的预防和（或）心血管疾病的治疗方法，尽管干预试验的结果喜忧参半，一些结果是阳性的，许多结果是阴性的，还有一些结果表明某些高危人群可能有害。最近一些针对特定人群（如处于高水平氧化应激下的人群）的小型干预研究得出了大量积极的结果。这表明我们需要更多基于假说和严格临床试验设计的研究。本综述的目的是检查已发表的关于使用类胡萝卜素，特别是番茄红素和虾青素治疗心血管疾病的研究。
