Gammone Maria Alessandra, Riccioni Graziano, D'Orazio Nicolantonio
Human and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy;
Human and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
Food Nutr Res. 2015 Feb 6;59:26762. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v59.26762. eCollection 2015.
Carotenoids are a class of natural, fat-soluble pigments found principally in plants. They have potential antioxidant biological properties because of their chemical structure and interaction with biological membranes. Epidemiologic studies supported the hypothesis that antioxidants could be used as an inexpensive means of both primary and secondary cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. In fact, the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in the vessels plays a key role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. The resistance of LDL to oxidation is increased by high dietary antioxidant intake, so that carotenoids, as part of food patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health too. Further properties of carotenoids leading to a potential reduction of cardiovascular risk are represented by lowering of blood pressure, reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers of inflammation (such as C-reactive protein), and improvement of insulin sensitivity in muscle, liver, and adipose tissues. In addition, recent nutrigenomics studies have focused on the exceptional ability of carotenoids in modulating the expression of specific genes involved in cell metabolism. The aim of this review is to focus attention to this effect of some carotenoids to prevent CVD.
类胡萝卜素是一类主要存在于植物中的天然脂溶性色素。由于其化学结构以及与生物膜的相互作用，它们具有潜在的抗氧化生物学特性。流行病学研究支持了这样一种假说，即抗氧化剂可作为一种廉价的一级和二级心血管疾病（CVD）预防手段。事实上，血管中低密度脂蛋白（LDL）的氧化在动脉粥样硬化病变的发展中起关键作用。高膳食抗氧化剂摄入量可增加LDL对氧化的抵抗力，因此，作为地中海饮食等食物模式一部分的类胡萝卜素可能对心血管健康也有有益影响。类胡萝卜素导致心血管风险潜在降低的其他特性表现为血压降低、促炎细胞因子和炎症标志物（如C反应蛋白）减少，以及肌肉、肝脏和脂肪组织中胰岛素敏感性提高。此外，最近的营养基因组学研究集中在类胡萝卜素调节参与细胞代谢的特定基因表达的特殊能力上。本综述的目的是关注某些类胡萝卜素预防CVD的这种作用。
