Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa.
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa.
Heart Fail Rev. 2019 Jan;24(1):155-166. doi: 10.1007/s10741-018-9733-9.
The epidemic of cardiovascular diseases is a global phenomenon that is exaggerated by the growing prevalence of diabetes mellitus. Coronary artery disease and diabetic cardiomyopathy are the major cardiovascular complications responsible for exacerbated myocardial infarction in diabetic individuals. Increasing research has identified hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia as key factors driving the augmentation of oxidative stress and a pro-inflammatory response that usually results in increased fibrosis and reduced cardiac efficiency. While current antidiabetic agents remain active in attenuating diabetes-associated complications, overtime, their efficacy proves limited in protecting the hearts of diabetic individuals. This has led to a considerable increase in the number of natural products that are screened for their antidiabetic and cardioprotective properties. These natural products may present essential ameliorative properties relevant to their use as a monotherapy or as an adjunct to current drug agents in combating diabetes and its associated cardiovascular complications. Recent findings have suggested that triterpenes isolated from Protorhus longifolia (Benrh.) Engl., a plant species endemic to Southern Africa, display strong antioxidant and antidiabetic properties that may potentially protect against diabetes-induced cardiovascular complications. Thus, in addition to discussing the pathophysiology associated with diabetes-induced cardiovascular injury, available evidence pertaining to the cardiovascular protective potential of lanosteryl triterpenes from Protorhus longifolia will be discussed.
心血管疾病的流行是一种全球现象，糖尿病的患病率不断上升加剧了这一现象。冠状动脉疾病和糖尿病性心肌病是导致糖尿病患者心肌梗死恶化的主要心血管并发症。越来越多的研究已经确定高血糖和高血脂是驱动氧化应激和促炎反应增强的关键因素，通常会导致纤维化增加和心脏效率降低。虽然现有的抗糖尿病药物仍然可以有效减轻与糖尿病相关的并发症，但随着时间的推移，它们在保护糖尿病患者心脏方面的疗效证明是有限的。这导致了大量的天然产物被筛选出来，以评估它们的抗糖尿病和心脏保护特性。这些天然产物可能具有重要的改善特性，可作为单一疗法或与现有的药物联合使用，用于治疗糖尿病及其相关的心血管并发症。最近的研究结果表明，南非特有植物 Protorhus longifolia (Benrh.) Engl. 中分离出的三萜类化合物具有很强的抗氧化和抗糖尿病特性，可能有助于预防糖尿病引起的心血管并发症。因此，除了讨论与糖尿病引起的心血管损伤相关的病理生理学外，还将讨论来自 Protorhus longifolia 的 lanosteryl 三萜类化合物的心血管保护潜力的现有证据。
