About this Research Topic
Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of various ischemic heart diseases including coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, and its associated complications like arrhythmia, heart failure, cardiogenic shock and sudden cardiac arrest. Additionally, various conditions linked to ischemic heart diseases are associated with excessive oxidative stress and/or depletion of endogenous antioxidant defence mechanisms including diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Thus, it would be reasonable to use antioxidants as a complementary therapy in these settings. Polyphenolic compounds are widely used in ischemic cardiovascular diseases that involve alteration of the redox cellular equilibrium. These compounds include gallic acid, vanillic acid, ellagic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin, rutin, kaempferol, catechin and epicatechin.
Despite being successful in several experimental studies, antioxidants have shown limited success in the clinical setting to improve patient outcomes or prognosis. In certain circumstances, the use of polyphenolic compounds may paradoxically lead to increased oxidative damage. Several factors could provoke the pro-oxidant activities of polyphenolic compounds including their structures (total number of hydroxyl groups in their structure), presence of transition metals, used doses or concentrations, frequencies of their administrations and impairments of endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms in some diseased conditions. Thus, testing the safety of these compounds in well-organized studies should be performed under both normal and diseased conditions to avoid their detrimental effects or toxicities and to ensure their beneficial effects upon clinical application for prevention of ischemic heart diseases or management of their complications.
Areas to be covered in this Research Topic include:
1) Inappropriate administration of antioxidants may be the cause beyond their negative outcomes upon clinical applications.
2) Excessive and chronic consumption of these antioxidants as individual supplements could drive the cells into a highly reducing state (reductive stress) that likely contributes to the development of some cardiovascular diseases.
3) The pro-oxidant effects of polyphenolic compounds could be beneficial upon the preservation of redox balance where exposure to low-level ROS is a vital trigger for endogenous defense mechanisms.
4) Fruit and vegetables are rich in combination of micronutrients and vitamins that could be responsible for their beneficial effects which are lost upon their use as isolated or individual supplements (i.e. combination of antioxidants may prevent their toxicities or pro-oxidant effects).
5) More studies should be done to assess the contribution of pro-oxidant activities of some polyphenolic compounds to the development of ischemic heart diseases or aggravation of other associated conditions like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity etc.
Despite being successful in several experimental studies, antioxidants have shown limited success in the clinical setting to improve patient outcomes or prognosis. In certain circumstances, the use of polyphenolic compounds may paradoxically lead to increased oxidative damage. Several factors could provoke the pro-oxidant activities of polyphenolic compounds including their structures (total number of hydroxyl groups in their structure), presence of transition metals, used doses or concentrations, frequencies of their administrations and impairments of endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms in some diseased conditions. Thus, testing the safety of these compounds in well-organized studies should be performed under both normal and diseased conditions to avoid their detrimental effects or toxicities and to ensure their beneficial effects upon clinical application for prevention of ischemic heart diseases or management of their complications.
Areas to be covered in this Research Topic include:
1) Inappropriate administration of antioxidants may be the cause beyond their negative outcomes upon clinical applications.
2) Excessive and chronic consumption of these antioxidants as individual supplements could drive the cells into a highly reducing state (reductive stress) that likely contributes to the development of some cardiovascular diseases.
3) The pro-oxidant effects of polyphenolic compounds could be beneficial upon the preservation of redox balance where exposure to low-level ROS is a vital trigger for endogenous defense mechanisms.
4) Fruit and vegetables are rich in combination of micronutrients and vitamins that could be responsible for their beneficial effects which are lost upon their use as isolated or individual supplements (i.e. combination of antioxidants may prevent their toxicities or pro-oxidant effects).
5) More studies should be done to assess the contribution of pro-oxidant activities of some polyphenolic compounds to the development of ischemic heart diseases or aggravation of other associated conditions like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity etc.
Keywords: Antioxidants, Cardiovascular diseases, Phenolic compounds, Pro-oxidants
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