Bioactive Foods and Nutraceutical Supplementation Criteria in Cardiovascular Protection

Abstract

Nutraceuticals are natural and commonly found in bioactive foods or whole plants to keep energy balance in the body and promise substantial therapeutic value in cardioprotection. Major cardioprotective bioactive foods and nutraceuticals are now part of nutrition supplements at nonprescription counters and their self-prescription is increased at large scale. The literature suggests the growing use of new bioactive foods and nutraceuticals in cardioprotection and management. The biochemical mechanisms of nutraceutical action in cardioprotection are poorly reported. The literature indicates the success of fish oils, nutaceuticals in vegetable fat-free diets and restricted life style to enhance cardioprotection. The present paper highlights the need and benefits of newly introduced bioactive foods and revisits the cardioprotective mechanisms of bioactive foods and nutraceuticals. Broadly cardioprotective nutraceuticals are polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers. Most of the nutraceuticals act as biochemical metabolites by direct intervention in intermediary lipid metabolism or regulating proteins of vascular system responsible of 'cardiovascular incapability'.

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“…Transdermal formulation of curcumin transfersomes has been also reported to deliver enhanced entrapment efficiency with intensified permeation through the skin which improvises the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin on the body. [69] …”

Herbal Supplements or Herbs in Heart Disease

“…Heart protection and preventive herbal action is described as antifibrillatory, antihypertensive, and antithrombotic, which essentially includes lumen space minimization, wall thinning, and cardiac muscle strengthening, in the following sections based on imaging strategy for CHD (Berman et al, 2006;Sharma and Singh, 2010). Three main goals to be accomplished to keep the heart healthy are • opening the blood vessels • strengthening the heart muscle • controlling free radical damage -consumption of antioxidants.…”

“…Saponoin glycosides, antioxidents, flavonoids, and oligomeric proanthocyanidin fractions are major players along with other ingredients. Readers are referred to section 5.5 for details (Sharma and Singh, 2010). A number of herbal active ingredients are listed in Table 31.1 and some of them have been identified to be abundant in herbs, as shown in Table 31.2.…”

“…Recently, the safe use of herbiceutical and nutraceutical supplementation formulas was reviewed by the author, focusing on the preclinical and clinical evidence and the role of regulatory federal governments in approving bioactive foods, herbs, and the use of herbiceuticals (Haller et al, 2002;Sharma and Singh, 2010).…”

“…This diet was reexamined by DASH investigators and subsequently by other groups to observe the reduced risk of hypertension in the USA (Nilsen et al, 2001;Singh et al, 1992a,b,c). In further randomized, controlled intervention trials, Singh et al (2002) and Sharma and Singh (2010), administered 400 g day À1 of fruits, vegetables, and nuts (almonds and walnuts) and another 400 g day À1 of whole grains including legumes in conjunction with 25-50 g day À1 of mustard oil (ALA 2.9 g day À1 ) in patients with high risk of vascular disease, which showed significant benefits (Almario et al, 2001;Obarzanek et al, 2001;Singh et al, 2008). Other workers also found a beneficial effect of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and ℵ-3 fatty acid (EPA þ DHA 1.8 g day À1 )-rich foods in patients at risk of CAD (Singh et al, 1992a(Singh et al, ,b,c, 2008.…”