Anti-atherosclerotic therapy based on botanicals

Recent Pat Cardiovasc Drug Discov. 2013 Apr;8(1):56-66. doi: 10.2174/18722083113079990008.

Abstract

Natural products including botanicals for both therapy of clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis and reduction of atherosclerosis risk factors are topics of recent patents. Only a few recent patents are relevant to the direct antiatherosclerotic therapy leading to regression of atherosclerotic lesions. Earlier, using a cellular model we have developed and patented several anti-atherosclerotic drugs. The AMAR (Atherosclerosis Monitoring and Atherogenicity Reduction) study was designed to estimate the effect of two-year treatment with time-released garlic-based drug Allicor on the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in 196 asymptomatic men aged 40-74 in double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized clinical study. The primary outcome was the rate of atherosclerosis progression, measured by high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography as the increase in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) of the far wall of common carotid arteries. The mean rate of IMT changes in Allicor-treated group (-0.022±0.007 mm per year) was significantly different (P = 0.002) from the placebo group in which there was a moderate progression of 0.015±0.008 mm at the overall mean baseline IMT of 0.931±0.009 mm. A significant correlation was found between the changes in blood serum atherogenicity (the ability of serum to induce cholesterol accumulation in cultured cells) during the study and the changes in intima-media thickness of common carotid arteries (r = 0.144, P = 0.045). Thus, the results of AMAR study demonstrate that long-term treatment with Allicor has a direct anti-atherosclerotic effect on carotid atherosclerosis and this effect is likely to be due to serum atherogenicity inhibition. The beneficial effects of other botanicals including Inflaminat (calendula, elder and violet), phytoestrogen- rich Karinat (garlic powder, extract of grape seeds, green tea leafs, hop cones, β-carotene, α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid) on atherosclerosis have also been revealed in clinical studies which enforces a view that botanicals might represent promising drugs for anti-atherosclerotic therapy.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Ascorbic Acid / therapeutic use
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Cardiovascular Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Carotid Artery Diseases / blood
  • Carotid Artery Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Carotid Artery Diseases / drug therapy*
  • Carotid Intima-Media Thickness
  • Cholesterol / blood
  • Disease Progression
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Garlic*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Phytotherapy
  • Plant Preparations / therapeutic use*
  • Plants, Medicinal
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome
  • alpha-Tocopherol / therapeutic use
  • beta Carotene / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Cardiovascular Agents
  • Plant Preparations
  • karinat
  • beta Carotene
  • Cholesterol
  • alpha-Tocopherol
  • Ascorbic Acid