Abstract
Overproduction of oxidants (reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species) in the human body is responsible for the pathogenesis of some diseases. The scavenging of these oxidants is thought to be an effective measure to depress the level of oxidative stress of organisms. It has been reported that intake of vegetables and fruits is inversely associated with the risk of many chronic diseases, and antioxidant phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits are considered to be responsible for these health benefits. Antioxidant phytochemicals can be found in many foods and medicinal plants, and play an important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases caused by oxidative stress. They often possess strong antioxidant and free radical scavenging abilities, as well as anti-inflammatory action, which are also the basis of other bioactivities and health benefits, such as anticancer, anti-aging, and protective action for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. This review summarizes recent progress on the health benefits of antioxidant phytochemicals, and discusses their potential mechanisms in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.
Highlights
Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes and cancers are global health problems, and cause death and disability to millions of people
The protective role of phytochemicals may be associated with their antioxidant activity, since overproduction of oxidants in the human body is involved in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases
Disease improved endothelial function in CVD patients on optimal secondary prevention reduced total blood cholesterol, LDL and raised HDL resulted in improved diabetes control, lowered CVD risk factors, and reduced antihypertensive medicine use associated with lower population rates of dementia in European countries, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada at a large-scale population level potential therapeutic capability in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients contributed to the prevention of hypertension in a prospective study in men and women reduced blood pressure in stage I hypertensive patients
Summary
Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes and cancers are global health problems, and cause death and disability to millions of people. It has been demonstrated that fruits, vegetables and grains exert a protective effect against the development of these chronic diseases [1,2,3,4]. This protective role can be mainly attributed to the phytochemicals in them, which are defined as bioactive non-nutrient compounds in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants [5]. About 10,000 phytochemicals have been identified, and still a large percentage remains unknown. The protective role of phytochemicals may be associated with their antioxidant activity, since overproduction of oxidants (reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species) in the human body is involved in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. In order to provide an extensive and deep understanding of antioxidant phytochemicals in human health and diseases, this review, summarizes and discusses their sources and health benefits, with special attention paid to the potential mechanisms of action in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases
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