Abstract
Polyphenols are natural substances with variable phenolic structures and are elevated in vegetables, fruits, grains, bark, roots, tea, and wine. There are over 8000 polyphenolic structures identified in plants, but edible plants contain only several hundred polyphenolic structures. In addition to their well-known antioxidant effects, select polyphenols also have insulin-potentiating, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral, anti-ulcer, and anti-apoptotic properties. One important consequence of ischemia is neuronal death and oxidative stress plays a key role in neuronal viability. In addition, neuronal death may be initiated by the activation of mitochondria-associated cell death pathways. Another consequence of ischemia that is possibly mediated by oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction is glial swelling, a component of cytotoxic brain edema. The purpose of this article is to review the current literature on the contribution of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction to neuronal death, cell swelling, and brain edema in ischemia. A review of currently known mechanisms underlying neuronal death and edema/cell swelling will be undertaken and the potential of dietary polyphenols to reduce such neural damage will be critically reviewed.
Highlights
Polyphenols are natural compounds with variable phenolic structures and are rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, bark, roots, tea, and wine [1,2]
We recently reported the protective effects of polyphenols from green tea [112] as well as cinnamon [113] on glial swelling in cultures following ischemia-like injury [138]
We demonstrated that the attenuation of cell swelling and the prevention of the decline in mitochondrial inner membrane potential (ΔΨm) by immunosuppressants, cyclosproin A
Summary
Polyphenols are natural compounds with variable phenolic structures and are rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, bark, roots, tea, and wine [1,2]. Diet is a major source of polyphenol intake and diets rich in fruits and vegetables contain an abundance of various classes of polyphenols. Polyphenols modulate immune function by reducing inflammatory cytokines in subjects with metabolic syndrome [10] Despite such studies, an accurate assessment of the intake of polyphenols in human subjects has inherent difficulties due to several factors including inadequate information on polyphenol content in various food items, variability in polyphenol content within a food item [11], and nature of the chemical estimation methods employed [12,13]. Meta analysis of prospective cohort studies have recently shown that the incidence of stroke is significantly reduced with increased consumption of polyphenols [18,19]
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