Abstract
The prevention of arterial thrombotic disease has a high priority in developed countries. An inappropriate diet is known to enhance the risk for acute thrombotic events, and a regular diet with proven antithrombotic effects might be a beneficial way to prevent disease. The present study was undertaken as part of a series of in-vestigations to examine various vegetables and fruits for antithrombotic activity, and to add to the previously reported data on different onion varieties produced in the northern part of Japan (Hokkaido). For this purpose, a sophisticated method to assess shear-induced platelet reac-tivity/thrombolysis in vitro (The Global Throm-bosis Test, GTT) was used to screen 5 different varieties of onion produced in the middle part of Japan (Awaji Island). The different onion varie-ties demonstrated a variable effect on thrombo-sis, and one particular variety, designated ONA-03, appeared to exert an antithrombotic effect. Another variety, ONA-01, appeared to have prothrombotic activity by inhibiting spon-taneous thrombolytic activity. The especially effective variety was further investigated using an in vivo, laser-induced thrombosis model in mice. The heat stable antithrombotic activity in vitro and in vivo was demonstrated to be due to antiplatelet activity. The present findings added to the list of antithrombotic fruits and vegeta-bles.
Highlights
The prevention of “lifestyle-related atherothrombotic diseases” such as myocardial infarction and stroke has become an important and urgent social task in many developed countries
We have shown that different varieties of tomato, onion and strawberry can be classified according to shear-induced platelet-rich thrombotic activity (Haemostatometry), and that varieties of mulberry and carrot can be classified on this basis
We have demonstrated using Haemostatometry, that one onion variety cultivated in the northern part of Japan (Hokkaido) was notably antithrombotic [12] but the availability of this product remains limited
Summary
The prevention of “lifestyle-related atherothrombotic diseases” such as myocardial infarction and stroke has become an important and urgent social task in many developed countries. Studies have provided clear evidence that an inappropriate diet, such as the Westernstyle high fat diet, plays a causative role in the pathogenesis and clinical outcome of thrombotic diseases [1]. The so-called French Paradox and red wine hypothesis [2,3] has prompted many laboratory studies on antithrombotic fruits and vegetables, and epidemiological studies have provided evidence that intake of fresh fruits and vegetables could help to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke [4,5,6,7]. Non-anticoagulated blood in the presence of physiological shear force are likely to be much more relevant to the in vivo environment than those using anticoagulated blood and chemical platelet agonists [8,9]. We have demonstrated that shear-induced platelet reactivity tests in vitro, using non-anticoagulated blood, significantly correlate with the in vivo helium-neon (He-Ne) laserinduced thrombosis model in animals [10]
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