Abstract
The aim of this review was to explore existing evidence from studies conducted on humans and summarize the mechanisms of action of dietary polyphenols on vascular health, blood pressure and hypertension. There is evidence that some polyphenol-rich foods, including berry fruits rich in anthocyanins, cocoa and green tea rich in flavan-3-ols, almonds and pistachios rich in hydroxycinnamic acids, and soy products rich in isoflavones, are able to improve blood pressure levels. A variety of mechanisms can elucidate the observed effects. Some limitations of the evidence, including variability of polyphenol content in plant-derived foods and human absorption, difficulty disentangling the effects of polyphenols from other dietary compounds, and discrepancy of doses between animal and human studies should be taken into account. While no single food counteracts hypertension, adopting a plant-based dietary pattern including a variety of polyphenol-rich foods is an advisable practice to improve blood pressure.
Highlights
Among other foods rich in polyphenols, ginger is rich in gingerols and it has been studied for its potential effects on blood pressure; a meta-analysis including six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 345 participants showed that ginger supplementation would reduce both systolic
Evidence from human studies suggests that some polyphenol-rich foods exert positive effects on blood pressure levels
It is likely that the health benefits of plant-based diets rich in polyphenols may depend both on the quantity and the variety of compounds acting through several pathways, leading to synergistic actions toward health
Summary
A common feature of such dietary patterns is the richness in plant-derived foods, which are rich in fiber and phytochemicals with proven antioxidant activity, that have beeninstudied over the last decades to explain richness in plant-derived foods, which are rich fiber and phytochemicals with proven the potential anti-hypertensive effects of the aforementioned diets. Polyphenols are a large group of plant secondary anti-hypertensive effects of the aforementioned diets. Polyphenols a large group of defense, plant secondary metabolites that exert a number actions [4]. The general chemical structure of plant polyphenols is characterized by one or more plants, some of them have been proven to exert biological activities in humans [4].
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