Abstract
Honey is rich in phenolic compounds, which act as natural antioxidants and are becoming increasingly popular because of their potential role in contributing to human health. A wide range of phenolic constituents is present in honey like quercetin, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), acacetin, kaempferol, galangin which have promising effect in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Many epidemiological studies have shown that regular intake of phenolic compounds is associated with reduced risk of heart diseases. In coronary heart disease, the protective effects of phenolic compounds include mainly antithrombotic, anti-ischemic, anti-oxidant, and vasorelaxant. It is suggested that flavonoids decrease the risk of coronary heart disease by three major actions: improving coronary vasodilatation, decreasing the ability of platelets in the blood to clot, and preventing low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) from oxidizing. In this review paper, we discussed the preventive role of polyphenols of honey against cardiovascular diseases.
Highlights
Antioxidant substances in produce and other foods may represent a modern-day "fountain of youth." Evidences suggest that vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and cataracts and may slow the aging process (National Honey Board, 2007)
Some of the polyphenols like quercetin, acacetin, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), kaempferol, and galangin present in honey have been reported as promising pharmaceutical drugs in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
Antioxidants present in honey come from a variety of sources, and include Vitamin C, monophenolics, flavonoids, and polyphenolics
Summary
Antioxidant substances in produce and other foods may represent a modern-day "fountain of youth." Evidences suggest that vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and cataracts and may slow the aging process (National Honey Board, 2007). Honey has been found to contain several antioxidant enzymes including glucose oxidase, catalase and other antioxidant components like ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoid derivatives, organic acids, Maillard reaction products, amino acids and proteins (Beretta et al, 2005; D'Arcy, 2005; Frankel et al, 1998; Aljadi and Kamaruddin, 2004; Inoue et al, 2005; Fahey and Stephenson, 2002; Blasa et al, 2006; Nagai et al, 2006 and Perez et al, 2007). Gheldof and Engeseth (2002) measured the antioxidative activity of honey polyphenols in vitro by comparing the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) with the total phenolics concentration and showed that out of 14 honey samples Buckwheat Illinois honey have the highest value of ORAC and total phenolic content (16.95 μmol trolox equivalent/g and 796 gallic acid equivalent/kg respectively). The antioxidant activity depends on the botanical origin of honey and varies to a great extent in honeys from different botanical sources (Baltrusaityte et al, 2007; Kücük et al, 2007 and Vela et al, 2007)
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