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Atherosclerosis - Pterostilbene & Progression of Artery Disease

Atherosclerosis is a chronic degenerative disease condition which slowly blocks arteries, accelerate aging and is a contributing factor in most age-related deaths.The key event in the  initiation and progression of atherosclerosis is injury and inflammation to the arterial lining (endothelial cells).

  • Endothelial Cell Injury Reduction 
  • Atherosclerosis is intrinsically linked to damage of the endothelial cells in the artery lining. Such damage is attributed to inflammation and oxidative stress in the arterial wall. In animal models, pterostilbene mitigated the process of atherosclerosis and reduced inflammation in the blood vessels. Importantly, pterostilbene increased levels of protective Nrf2 in the endothelial cells.(1)
  • Vascular Inflammation Prevention 
  •  In the gut, there are bacteria that convert choline and carnitine into  trimethylamine (TMA). In turn, TMA is converted to  trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO).(2) Increased levels of TMAO correlate to cardiovascular disease, by increasing vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.(3)
  • Pterostilbene significantly reduces vascular inflammation by:
    • altering the composition of gut bacteria, thereby reducing the levels of TMAO
    •  decreasing inflammatory vascular markers, including TNF-alpha.(4)
  • Protects Against Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) 
  • Oxidized LDL targets the endothelium lining of the artery and causes cellular death of the endothelium. This facilitates atherosclerosis development. Pterostilbene inihibits expression of LOX-1, the cellular receptor for oxidized LDL in the endothelium. As such, pterostilbene mitigates the buildup of LDL and subsequent atherosclerosis.(5). 
    • Attenuates Heart Aging (Myocardial Fibrosis)
    • Oxidative stress negatively impacts heart function and accelerates aging of the heart. As a result of oxidative stress, including inflammation, the heart can become fibrotic, replacing heart tissue with non functional fibrotic tissue.  In lab studies pterostilbene has been shown to mitigate myocardial fibrosis.(6)

       

      CURCUMIN PXC  (Pterostilbene)

       

      REFERENCES

      (1) Tang T, et al. Pterostilbene reduces endothelial cell injury in vascular arterial walls by regulating the Nrf2-mediated AMPK/STAT3 pathway in an atherosclerosis rat model. Exp Ther Med. 2020 Jan

      (2) Rath S, et al. Potential TMA-Producing Bacteria Are Ubiquitously Found in Mammalia. Front Microbiol. 2020 Jan 

      (3) Singh G, et al.  High Mobility Group Box 1 Mediates TMAO-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction. Int J Mol Sci 2019 Jul

      (4) Koh YC, et al.  Prevention of Vascular Inflammation by Pterostilbene via Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Reduction and Mechanism of Microbiota Regulation.  Mol Nutr Food Res. 2019 Oct.

      (5) Zhang L, et al.  Pterostilbene protects vascular endothelial cells against oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Apoptosis. 2012 Jan

      (6) Kang LL, et al. Pterostilbene Attenuates Fructose-Induced Myocardial Fibrosis by Inhibiting ROS-Driven Pitx2c/miR-15b Pathway. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019 Dec