Kaempferol and atherosclerosis: From mechanism to medicine

Abstract

Natural products possess pleiotropic cardiovascular protective effects owing to their anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation and anti-thrombotic properties. Kaempferol, (3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one), is a kind of naturally occurring flavonoid existing in many common fruits and vegetables (e.g., onions, broccoli, strawberries and grapes) and particularly in traditional Chinese medicine as exemplified by Ginkgo biloba. Epidemiological, preclinical and clinical studies have revealed an inverse association between the consumption of kaempferol-containing foods and medicines and the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Numerous translational studies in experimental animal models and cultured cells have demonstrated a wide range of pharmacological activities of kaempferol. In this article, we reviewed the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective activities of kaempferol and elucidated the potential molecular basis of the therapeutic capacity of kaempferol by focusing on its anti-atherosclerotic effects. Overall, the review presents the health benefits of kaempferol-containing plants and medicines and reflects on the potential of kaempferol as a possible drug candidate to prevent and treat atherosclerosis, the underlying pathology of most cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords:

• Kaempferol
• cardiovascular diseases
• medicinal plants
• antioxidant
• anti-inflammatory effects

Author contributions

Conceptualization: S.X., J.X. and J.W.

Writing: M.C.

Revision: S.X., J.W., M.C., M.D., J.X., K.S.W., H.R. E., P. J. L.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFC2500500), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 82070464, 20 81941022 and 81530025) and Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB38010100). This work was also supported by the Program for Innovative Research Team of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC (CXGG02), Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Program (Grant No. 202104j07020051), Anhui Province Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 2208085J08) and Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program (Grant No. 2017BT01S131).