The Potential of Flavanol and Procyanidin Intake to Influence Age-Related Vascular Disease

Abstract

Advancing age is an independent major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Age-associated impairments in the control of inflammation, excessive oxidative stress, and reduced cellular repair can all contribute to the development and progression of CVD. Current recommendations for both the primary and secondary prevention of CVD promote lifestyle modifications that include the adoption of healthy dietary patterns, such as the consumption of diets rich in plant foods, as these have been associated with a lower lifetime risk for the development of CVD. The potential for a diet rich in plant foods to be cardiovascular protective is also supported by prospective studies that suggest the intake of foods providing high amounts of certain phytochemicals, in particular flavanols and procyanidins, reduce the risk for CVD. These observations are further supported by a number of dietary intervention trials that show improvements in vascular function and reduced platelet reactivity following the consumption of high flavanol foods. In the current article we review a selection of these studies, and comment on some of the potential mechanisms that have been postulated to underlie the health effects of flavanol and procyanidin-rich foods.

KEYWORDS:

• age
• cardiovascular
• epicatechin
• flavanol
• procyanidin

Notes

Note. Only randomized placebo-controlled studies using a food product characterized for at least epicatechin content are presented. Studies organized by those providing less or greater than 50 mg of epicatechin in the active treatment.

Not determined, ND; High Flavanol Cocoa, HFC; Low Flavanol Cocoa, LFC; Flow-mediated Dilation, FMD; Nitric Oxide, NO; L-N^G-monomethyl-arginine (L-NMMA) used for inhibition of NO synthase; Blood Pressure, BP; Systolic BP, SBP; Diastolic BP, DBP; Mean Arterial Pressure, MAP; Heart Rate, HR; C-reactive Protein, CRP; Hours, h; Coronary Artery Disease, CAD; Peripheral Arterial Disease, PAD.