Open AccessThe potential role of honey and its polyphenols in preventing heart disease: a review
Author(s) -
Md. Ibrahim Khalil,
Siti Amrah Sulaiman
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
african journal of traditional complementary and alternative medicines
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2505-0044
pISSN - 0189-6016
DOI - 10.4314/ajtcam.v7i4.56693
Subject(s) - polyphenol , disease , medicine , traditional medicine , biology , biochemistry , antioxidant
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.