Hypertension is one of the most prevalent and powerful contributors of cardiovascular diseases. Malignant hypertension is a relatively rare but extremely severe form of hypertension accompanied with heart, brain, and renal impairment. Resveratrol, a recently described grape-derived, polyphenolic antioxidant molecule, has been proposed as an effective agent in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to examine chronic resveratrol administration on blood pressure, oxidative stress, and inflammation, with special emphasis on cardiac structure and function in two models of experimental hypertension. The experiments were performed in spontaneously (SHRs) and malignantly hypertensive rats (MHRs). The chronic administration of resveratrol significantly decreased blood pressure in both spontaneously and malignant hypertensive animals. The resveratrol treatment ameliorated morphological changes in the heart tissue. The immunohistochemistry of the heart tissue after resveratrol treatment showed that both TGF-β and Bax were not present in the myocytes of SHRs and were present mainly in the myocytes of MHRs. Resveratrol suppressed lipid peroxidation and significantly improved oxidative status and release of NO. These results suggest that resveratrol prevents hypertrophic and apoptotic consequences induced by high blood pressure with more pronounced effects in malignant hypertension.

The main cause of death among patients with malignant hypertension is a kidney failure. The promising field in essential and malignant hypertension therapy could be centered on the amelioration of oxidative stress using antioxidant molecules like resveratrol. Resveratrol is a potent antioxidative agent naturally occurred in many plants that possess health-promoting properties. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of resveratrol, a polyphenol with anti-oxidative activity, in N^G-L-Arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) - malignantly hypertensive rats (MHR). Resveratrol significantly improves oxidative damages by modulation of antioxidant enzymes and suppression of prooxidant factors in the kidney tissue of MHR. Enhanced antioxidant defense in the kidney improves renal function and ameliorates the morphological changes in this target organ. Besides, protective properties of resveratrol are followed by the restoration of the nitrogen oxide (NO) pathway. 4) Conclusion: Antioxidant therapy with resveratrol could represent promising therapeutical approach in hypertension, especially malignant, against kidney damage.

Lifestyle modifications such as increase in high-fat food consumption importantly increases the risks for cardiovascular disease. The principal objective of this study is to analyze effects of different high fat diet (HFD) sources on haemodynamic parameters, lipid and oxidative profile, myeloperoxidase activity, and markers of inflammation (IL-6/pentraxin-3). HFD containing 20% of fat, provided by lard (saturated) or soybean oil (unsaturated), as well as control diet were administering to three groups (L, SO and C). Food efficiency ratio and plasma lipids were significantly elevated in both HFD groups. However, only SO group showed an increase in systolic arterial pressure, oxidative stress index, myeloperoxidase activity, liver lipids as well as markers of inflammation: IL-6 and pentraxin-3 (PTX3). In summary, these results indicate inflammogenic potential of excessive soybean oil consumption in triggering liver damage.

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a common non-communicable chronic liver disease characterized by a spectrum of conditions ranging from steatosis and alcohol-associated steatohepatitis (AH) to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The pathogenesis of ALD involves a complex interplay of various molecular, biochemical, genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. While the mechanisms are well studied, therapeutic options remain limited. Alpinetin, a natural flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, has shown potential hepatoprotective effects, though its efficacy in ALD remains unexplored. This study investigated the hepatoprotective effects of alpinetin using a Lieber–DeCarli ethanol liquid diet model of ALD in C57BL/6 mice. Mice were divided into three groups: the control group, the ethanol group, and the ethanol group treated with alpinetin. Serum activity of ALT, AST, γ-GT, and ALP was measured to assess liver function, along with antioxidative and oxidative/nitrosative stress markers in liver tissue. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress parameters in liver tissue were also evaluated. Histological assessment of disease activity was performed using the SALVE grading and staging system. Treatment with alpinetin significantly reduced serum levels of ALT, AST, γ-GT, and oxidative/nitrosative stress markers while increasing antioxidative markers. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and ER stress parameters were significantly decreased. Histological analysis demonstrated reduced steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and inflammation. These findings suggest that alpinetin holds promise as a potential therapeutic agent for managing ALD.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of diseases with a very high rate of morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation of CVDs can vary from asymptomatic to classic symptoms such as chest pain in patients with myocardial infarction. Current therapeutics for CVDs mainly target disease symptoms. The most common CVDs are coronary artery disease, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure, arterial hypertension, and valvular heart disease. In their treatment, conventional therapies and pharmacological therapies are used. However, the use of herbal medicines in the therapy of these diseases has also been reported in the literature, resulting in a need for critical evaluation of advances related to their use. Therefore, we carried out a narrative review of pharmacological and herbal therapeutic effects reported for these diseases. Data for this comprehensive review were obtained from electronic databases such as MedLine, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Conventional therapy requires an individual approach to the patients, as when patients do not respond well, this often causes allergic effects or various other unwanted effects. Nowadays, medicinal plants as therapeutics are frequently used in different parts of the world. Preclinical/clinical pharmacology studies have confirmed that some bioactive compounds may have beneficial therapeutic effects in some common CVDs. The natural products analyzed in this review are promising phytochemicals for adjuvant and complementary drug candidates in CVDs pharmacotherapy, and some of them have already been approved by the FDA. There are insufficient clinical studies to compare the effectiveness of natural products compared to approved therapeutics for the treatment of CVDs. Further long-term studies are needed to accelerate the potential of using natural products for these diseases. Despite this undoubted beneficence on CVDs, there are no strong breakthroughs supporting the implementation of natural products in clinical practice. Nevertheless, they are promising agents in the supplementation and co-therapy of CVDs.