Á¦¸ñ | Emerging New Ingredients for Cardiovascular Health (3) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ÀÛ¼ºÀÚ | °ü¸®ÀÚ | Á¶È¸¼ö | 3307 | ||
µî·ÏÀÏ | 2004³â 11¿ù 22ÀÏ | ||||
÷ºÎÆÄÀÏ | |||||
Polymethoxylated Flavones
Flavonoids are a large class of phytochemicals that have powerful antioxidant properties and play important roles in the support of both circulatory and immune health. While the benefits of flavonoids as a general class of compounds have been known for years, more recently a specific class of flavonoids called polymethoxylated flavones (also known as PMFs) have been receiving greater attention for their ability to lower cholesterol in both animal and human studies. The term polymethoxylated flavones is derived from the fact that these compounds consist of a flavone backbone to which additional methyl groups have been added (Fig. 2). Typical PMFs are compounds such as nobiletin, tangeritin and sinensetin, and can be found in concentrated amounts in the peel of citrus fruits, including oranges and tangerines. In vitro, as well as animal and in vivo human studies have demonstrated that PMFs possess potent cholesterol-lowering properties. Studies in human hepatoma HepG2 cells (a model used to study hepatic regulation of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins including VLDL and LDL), involving nobiletin and tangeritin demonstrated the ability of these compounds to inhibit apo B secretion. The ability of these two compounds to inhibit apo B secretion was stronger than other flavonoids such as hesperetin and naringenin, which have also be studied for their ability to decrease apo B. In a recent study involving hamsters fed a hypercholesterolemic diet, the addition of 1% PMFs significantly reduced total serum cholesterol 27%, VLDL + LDL cholesterol by 40%, and triglycerides by 44%. No toxic effects of PMFs were observed. It is thought that PMF metabolites in the liver may be responsible in part for the hypolipidemic effects.
|