An Insight into Phytochemical, Pharmacological, and Nutritional Properties of L. from Morocco.

. (Ericaceae) is an evergreen shrub widely distributed in the Mediterranean region, particularly through the Moroccan forests. It is an important medicinal plant of great scientific interest due to its nutritional, pharmacological, and chemical properties.

Flavonoids as potential anti-platelet aggregation agents: from biochemistry to health promoting abilities.

Cardiovascular ailments are the number one cause of mortalities throughout the globe with 17.9 million deaths per year. Platelet activation and aggregation play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of arterial diseases, including acute coronary syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular transient ischemia, unstable angina, among others.

Anticancer molecular mechanisms of oleocanthal.

Cancer is among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Current cancer therapies are associated with serious side effects, which further damage patients' health. Therefore, the search for new anticancer agents with no toxic effects on normal and healthy cells is of great interest.

Phytochemical, Anti-diabetic and Cardiovascular Properties of Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae): A Review.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have become the main cause of morbidity and death worldwide. In addition, current anti-diabetic and cardiovascular therapy is based on conventional drugs that have limited effectiveness and adverse side effects. In this regard, the role of medicinal herbs as a complementary or an alternative medicine is of great interest.

Flavonoids and Platelet-Derived Thrombotic Disorders.

Thrombotic disorders are characterized by an increase in the probability of the formation of unnecessary thrombi that might be due to the activation of the coagulation cascade or the circulating platelets. Platelets or thrombocytes play an essential role in hemostasis but abnormal platelet function leads to the development of a number of cardiovascular complications, including thrombotic disorders. Under pathological conditions, platelets are associated with the development of different thrombotic disorders, including atherosclerosis, arterial thrombosis and stroke, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism; therefore, platelets are the target of a number of anti-thrombotic strategies.

Platelet Oxidative Stress and its Relationship with Cardiovascular Diseases in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients.

Enhanced platelet activation and thrombosis are linked to various cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Among other mechanisms, oxidative stress seems to play a pivotal role in platelet hyperactivity. Indeed, upon stimulation by physiological agonists, human platelets generate and release several types of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as O2 -, H2O2 or OH-, further amplifying the platelet activation response via various signalling pathways, including, formation of isoprostanes, Ca2+ mobilization and NO inactivation.

Medicinal Plants with Antiplatelet Activity.

Blood platelets play an essential role in the hemostasis and wound-healing processes. However, platelet hyperactivity is associated to the development and the complications of several cardiovascular diseases. In this sense, the search for potent and safer antiplatelet agents is of great interest.

Platelet function in hypertension.

Platelets from hypertensive patients show increased sensitivity to agonists and have high intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration. Furthermore, in hypertension, platelets show enhanced endogenous production of reactive oxygen species and a reduced antioxidant status which increases protein tyrosine phosphorylation, enhances Ca(2+) mobilization and attenuates NO bioavailability. The study of the abnormalities in platelet function in hypertensive patients can lead to the development of new pharmacological strategies to prevent and/or palliate hypertension-derived complications associated to platelet hyperactivity.

Platelet signalling abnormalities in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a review.

The hyperactivation of platelets is involved in the cardiovascular complications associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Altered platelet behavior contributes to the angiopathies associated with diabetes. A number of mechanisms involved in platelet activation are altered in diabetes.

Antiaggregant effects of Arbutus unedo extracts in human platelets.

Platelet hyperaggregability plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Thrombin evokes aggregation through Ca(2+) mobilization, tyrosine phosphorylation and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We have investigated the antiaggregant properties of Arbutus unedo extracts in human platelets.

Inhibition of rat platelet aggregation by Urtica dioica leaves extracts.

Platelet hyperactivity plays an important role in arterial thrombosis and atherosclerosis. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of different extracts of Urtica dioica leaves on platelet aggregation. Rat platelets were prepared and incubated in vitro with different concentrations of the tested extracts and aggregation was induced by different agonists including thrombin (0.

Effects of extracts and tannins from Arbutus unedo leaves on rat platelet aggregation.

Many cardiovascular diseases such as arterial hypertension are associated with an increase in blood platelet activity. Arbutus unedo (Ericaceae) is a medicinal plant reputed to treat arterial hypertension, so the present study was undertaken in order to determine the antiaggregant effect. The crude aqueous extract showed an inhibition of thrombin-induced platelet aggregation (IC50 = 1.

Platelet anti-aggregant property of some Moroccan medicinal plants.

It is known that blood platelets may present some dysfunction linked to cardiovascular pathologies such as arterial hypertension. The aim of this work is to examine the in vitro anti-aggregant effect of five medicinal plants among which three were reported as antihypertensive in oriental Morocco: Arbutus unedo (Ericaceae), Urtica dioïca (Urticaceae), and Petroselinum crispum (Apiaceae). The two other plants were Cistus ladaniferus (Cistaceae) and Equisetum arvense (Equisetaceae).