Herbal Calendula in the Prevention and Treatment of Atherosclerosis

The finding a natural ingredient for the treatment of atherosclerosis without inducing any side effect has been a lifetime dream of many scientists.

Calendula, a herbal medicine under intensive studies may have a potential effect in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, according to some studies.

Atherosclerosis is a medical condition caused by long-term plaques building up on the wall of the arteries, leading to the reduced oxygen-rich blood flow to the heart.

Plaques mostly are made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, found in the blood.

Some researchers suggested the most common risk factors according to the epidemiological studies are a poor diet high in saturated and trans fat, red meat and processed foods and fewer fruits and vegetable and unhealthy lifestyle and physical inactivity.

However, the role of calcium in the diet is one of the less being mentioned in the medical literature.

In examining the complexity of the atherosclerotic process, researchers showed that calcium also plays an important role in the formation of plaques in the arteries.

The calcium mineralization of the lumen in the atherosclerotic artery promotes and solidifies plaque formation causing narrowing of the vessel, leading to the soft tissue calcification associated with tissue generation.

The deposition of minerals in the form of calcium (Ca(2+)) initially transformed from the mineral octacalcium phosphate, a precursor of hydroxylapatite are found to contribute to calcium deposited in the wall of arteries.

Dr. John J. B. Anderson, the lead scientists in the study "Risk of High Dietary Calcium for Arterial Calcification in Older Adults" said, "high calcium intakes in free-living adults have relatively little or no beneficial impact on bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture rates suggest that current recommendations of calcium for adults may be set too high" and "The maintenance of BMD and bone health continues to be an important goal of adequate dietary calcium consumption, but eliminating potential risks of CVDs from excessive calcium intakes needs to be factored into policy recommendations for calcium by adults".

The differentiation indicated that elderly who are overtaking calcium supplements to improve bone density may be at the higher risk of the arterial calcification, a leading cause of atherosclerosis

Calendula is also known as pot marigold, annual or perennial herbaceous plants of about 12–20 species of genus Calendula, belonging to the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Europe.

The plant has been used in herbal medicine as spasmolytic, spasmogenic, inflammatory effects and to treat abdominal cramps, wound healing, skin diseases, colitis, constipation, etc.

The chemical ingredients of calendula include triterpenoids, flavonoids, coumarines, quinones, volatile oil, carotenoids, loliolide (calendin), calendulin and n-paraffins.

In the finding natural products including botanicals for both therapy of clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis and reduction of atherosclerosis risk factors, researchers examined the antiatherosclerotic effect of formulas Inflaminat (calendula, elder and violet), and phytoestrogen-rich Karinat (garlic powder, extract of grape seeds, green tea leafs, hop cones, β-carotene, α-tocopherol, and ascorbic acid).

In a total of 196 asymptomatic men aged 40-74 in the double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized clinical study, researchers found that both formulas have a direct anti-atherosclerotic effect on carotid atherosclerosis and this effect is likely to be due to serum atherogenicity inhibition, according to The AMAR (Atherosclerosis Monitoring and Atherogenicity Reduction) assay.

Further investigation of the natural products, the promising drugs for anti-atherosclerotic therapy, using cellular models and natural products, researchers suggested that the formula Inflaminat (calendula, elder, and violet), which possesses anti-cytokine activity, shows to induce the regression of carotid atherosclerosis following the treatment of asymptomatic men for one year.


Dr. Orekhov AN, after taking another assessment of the 2 studies wrote, "our basic findings were successfully translated into clinical practice. Because of this translation, a novel approach to antiatherosclerotic therapy was developed".

Moreover, in the study"Use of natural products in anti-cytokine therapy in the evaluation of botany products which has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of atherosclerosis researchers also found a formula of medicinal plants (calendula, elder, and pansy) with maximum anti-inflammatory activity.


The application of the formula was found effective in reducing the production of a proinflammatory cytokine in facilitating the formation of plaques in the arteries.

Dr. Gorchakova TV, the lead author said, at the final report, "The combination can be used for pathogenetic therapy of various inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis".

Taken altogether, herbal calendula may be considered a functional food for the prevention and combined with other herbal medicines for the treatment of atherosclerosis, without inducing any side effects.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Anti-atherosclerotic therapy based on botanicals by Orekhov AN1, Sobenin IA, Korneev NV, Kirichenko TV, Myasoedova VA, Melnichenko AA, Balcells M, Edelman ER, Bobryshev YV.(PubMed)
(2) Direct anti-atherosclerotic therapy; development of natural anti-atherosclerotic drugs preventing cellular cholesterol retention by Orekhov AN(PubMed)
(3) Use of natural products in anti-cytokine therapy by Gorchakova TV1, Suprun IV, Sobenin IA, Orekhov AN(PubMed)
(4) Risk of High Dietary Calcium for Arterial Calcification in Older Adults by John J. B. Anderson1,* and Philip J. Klemmer. (PMC)