Endogenous and Exogenous Natural Sources of Inhibition of Arachidonic acid-induced Platelet aggregation

Abstract

Platelets are central in mediating cardiovascular diseases including thrombosis. Aggregation of platelets is an important process following the adhesion of platelets to the injury site which may lead to the formation of a thrombus. Various aspects of platelet activation and aggregation could be modulated with compounds or fractions isolated from natural sources. These may include crude extracts, solvent-based fractions, or phytocompounds isolated from medicinal plants. Endogenous inhibition of platelet aggregation has been reported from plasma, serum, and many other blood components. This review summarizes these natural sources of inhibition against the most relevant physiological and pathological platelet agonists-arachidonic acid. Reported literature on the subject is further explored to discuss phytocompounds isolated from crude extracts or polarity-based fractions. Structures of the active compounds and their structure-activity relationship are also discussed.