Onion, a Natural Treatment of Endothelial Dysfunction

By Kyle J. Norton

The endothelium is the lining of the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. In other words, endothelium formed an interface to separate the circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall.

The endothelium processes some main functions, inclduing acting as a semi-selective barrier between the vessel lumen and surrounding tissue and transporting white blood cells into and out of the bloodstream.

Endothelial dysfunction is a medical condition that reduces the function of the endothelium caused by the failure of the endothelial inner lining of the small arteries to function normally, affecting the cardio-functioning.

Epidemiologically, endothelial dysfunction has been found to induce cardiovascular conditions, including coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension, and diastolic dysfunction.

The causes of endothelial dysfunction are associated with a low level of free radical NO that modulates vascular tone and endothelial function.

Endothelial dysfunction caused by reduced levels of NO in the body induces excess vasoconstriction of blood vessels, increases the risk of platelets activation and inflammation of the arterial wall and stimulates lipid peroxidation, leading to the complications of hypertension and coagulation.

Dr. Tousoulis D, the lead scientist wrote, " This substance (Nitric oxide (NO)) ....has a wide range of biological properties that maintain vascular homeostasis, including modulation of vascular dilator tone, regulation of local cell growth, and protection of the vessel from injurious consequences of platelets and cells circulating in blood, playing in this way a crucial role in the normal endothelial function'.

And, "A growing list of conditions (associated with reduced levels of NO), including those commonly associated as risk factors for atherosclerosis such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and heart failure are associated with the diminished release of nitric oxide into the arterial wall either because of impaired synthesis or excessive oxidative degradation".

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belonging to the family Alliaceae, a close relation of garlic. It is often called the "king of vegetables" because of its pungent taste and found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures. 

Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy, pungent, mild or sweet.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction researchers examined the effect of consumption of onion peel extract (OPE) on endothelial function in healthy overweight and obese individuals.

72 healthy overweight and obese participants included in the randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study were randomly assigned to receive a red, soft capsule of OPE (100 mg quercetin/d, 50 mg quercetin twice daily; n = 36 participants) or an identical placebo capsule (n = 36) for 12 weeks.

According to the tested analysis and compared with baseline values, the OPE group showed significantly improved flow-mediated dilation (FMD) associated with increased blood flow in the artery at 12 wk, from 12.5 ± 5.2 to 15.2 ± 6.1, compared to the placebo group.

Furthermore, the circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) involved in the cells of bone marrow that enter the vasculature by circulating angiogenic factors were significantly increased in the OPE group, compared to no change in the placebo group.

In the OPE group, there was no change of nitroglycerin-mediated dilation associated with impaired arterial dilatation response compared to the placebo group.

In the comparison of the endothelial dysfunction on the lowest quartile (cutoff value, 8.6%), the FMD  improved from 26% to 9% by OPE.

These results display a strong effect of OPE in the promotion of endothelial function through many aspects of the overweight and obese participants.

Based on the results, researchers suggested, "Medium-term administration of OPE an improvement in FMD and circulating EPCs".

Taken altogether, onion processed a higher mount of onionin A (ONA) may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of endothelial dysfunction, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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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.

Sources
(1) Effects of a quercetin-rich onion skin extract on 24 h ambulatory blood pressure and endothelial function in overweight-to-obese patients with (pre-)hypertension: a randomised double-blinded placebo-controlled cross-over trial by Brüll V1, Burak C1, Stoffel-Wagner B2, Wolffram S3, Nickenig G4, Müller C4, Langguth P5, Alteheld B1, Fimmers R6, Naaf S7, Zimmermann BF7, Stehle P1, Egert S. (PubMed)
(2) Effect of onion peel extract on endothelial function and endothelial progenitor cells in overweight and obese individuals by Choi EY1, Lee H2, Woo JS1, Jang HH1, Hwang SJ1, Kim HS1, Kim WS1, Kim YS3, Choue R2, Cha YJ4, Yim JE4, Kim W. (PubMed)
(3) The role of nitric oxide on endothelial function by Tousoulis D1, Kampoli AM, Tentolouris C, Papageorgiou N, Stefanadis C. (PubMed)