Notably, some molecules exhibit dual antagonistic properties towards PAF and other inflammatory mediators. For instance, rupatadine is both an antagonist of the PAF-R and the histamine H(1) receptor
[187][103], whereas LDP-392 can target both PAF and 5-lipoxygenase
[188][104]. Likewise, common statins targeting CVD
[189,190][105][106] and antiretrovirals targeting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
[191,192][107][108] also exhibit anti-PAF pleiotropic effects. Indeed, various other molecules can inhibit both PAF and inducible nitric oxide synthase induction (iNOS)
[193][109] or thromboxane synthases
[194][110].
Finally, apart from the various compounds presented in
Table 2, research has investigated the use of various inorganic metal complexes including other structurally related and structurally dissimilar PAF-R antagonists
[141][57]. The authors recommend the following comprehensive reviews for further information on various synthetic and inorganic metal complexes with PAF-R antagonistic properties, their structures, synthesis, and biological effects
[116,141,167,185][111][57][83][101].
4.2. PAF Inhibitors of Natural Origin
Extracts from
Ginkgo biloba were some of the first PAF inhibitors of natural origin to be discovered. Several studies by Pierre Braquet and colleagues demonstrated that one compound in particular, BN 2021, was a highly specific competitive PAF antagonist. Several related ginkgolides also exhibited inhibitory properties against PAF
[195,196,197,198,199,200][112][113][114][115][116][117]. Indeed, several other researchers at the time discovered anti-PAF properties in other natural isolates of Chinese medicinal herbs such as phomactin A, kadsurenone, and various xanthones
[201,202,203,204,205][118][119][120][121][122]. In fact, the discovery that compounds from garlic bulbs possess anti-PAF activity stimulated interest in the exploration of natural compounds for anti-PAF activity
[139][55].
By 1996, several molecules had been discovered with PAF-like activity as reviewed by Demopoulos
[48][123]. Further experimentation uncovered that a neutral glycerylether lipid without an acetyl group from pine pollen exhibited biological activity against PAF
[206][124]. Consequently, it was deduced that other lipid extracts could potentially inhibit PAF-induced platelet aggregation. This led to a series of studies investigating food lipid extracts starting around 1993, which initially lead to the discovery of PAF antagonists in the polar lipid fractions of olive oil
[207][125], honey and wax
[208][126], milk and yoghurt
[209][127], mackerel (
Scomber scombrus)
[210][128], and wine
[211][129] before the turn of the century. These studies deduced that mainly polar lipids such as glycerophospholipids and glycolipids exhibited potent inhibition against PAF-induced platelet aggregation through competitive binding to the PAF-R. As this research field developed it was noted that many of the compounds discovered that exhibited anti-PAF activity were also constituents of foods of the Mediterranean diet
[5,212,213][5][130][131]. Therefore, these constituents may be responsible for the observed beneficial effects of consuming the Mediterranean diet
[5,212,213][5][130][131]. Indeed, later research demonstrated that polar lipid extracts of olive oil, olive pomace, and fish could also affect many of the PAF metabolic enzymes both in vitro and in vivo
[54,214,215][132][133][134]. These extracts were able to aid in the re-equilibration of PAF levels with beneficial outcomes against models of chronic inflammation.
Research into the effect of lipids on PAF activity and PAF metabolism is still being explored today in the pursuit of finding natural ways to prevent the pro-inflammatory signaling of PAF. It is now known that many foods, beverages, and other natural sources including food industry by-products are rich in PAF antagonists
[142,216][58][135]. However, there have been several critical discoveries in vivo that suggest that PAF inhibitors of natural origin may help prevent diseases such as CVD. In studies in vivo, olive oil, olive oil polar lipids extracts, and olive oil neutral lipids extracts were administered to rabbits consuming an atherogenic diet. It was demonstrated that rabbits consuming olive oil or olive oil polar lipid extracts had more beneficial physiological and biochemical changes as a result of increased plasma levels of PAF-AH, less oxidation in the plasma, a reduction of atherosclerotic lesion thickness, and retention of vessel wall elasticity, thus impeding atherosclerosis development
[217][136]. These results were corroborated in a subsequent study that found that polar lipid extracts of olive oil and olive pomace can impede early atherosclerosis development through reducing platelet sensitivity to PAF and reducing atherosclerotic lesion thickness
[218][137]. A later follow-up study in rabbits demonstrated that olive pomace polar lipid extracts were equipotent to simvastatin in preventing the progression of atherogenesis
[219][138].
It was questioned whether other polar lipid extracts of natural origin could exhibit the same effects. Therefore, two studies of similar design demonstrated anti-atherogenic effects when rabbits consumed polar lipids extracted from fish (seabream,
Sparus aurata) in a model of hypercholesterolaemia. These studies demonstrated that fish polar lipids could also reduce platelet aggregation, reduce atherosclerotic lesion size, and increase HDL levels in rabbits
[220][139] along with modulating PAF metabolism leading to lower PAF levels and activity in rabbit blood
[215][134]. Representative optic micrographs (×100) of the aortic wall of these rabbits are presented in
Figure 2. These images demonstrate that rabbits consuming an atherogenic diet supplemented with fish polar lipids leads to a reduction of atherosclerotic lesion width (b) versus a control group that consumed only an atherogenic diet (a)
[220][139].
Figure 2. Representative optic micrographs ×100 of aortic wall cross-sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin obtained from the two rabbit experimental groups. Atherosclerotic lesions appear as foam cells between the arrows. Each tissue sample was approximately 5 µm thick. (
a) Group A (atherogenic diet) and (
b) group B (atherogenic diet enriched with seabream polar lipids). Reproduced with permission from Nasopoulou et al.
[220][139].
However, after discovering that polar lipids could inhibit PAF in vitro and in vivo, the question remained whether these compounds of natural origin could affect human health? It is now known that there have been some promising nutritional trials that indicate that PAF antagonists in wine may affect platelet aggregation and metabolism postprandially in humans
[43,221][43][140]. In people with metabolic syndrome, consumption of meals including wild plants of the Mediterranean diet rich in PAF inhibitors postprandially reduced PAF-induced platelet aggregation
[222][141]. Other results from dietary intervention studies have shown that the administration of traditional Mediterranean diet meals
[223,224][142][143] to either normal volunteers or individual’s with type II diabetes mellitus (who have a predisposition to CVD) resulted in the characteristic lower PAF activity in blood (measured as PAF-induced platelet aggregability), which correlates with inhibition of atherogenesis according to experiments
[217][136].
Likewise, dietary supplements can reduce PAF-induced platelet aggregation and increase PAF catabolism in healthy humans
[225][144]. These studies collectively indicate that consumption of PAF antagonists from foods and nutraceuticals may benefit the consumer by reducing the pro-inflammatory effects of PAF either through inhibition of PAF/PAF-R signaling or by influencing the metabolic enzymes of PAF.
Considering, the potential use of dietary polar lipids for the prevention of CVD, several recent studies have discovered PAF antagonists in various fish species and by-products of the fishing industry including salmon fillet and head, minced boarfish, and herring
[226,227[145][146][147],
228], and other foods such as sheep and goat meat
[229][148], milk and fermented dairy products
[230[149][150][151][152],
231,232,233], and beer and brewing by-products
[234,235][153][154]. Future research in this area aims to develop novel functional foods and nutraceuticals that incorporate these bioactive polar lipid extracts for the prevention of CVD and other inflammation-related diseases. For more extensive reviews of the anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic properties of various food polar lipids the authors suggest the following literature
[49,142][155][58].