Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Mini Rev Med Chem. 2012 Feb 1;12(2):149–174. doi: 10.2174/138955712798995020

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Potential protective effects of phytoestrogens in vascular disease. Increased vascular tone and blood pressure cause hypertension, leading to vascular injury, inflammatory cell infiltration, lipid deposition, atherosclerosis, narrowing of vessel lumen and platelets aggregation. Phytoestrogens promote vasodilation and may ameliorate hypertension. Phytoestrogens could also reduce vascular permeability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and inflammatory cell infiltration. Phytoestrogens may also retard the progress of atherosclerosis by improving lipid profile, and reduce thromboembolism by decreasing platelets aggregation.