Data links antioxidant to LDL functioning

The International Nutrition Company, a Netherlands-based group of nutritional supplement suppliers, says that new research, reported at the International Conference on Polyphenols and Health in Kyoto, Japan, indicates that Masquelier's Original OPC antioxidant has broad therapeutic benefits. Specifically, the study found that oligomeric proanthocyanidins present in the product significantly prolong the lag phase of low-density lipoprotein oxidation, that is the period before LDL becomes oxidized and more likely to form the plaques associated with cardiovascular disease.

Oxidation a key factor in "bad" LDL

As a circulating transport molecule LDL is responsible for moving cholesterol and triglycerides from the liver to peripheral tissues and, in "normal" circumstances, is benign. However, retention of the molecule by proteoglycans found in the extracellular matrix between cells of the endothelium can lead to the formation of LDL plaques associated with atherosclerosis. Current research suggests that oxidation of LDL molecules by circulating free-radicals leads them to develop a net positive charge and this means they are more readily attracted to and bound by negatively charged proteoglycans, leading to an increased risk of atherosclerotic plaque development.