Carotenoids as Potential Antioxidant Agents in Stroke Prevention: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases are among the most common causes of death worldwide. Prevention of modifiable risk factors is a cost-effective approach to decrease the risk of stroke. Oxidative stress is regarded as the major flexible operative agent in ischemic brain damage. This review presents recent scientific advances in understanding the role of carotenoids as antioxidants in lowering stroke risk based on observational studies. We searched Medline using the following terms: (Carotenoids MeSH OR Carotenes tiab OR Carotene tiab OR "lycopene Supplementary Concept" MeSH OR lycopene tiab OR beta-Carotene tiab) AND (stroke MeSH OR stroke tiab OR "Cerebrovascular Accident" tiab OR "Cerebrovascular Apoplexy" tiab OR "Brain Vascular Accident" tiab OR "Cerebrovascular Stroke" tiab) AND ("oxidative stress" MeSH OR "oxidative stress"tiab). This search considered papers that had been published between 2000 and 2017. Recent studies indicated that high dietary intake of six main carotenoids (i.e., lycopene, <- and (R)-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin) was associated with reduced risk of stroke and other cardiovascular outcomes. However, the main mechanism of the action of these nutrients was not identified, and multiple mechanisms except antioxidant activity were suggested to be involved in the observed beneficial effects. The dietary intake of six major carotenoids should be promoted as this may have a substantial positive effect on stroke prevention and stroke mortality reduction.