Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease which is a major cause of
coronary heart disease and
stroke in humans. It is characterized by intimal plaques and
cholesterol accumulation in arterial walls. The side effects of currently prescribed
synthetic drugs and their high cost in the treatment of
atherosclerosis has prompted the use of alternative
herbal medicines, dietary supplements, and
antioxidants associated with fewer adverse effects for the treatment of
atherosclerosis. This article aims to present the activity mechanisms of
antioxidants on
atherosclerosis along with a review of the most prevalent medicinal plants employed against this multifactorial disease. The wide-ranging information in this review article was obtained from scientific databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Natural and synthetic
antioxidants have a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of
atherosclerosis through different mechanisms. These include: The inhibition of
low density lipoprotein (
LDL) oxidation, the reduction of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the inhibition of
cytokine secretion, the prevention of
atherosclerotic plaque formation and platelet aggregation, the preclusion of mononuclear cell infiltration, the improvement of endothelial dysfunction and vasodilation, the augmentation of
nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, the modulation of the expression of adhesion molecules such as
vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and
intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on endothelial cells, and the suppression of foam cell formation.