Abstract/Summary

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) act as a primary cause of deaths worldwide. Thrombotic dis-eases, specifically stroke and coronary heart diseases account for around 85% of CVDs-induced deaths. Platelets (small circulating blood cells) are responsible for the prevention of excessive bleeding upon vascular injury, through blood clotting (haemostasis). However, unnecessary acti-vation of platelets under pathological conditions such as upon rupture of atherosclerotic plaques results in thrombus formation (thrombosis) which can cause life threatening conditions such as stroke or heart attack. Therefore, antiplatelet medications are usually prescribed for people who are at high risk for thrombotic diseases. However, the currently used antiplatelet drugs are asso-ciated with major side effects such as excessive bleeding and some patients are resistant to these drugs. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to develop new antiplatelet agents and notably, to establish the relationship between edible plants, specifically fruits, vegetables and spices, and cardiovascular health. Indeed, healthy and balanced diets have proven to be effective for the prevention of CVDs in diverse settings. High intake of fruits and vegetables in regular diet is associated with lower risks for stroke and coronary heart diseases because of their plethora of phytochemical constituents. In this review, we discuss the impacts of commonly used selected ed-ible plants (specifically vegetables, fruits and spices) and/or their isolated compounds on the modulation of platelet function, haemostasis and thrombosis.