Catechins for use in cardiovascular disease: Molecular mechanisms and contemporary bioassays

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) impact a large amount of the global population. CVD is characterized by dysfunction at both the cardiac and vascular tissue and cellular levels, including myocardial infarction, elevated localized and systemic inflammation, and disrupted cellular metabolism. Catechins, a bioactive class of compounds, have been widely investigated for their potential to alleviate CVD pathology via supporting healthy cellular function and reversing cellular damage. In addition to the alleviation of functional forms of CVD pathology, such as hypertrophy and cardiac infarct size, catechins have been shown to modify the cellular processes of ferroptosis, inflammation, general cellular signaling, cellular metabolism and apoptosis and autophagy; many pathways of these cellular functions are known to be dysfunctional in cardiac and vascular tissue. Investigators no longer rely on limited laboratory methods but instead utilize a suite of techniques to assess bioactivity. This review highlights studies from 2018 to the present of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), catechin, (-)-epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate (ECG) in both in vivo and in vitro CVD bioassays, with a focus on cellular mechanisms and the composite of contemporary bioassays necessary for mechanistic-based catechin investigation.