Objective: Yucca schidigera is a plant that grows in Mexico, and it has a very high level of saponins and phenolic compounds with antioxidant action. The products of Y. schidigera are used as food additives and have a generally recognized as safe label. This study investigated the antiplatelet mechanisms of four phenolic compounds.
Methods: We investigated antiplatelet mechanisms of the phenolic compounds trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene (trans-resveratrol), trans-3,3',5,5'-tetrahydroxy-4'-methoxystilbene, and yuccaols A and C that had been isolated from the bark of Y. schidigera by studying their effects on the first step of platelet activation, i.e., platelet adhesion to collagen and fibrinogen. The effects of these compounds on the release of adenine nucleotides, proteins, and beta-N-acetyl-glycosaminidase (a marker of lysosomal secretion) from blood platelets activated by thrombin were also studied.
Results: These different phenolic compounds (1 to 25 microg/mL) and their extracts decreased platelet adhesion and secretion.
Conclusions: Resveratrol and yucca extract were more reactive in decreasing these processes than were other tested phenolic compounds.