Polyphenols and Cardiovascular Disease: Molecular Insights and Nutraceutical Advances

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite its of-ten-asymptomatic progression and therapeutic complexity, CVD is largely preventable through early intervention and lifestyle modification. A persistent challenge in its management, however, is the limited availability of effective pharmacological strategies aimed at reducing disease burden or mitigating associated risk factors. Polyphenols are a diverse class of bioactive compounds that have multiple phenol and hydroxyl groups, making them highly reactive and conferring them an antioxidant capacity, which help to modulate both cardiovascular and oncogenic processes. Polyphenols are naturally found in fruits and vegetables. Regular dietary intake of polyphenols has been linked to protective effects against various chronic conditions. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of recent ad-vances in the development of polyphenol-based nutraceuticals, highlighting their therapeutic potential for the pre-vention and management of CVD. Experimental evidence, particularly from in vitro studies, suggests that polyphenols can influence cell viability and regulate key signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of cancer and CVD. Nonetheless, the biological response to polyphenol exposure varies across individuals, influenced by genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors. Over the past decade, epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that pol-yphenols may contribute to the normalization of clinical parameters such as blood pressure, glycemic control, lipid profiles, and body weight-factors intricately linked to cardiovascular risk.