The Effect of Dietary Polyphenols on Vascular Health and Hypertension: Current Evidence and Mechanisms of Action Grosso, Giuseppe Forbes Hernández, Tamara Yuliett Quiles Morales, José Luis Polyphenols Flavonoids Phenolic acids Hypertension Blood pressure Endothelial The study was a part of the ABIOCOR (Role of dietary antioxidants and biofortification of vegetable crops for human health) project funded by the "Piano di incentivi per la ricerca di Ateneo 2020/2022" of the University of Catania, Italy (G.G., M.L., F.G.). The figures have been generated by using Servier Medical Art available at smart.servier.com. The aim of this review was to explore existing evidence from studies conducted on humans and summarize the mechanisms of action of dietary polyphenols on vascular health, blood pressure and hypertension. There is evidence that some polyphenol-rich foods, including berry fruits rich in anthocyanins, cocoa and green tea rich in flavan-3-ols, almonds and pistachios rich in hydroxycinnamic acids, and soy products rich in isoflavones, are able to improve blood pressure levels. A variety of mechanisms can elucidate the observed effects. Some limitations of the evidence, including variability of polyphenol content in plant-derived foods and human absorption, difficulty disentangling the effects of polyphenols from other dietary compounds, and discrepancy of doses between animal and human studies should be taken into account. While no single food counteracts hypertension, adopting a plant-based dietary pattern including a variety of polyphenol-rich foods is an advisable practice to improve blood pressure. 2022-03-23T12:57:15Z 2022-03-23T12:57:15Z 2022-01-27 journal article Grosso, G... [et al.]. The Effect of Dietary Polyphenols on Vascular Health and Hypertension: Current Evidence and Mechanisms of Action. Nutrients 2022, 14, 545. [https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14030545] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/73661 10.3390/nu14030545 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ open access Atribución 3.0 España MDPI