# Legumes as Functional Food for Cardiovascular Disease
## 3 Legumes as Functional Food for Cardiovascular Diseases
### Soybean (Glycine Max L.)
#### 3.1.1 Benefits of Soybeans Relating to Cardiovascular Health
In canine failing hearts, there is a significant decrease of CPT-1 and medium chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) enzyme activity compared to normal hearts by 18% and 38%, respectively, as well as PPAR\(\alpha\) and RXR-alpha (RXR\(\alpha\)) [231]. In heart tissues, PPAR\(\alpha\) also significantly increase cardiac CPT-1 levels in humans with dilated cardiomyopathy compared to the control group [240]. Soybean fed pregnant rats showed increased PPAR\(\alpha\) transcription although having the same levels of PPAR\(\alpha\) translated products while decreasing ACC\(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) mRNA levels, body and liver weights, and levels of lipids and glycogen as compared to those fed with a casein-rich diet. It was opened that such reduction of the hepatic lipid concentrations in these soybean-fed rats was via the downregulation of the transcription and translation of these ACC genes rather than changes in their phosphorylation states leading to increased rates of \(\beta\)-oxidation and decreased lipogenesis [241]. Soy proteins also increased PPAR\(\gamma\), a key regulator of glucose homeostasis and adipogenesis that is required for normal adipocyte differentiation in the adipose tissue of Zucker diabetic fatty _fa/fa_ rats [242]. PPAR\(\gamma\) is involved in adipogenesis by regulating various genes including fatty acid-binding protein (FABP4) in adipocytes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and the fatty acid transporter and to maintain this adipocyte phenotype [243; 244; 245]. The great potential of soybean protein intake to reduce blood TC, LDL, and TAG levels [109] and coronary heart disease led the Food and Drug Administration of America (FDA) in 1999 to recommend the ingestion of 25 g per day [246] and was later adopted by other countries [247; 248; 218]. For example, in Asian populations, the consumption of 6g or more of soy proteins reduced TC and LDL levels as well as ischemic and cerebrovascular events [110]. Cardiovascular Benefits of Soybean 7S and 11S Globulin Proteins  
Soy proteins are predominantly the 7S \(\beta\)-conglycinin and 11S glycinin which collectively constitute 65-85% of total soybean proteins [129; 132] and were found to have hypocholesterolem, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial benefits. These storage proteins were found to exert hypocholesterolemogenic effects comparable to the commercially-available fenofibrate in rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet [133] and have an atheoprotective role [249]. [PERSON] et al., (2010) [133] found that diets supplemented with either 7S \(\beta\)-congplycinin or 11S glycinin (300 mg/kg/day) for 28 days were able to significantly reduce plasma cholesterol and TAG levels while increasing HDL-C concentrations compared to a hypercholesterol diet. However, these proteins vary in their contributions compared to the effect of a diet supplemented with fenofibrate (30 mg/kg/day). Both 7S and 11S globulins were able to reduce plasma cholesterol by 22.95% and 16% (\(p<0.01\)), respectively, but not as more as when the drug was used which was able to reduce cholesterol levels by 35.8% (\(p<0.001\)). The 7S \(\beta\)-congplycinin and 11S glycinin and the enriched diets were able to reduce plasma TAG levels by 34.98% (\(p<0.01\)) and 16.3% (\(p<0.05\)), respectively, but neither globulin was able to reduce TAG levels more than fenofibrate which could reduce plasma TAG levels by 45.7% (\(p<0.001\)). All three treatments were able to increase plasma HDL-C levels by 55.5%, 20.0%, and 95.5% for the 7S \(\beta\)-congplycinin, 11S glycinin, and fenofibrate diets, respectively, compared to the rats fed with a high cholesterol diet but the effect of the 11S glycinin group was determined to be not significant (\(p<0.05\)). The 7S \(\beta\)-congplycinin-fed rats showed decreased hepatic levels of TC and TAGs at 20.9% and 14.8%, respectively, while the 11S glycinin-fed rats showed decreased hepatic TAG levels (17.9%, \(p<0.001\)) but no significant change in TC levels compared to the hypercholesterol fed rats.