Antiplatelet and antithrombotic activity of indole-3-carbinol in vitro and in vivo.

Indole-3-carbinol, a natural compound found in cruciferous vegetables, is known to have anticancer activity. In the present study, the antiplatelet and antithrombotic activities of indole-3-carbinol were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Indole-3-carbinol significantly inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation in human platelet rich plasma (PRP) in a concentration-dependent manner. Indole-3-carbinol significantly inhibited fibrinogen binding to the platelet surface glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GP IIb/IIIa) receptor by flow cytometric analysis. In addition, the levels of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in collagen stimulated PRP were significantly inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by indole-3-carbinol. Furthermore, indole-3-carbinol dose-dependently suppressed the death of mice with pulmonary thrombosis induced by intravenous injection of collagen and epinephrine. These results suggest that indole-3-carbinol can be a potent antithrombotic agent with antiplatelet activity through the inhibition of GP IIb/IIIa receptor and thromboxane B2 formation. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.