The more effective treatment of atrial fibrillation applying the natural compounds; as NADPH oxidase and ion channel inhibitors

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that occurs because of several different risk factors, e.g., valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, age >= 75 years, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. One key risk factor that results in AF, is oxidative stress. Evidence suggests that there is a correlation between oxidative processes and the genesis of AF. Oxidative stress occurs when the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase due to excessive activity of enzymes including NADPH oxidase (NOX) and xanthine oxidase; or its degradation decrease by dysfunctional antioxidant enzyme systems, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Afterwards, elevated ROS may shift ion channel activity to increase AF susceptibility. The outbreak of AF continues to grow. Unfortunately, current treatment strategies may have limited efficacy or adverse effects. On the other hand, the inhibition of ROS formation and alteration of ion channel activity could be important therapeutic targets for prevention or treatments of AF. Additionally, many studies have been shown that several natural compounds have the ability to inhibit NADPH oxidases directly. This review focuses on natural compounds which specially inhibit NOX isoforms and have direct effects on ion channels, suggesting these compounds can be helpful in AF treatment.