Objective: It has been suggested that certain foods of plant origin contain milligram-quantities of acetylsalicylate which could exert an anti-thrombotic effect. Acetylsalicylic acid prevents cardiovascular diseases through inhibition of platelet endoperoxide thromboxane production and platelet aggregation. We investigated whether a daily intake of 3 mg acetylsalicylic acid causes a measurable decrease of platelet cyclo-oxygenase activity assessed by in vitro thromboxane B2 production.
Design: We carried out a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study.
Subjects: Ten healthy volunteers (5 men, 5 women) aged 22 +/- 3 years (mean +/- s.d) participated in the study; there were no drop-outs.
Interventions: Participants took 3 mg/d of acetylsalicylic acid or a placebo for 2 weeks each. At the end of each treatment period venous blood was drawn, and platelet-rich plasma was stimulated with arachidonic acid.
Results: Treatment with acetylsalicylic acid caused a 39 +/- 8% decrease in maximal thromboxane B2 production (P = 0.000), which was independent of treatment order.
Conclusions: Quantitative data on acetylsalicylate in foods and the possible antithrombotic action of a diet rich in acetylsalicylate deserve closer investigation.