Dragon fruit (Hylocereus) and cactus pear (Opuntia) are cacti species that have been widely used globally as a reliable source of food as well as traditional folk remedies. They have become of scientific interest recently due to their high levels of bioactive phytochemical compounds, in particular betalains. Earlier systematic reviews have explored the impact of supplementation of these cactus species on obesity, type-2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk factors: body weight and composition, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure. However, effects on vascular health and endothelial function have yet to be reviewed. In order to address this gap in the literature, a systematic review has been conducted to evaluate the physiological effects of Hylocereus and Opuntia cacti on endothelial and vascular function in in vivo animal models and human studies. An electronic search was performed in the following databases: PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE (via Ovid), CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science®, and The Cochrane Library (CENTRAL). All journals were searched since inceptions up to January 2020 without language restriction. Outcomes of interest were blood pressure, arterial stiffness, vascular reactivity and biochemical markers of endothelial dysfunction. Two investigators independently performed the study selection and data extraction. From 394 references, only 16 studies (9 animal and 7 human) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Animal studies suggested a potential increase in vasodilation and serum nitric oxide and a reduction in vascular stiffness and blood pressure. The small number of human studies showed a reduction in heart rate as well as an increase in heart rate variability. Although these findings appear to indicate improvement in vascular health, there is a severe lack of robust, randomised human intervention studies to identify underlying mechanisms, optimal dose and long-term effects of cacti consumption.

中文翻译：

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富含甜菜碱的仙人掌（龙果和仙人掌梨）对内皮和血管功能的影响：对动物和人类研究的系统评价。

火龙果（Hylocereus）和仙人掌梨（Opuntia）是仙人掌种类，已在全球范围内广泛用作可靠的食物来源和传统民间疗法。由于其高水平的生物活性植物化学化合物，特别是甜菜碱，它们最近已引起科学兴趣。较早的系统评价已经探讨了补充这些仙人掌种类对肥胖，2型糖尿病和心血管危险因素的影响：体重和组成，血清甘油三酸酯，胆固醇，血糖和血压。然而，对血管健康和内皮功能的影响尚待审查。为了解决文献中的这一空白，已经进行了系统评价以评估Hylocereus和仙人掌仙人掌在体内动物模型和人体研究中对内皮和血管功能的影响。在以下数据库中进行了电子搜索：PubMed（MEDLINE），EMBASE（通过Ovid），CINAHL，Scopus，Web ofScience®和Cochrane图书馆（中央）。自成立至2020年1月，所有期刊均不受语言限制。感兴趣的结果是血压，动脉僵硬度，血管反应性和内皮功能障碍的生化标志物。两名研究者独立进行研究选择和数据提取。从394个参考文献中，只有16个研究（9个动物和7个人类）满足了入选标准。动物研究表明，血管舒张功能和血清一氧化氮含量可能增加，血管僵硬度和血压降低。少量的人类研究表明，心率降低以及心率变异性增加。尽管这些发现似乎表明血管健康有所改善，但仍然严重缺乏健壮，