The
food additive lauryl
gallate (LG, E312) is a molecule with
antioxidant and hydrophobic properties which has also been shown to exert antibacterial, antiviral and anti-tumoral effects. Here, the inventors show that LG at a low concentration has the ability to spontaneously induce washed
human platelet shape change, filopodia emission, granule
secretion,
phosphatidylserine expression and aggregation. LG was able to activate
intracellular signaling pathways including Akt, p38MAP-
kinase and
calcium response and to trigger activation of the αIIbβ3
integrin. LG also significantly potentiated
platelet aggregation induced by low doses of collagen or
thrombin receptor agonist peptide. Consistent with this, low doses of LG added to
human blood promoted a strong
platelet thrombotic response under
arterial flow on a collagen matrix. As shown by
electron microscopy, at a
high concentration, LG induced a dramatic
platelet membrane modification associated with
calcium influx and a slow
platelet aggregation response. Finally, a local flash-application of LG efficiently decreased the
tail bleeding in rats suggesting that this compound has the potential to act as a hemostatic. Overall, the results indicate that the
food additive LG, possibly through its capacity to modify membrane lateral organization, has pro-aggregant and antihemorrhagic properties.