The Effect of Cashew Nut on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (P06-117-19).
Mahboobi S.
Curr Dev Nutr. 2019 Jun 13;3(Suppl 1). pii: nzz031.P06-117-19. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzz031.P06-117-19.

Copper nanoparticles stabilized with cashew gum: Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity against 4T1 mouse mammary tumor cell line.
Amorim A, Mafud AC, Nogueira S, Jesus JR, Araújo AR, Plácido A, Brito Neta M, Alves MMM, Carvalho FAA, Rufino Arcanjo DD, Braun S, López MS, López-Ruiz B, Delerue-Matos C, Mascarenhas Y, Silva D, Eaton P, Almeida Leite JRS.
J Biomater Appl. 2019 May 1:885328219845964. doi: 10.1177/0885328219845964.

Protective Effect of Cashew Gum (Anacardium occidentale L.) on 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Intestinal Mucositis.
de Miranda JAL, Barreto JEF, Martins DS, de Souza Pimentel PV, da Silva Costa DV, E Silva RR, de Souza LKM, de Lima CNC, Rocha JA, de Freitas APF, da Silva DA, Scafuri AG, de Leitão RFC, de Castro Brito GA, Medeiros JVR, Cerqueira GS.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2019 Apr 3;12(2). pii: E51. doi: 10.3390/ph12020051.

Chemical Constituents of Anacardium occidentale as Inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi Sirtuins.
Matutino Bastos T, Mannochio Russo H, Silvio Moretti N, Schenkman S, Marcourt L, Gupta MP, Wolfender JL, Ferreira Queiroz E, Botelho Pereira Soares M.
Molecules. 2019 Apr 3;24(7). pii: E1299. doi: 10.3390/molecules24071299.

Nutritional quality of almond, canarium, cashew and pistachio and their oil photooxidative stability.
Bai SH, Brooks P, Gama R, Nevenimo T, Hannet G, Hannet D, Randall B, Walton D, Grant E, Wallace HM.
J Food Sci Technol. 2019 Feb;56(2):792-798. doi: 10.1007/s13197-018-3539-6.

Consumption of cashew nuts does not influence blood lipids or other markers of cardiovascular disease in humans: a randomized controlled trial.
Baer DJ, Novotny JA.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Feb 1;109(2):269-275. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy242.

Topical application of cashew gum or chlorhexidine gel reduces overexpression of proinflammatory genes in experimental periodontitis.
Ferreira-Fernandes H, Barros MAL, Souza Filho MD, Medeiros JVR, Vasconcelos DFP, Silva DA, Leódido ACM, Silva FRP, França LFC, Di Lenardo D, Yoshioka FKN, Rey JA, Burbano RR, Pinto GR.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 May 1;128:934-940. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.02.002.

Effect of anacardic acid against echinococcosis through inhibition of VEGF-induced angiogenesis.
Yuan M, Song X, Lv W, Xin Q, Wang L, Gao Q, Zhang G, Liao W, Lian S, Jing T.
Vet Res. 2019 Jan 14;50(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13567-019-0621-7.

Antibacterial activity of irradiated extracts of Anacardium occidentale L. on multiresistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus.
Dos Santos GHF, Amaral A, da Silva EB.
Appl Radiat Isot. 2018 Oct;140:327-332. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.07.035.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a plant cultivated with high economic value. The production and commercial exploitation of the fruits of Anacardium occidentale are important components of the agricultural sector in countries such as India, Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

In addition to the famous 'nut' cashew (actually fruit), the shell liquid can be used as a source of phenol for various industrial purposes (1) and its various biological properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant as well as insecticidal properties, they show a remarkable therapeutic potential thanks to anacardic acid, cardanol and cardanol (2).
Phytochemistry

The phytochemical composition of cashew juice (3) (mg / 100 g)

Bioactive compounds (mg / 100) RCAJ UNCAJ
Total vitamin C 86.22 ± 0.21 * 60.45 ± 0.55
Carotenoids 0.39 ± 0.02 0.21 ± 0.01
Phenolic total † 38.30 ± 1.78 * 14.84 ± 0.21
Anthocyanine 2.05 ± 0.03 * 0.69 ± 0.07
Flavonoids 3.92 ± 0.03 * 2.00 ± 0.17
Tannins
Dimerics 0.42 ± 0.07 0.27 ± 0.06
Oligomeric 0.34 ± 0.02 0.25 ± 0.01
Polymers 0.37 ± 0.06 0.24 ± 0.02

 It also has significant high levels of total phenols (38.3 mg GAE / 100 g of juice), anthocyanins (2.05 mg / 100 g of juice), yellow flavonoids (3.92 mg / 100 g of juice), Vitamin C (86 , 22 mg / 100 g of juice).

The cashew nut also produces an essential oil (4). It has a positive effect on the epithelium in general.

Cashew nut extracts have demonstrated positive properties for human health because they contain only the positive components, but this nut in its entirety has some contraindications. 

The FDA has not included cashews among the nuts approved for cardiovascular disease reduction because of their saturated fat content (5), and other studies have also not observed a positive influence of cashews (6).)

Cashew studies

References_______________________________________________________________________

(1) Oliveira M.S.C., Morais S.M., Magalhães D.V., Batista W.P., Vieira I.G.P., Craveiro A.A., Menezes J.E.S.A., Carvalho A.F.U., Lima G.P.G. Antioxidant, larvicidal and antiacetylcholinesterase activities of cashew nut shell liquid constituents. Acta Trop. 2010;117:165–170. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.08.003.

(2) Kubo I., Muroi H., Himejima M. Structure–Antibacterial activity relationships of anacardic acids. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1993;41:1016–1019. doi: 10.1021/jf00030a036.

(3) Anti-inflammatory and wound healing potential of cashew apple juice (Anacardium occidentale L.) in mice.
da Silveira Vasconcelos M, Gomes-Rochette NF, de Oliveira ML, Nunes-Pinheiro DC, Tomé AR, Maia de Sousa FY, Pinheiro FG, Moura CF, Miranda MR, Mota EF, de Melo DF.
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2015 Dec;240(12):1648-55. doi: 10.1177/1535370215576299. 

(4) Synthesis characterization and catalytic action of hexagonal gold nanoparticles using essential oils extracted from Anacardium occidentale.
Sheny DS, Mathew J, Philip D.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2012 Nov;97:306-10. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2012.06.009.

(5) Baer DJ, Novotny JA. Consumption of cashew nuts does not influence blood lipids or other markers of cardiovascular disease in humans: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Feb 1;109(2):269-275. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy242. 

Abstract. Background: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a qualified health claim for tree nuts and reduction of cardiovascular disease. However, cashews are excluded from that claim due to their content of saturated fats, which is predominantly stearic acid. Because stearic acid is neutral with respect to blood lipids, several studies have been conducted to test the effect of cashew nuts on blood lipids, and these studies have produced conflicting results....Conclusions: Consumption of 1.5 servings of cashew nuts/d, the amount associated with the FDA qualified health claim for tree nuts and cardiovascular disease, did not positively or adversely affect any of the primary risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02628171.

(6) Naghshi S, Sadeghian M, Nasiri M, Mobarak S, Asadi M, Sadeghi O. Association of Total Nut, Tree Nut, Peanut, and Peanut Butter Consumption with Cancer Incidence and Mortality: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Adv Nutr. 2021 Jun 1;12(3):793-808. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmaa152.