Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I

The use of herbal therapies for treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases is increasing. Plants contain a bounty of phytochemicals that have proven to be protective by reducing the risk of various ailments and diseases. Indeed, accumulating literature provides the scientific evidence and h...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sara eAl Disi, M. Akhtar eAnwar, Ali Hussein Eid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2016-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Pharmacology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphar.2015.00323/full
_version_ 1818289972328792064
author Sara eAl Disi
M. Akhtar eAnwar
Ali Hussein Eid
Ali Hussein Eid
author_facet Sara eAl Disi
M. Akhtar eAnwar
Ali Hussein Eid
Ali Hussein Eid
author_sort Sara eAl Disi
collection DOAJ
description The use of herbal therapies for treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases is increasing. Plants contain a bounty of phytochemicals that have proven to be protective by reducing the risk of various ailments and diseases. Indeed, accumulating literature provides the scientific evidence and hence reason d’etre for the application of herbal therapy in relation to cardiovascular diseases. Slowly, but absolutely, herbal remedies are being entrenched into evidence-based medical practice. This is partly due to the supporting clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The rationale for this expanding interest and use of plant based treatments being that a significant proportion of hypertensive patients do not respond to Modern therapeutic medication. Other elements to this equation are the cost of medication, side-effects, accessibility and availability of drugs. Therefore, we believe it is pertinent to review the literature on the beneficial effects of herbs and their isolated compounds as medication for treatment of hypertension, a prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Our search utilized the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases, and the criterion for inclusion was based on the following keywords and phrases: hypertension, high blood pressure, herbal medicine, complementary and alternative medicine, nitric oxide, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, hydrogen sulfide, nuclear factor kappa-B, oxidative stress and epigenetics/epigenomics. Each of the aforementioned keywords was co-joined with plant or herb in question, and where possible with its constituent molecule(s). In this first of a two-part review, we provide a brief introduction of hypertension, followed by a discussion of the molecular and cellular mechanisms. We then present and discuss the plants that are most commonly used in the treatment and management of hypertension.
first_indexed 2024-12-13T02:20:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-b5a8f127cd024432a12af23d573f2f33
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1663-9812
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-13T02:20:46Z
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Pharmacology
spelling doaj.art-b5a8f127cd024432a12af23d573f2f332022-12-22T00:02:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122016-01-01610.3389/fphar.2015.00323172320Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part ISara eAl Disi0M. Akhtar eAnwar1Ali Hussein Eid2Ali Hussein Eid3Qatar UniversityQatar UniversityQatar UniversityAmerican University of BeirutThe use of herbal therapies for treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases is increasing. Plants contain a bounty of phytochemicals that have proven to be protective by reducing the risk of various ailments and diseases. Indeed, accumulating literature provides the scientific evidence and hence reason d’etre for the application of herbal therapy in relation to cardiovascular diseases. Slowly, but absolutely, herbal remedies are being entrenched into evidence-based medical practice. This is partly due to the supporting clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The rationale for this expanding interest and use of plant based treatments being that a significant proportion of hypertensive patients do not respond to Modern therapeutic medication. Other elements to this equation are the cost of medication, side-effects, accessibility and availability of drugs. Therefore, we believe it is pertinent to review the literature on the beneficial effects of herbs and their isolated compounds as medication for treatment of hypertension, a prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Our search utilized the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases, and the criterion for inclusion was based on the following keywords and phrases: hypertension, high blood pressure, herbal medicine, complementary and alternative medicine, nitric oxide, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, hydrogen sulfide, nuclear factor kappa-B, oxidative stress and epigenetics/epigenomics. Each of the aforementioned keywords was co-joined with plant or herb in question, and where possible with its constituent molecule(s). In this first of a two-part review, we provide a brief introduction of hypertension, followed by a discussion of the molecular and cellular mechanisms. We then present and discuss the plants that are most commonly used in the treatment and management of hypertension.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphar.2015.00323/fullHerbal MedicineHypertensionInflammationNitric OxideOxidative Stressepigenetics
spellingShingle Sara eAl Disi
M. Akhtar eAnwar
Ali Hussein Eid
Ali Hussein Eid
Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
Frontiers in Pharmacology
Herbal Medicine
Hypertension
Inflammation
Nitric Oxide
Oxidative Stress
epigenetics
title Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
title_full Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
title_fullStr Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
title_full_unstemmed Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
title_short Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I
title_sort anti hypertensive herbs and their mechanisms of action part i
topic Herbal Medicine
Hypertension
Inflammation
Nitric Oxide
Oxidative Stress
epigenetics
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphar.2015.00323/full
work_keys_str_mv AT saraealdisi antihypertensiveherbsandtheirmechanismsofactionparti
AT makhtareanwar antihypertensiveherbsandtheirmechanismsofactionparti
AT alihusseineid antihypertensiveherbsandtheirmechanismsofactionparti
AT alihusseineid antihypertensiveherbsandtheirmechanismsofactionparti