Research J. Pharm. and Tech.

13(7): July 2020

ISSN 0974-3618 (Print) www.rjptonline.org

0974-360X (Online)

REVIEW ARTICLE

A Critical Review on Traditional Medicines, Ayurvedic Herbs and fruits in

Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases
Dr. P. K. Kumar, K. Govindasamy*, Dr. G. Kumaresan, N. Sundar Raj
Department of Physical Education, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
*Corresponding Author E-mail: govindasamyk017@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:
In a survey conducted by Global Burden of Disease Study in the year 2010 it was found that the majority causes
of death (around 29.6%) worldwide are due to CVDs. It is also predicted with the current growing rate that by
the year 2030 the estimated deaths due to cardiac stroke will be more than 24 million of the world’s population.
In this review, we have studied a lot of clinical trials and research papers which contribute to research findings
and prove the benefits of usage of ayurvedic remedies since ages, medicinal herbs used by tribes, locals, vaidya’s
and aryurvedic physicians on patients suffering from CAD. On a routine basis a lot of medicine shave been
consumed by patients for treating chronic conditions of cardiovascular diseases and its associated complications.
There is no denying of the fact that the herbal medicines, ayurvedic remedies and extracts have been a potential
source of treating health conditions since old times. According to a research by WHO it was quoted that 80% of
the population of world relies on natural products and traditional forms of medicines for treating ailments and
health conditions.

Graphical

KEYWORDS: Ayurveda, Medicinal Plants, coronary artery disorder, cardiovascular diseases, herbs, herbal
remedies, hypertension.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the mechanisms involved in the role of

Cardiovascular diseases are the prime cause of health
issues. On closely studying the epidemiological data’s it
was found that consumption of good quantity of fruits
and herbs was closely related to a decrease in the risk of
CVD. There are substantial experiments which prove
that the role of several fruits–avocado, blueberry,
hawthorn, apple, grapes and hawthorn plays a protective
role and cuts down the risks of heart related issues.
fruits acting as a cardio protective agent showed the
involvement of modulation in blood pressure, reduction
in the oxidative stress, reperfusion of injury, regulation
of the lipid metabolism, attenuation of injuries,
protection of the endothelial functions and suppression
of thrombosis. This review focuses on the discoveries
showcasing the uses of herbs and fruit’s in the treatment
of cardiovascular problems.

Received on 18.08.2019 Modified on 24.10.2019 Traditional medicines are based on utilization of natural
Accepted on 10.12.2019 © RJPT All right reserved products which are of great importance. Many forms of
Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2020; 13(7): 3480-3484.
DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2020.00617.4
medicines have been used by civilizations since a

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decades and are still very much in practice. Traditional Exclusion Criteria:
forms of medicines like – Ayurveda, Unani, traditional Papers presenting repetitive data were excluded.
Chinese medicine (TCM), Kampo, Traditional Korean Non- English papers were rejected from reviewing.
Medicine (TKM) have given beneficial results and are Journal papers presenting incomplete data’s were
valuable for the human benefits. excluded from the study.
Papers including synthetic medications were excluded
Coronary Artery Disease: from the review as it does not falls into the title of the
Throughput the world Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) is paper.
one of the major cause of premature death or even
disabilities. A huge percentage of the world’s population Ayurvedic medicine and Herbal Plants:
die from CVD’s annually as compared to other causes or In the traditional system of medication around 2000
conditions. Around 17.5 million of the people die from plants have been listed as herbs useful for treating
CVD yearly which is around 31% of the global death. cardiovascular problems. a comprehensive data has also
Out of all the cardiovascular diseases, CAD – coronary been documented in researches where people have been
artery disease is the most significant cause of mortality benefitted in conditions like CVDs – CAD,
worldwide with a record of 17.3 million out of the total hyperlipidemia, related complications, ischemic heart
of 17.5 million (total of CVD) deaths yearly. Keeping disease etc. [14,15] Plant based extracts have also been
the statistics in consideration of a total of 15% of deaths approved in many countries example Hypericum
are caused by CAD. perforatum , Plantago major and Matricaria chamomilla
have been legalized in france and St John’s wort,
In India CAD is the prominent cause of mortality with ginseng root have been approved in Germany for
11% mortality rates in urban India and around 5% in the treatment of cardiovascular problems [16]A lot of usage
rural areas. The spread of chronic diseases is increasing of herbs like Stephania tetrandra, Cratageus spp.,
worldwide very rapidly. By 2020 this will be a cause of Ginkgo biloba, Leonurus cardiaca, Aconitum spp.,
most quarters of deaths globally with around 71% of the Citrus paradisi, Hypericum perforatum, Ginseng,
deaths being caused by CHD. Using the globally Ephedra sinica, and Stephania tetrandra etc. has been
performed researches around 60% of the deaths by evident in many countries for treating CAD.
cardiovascular diseases will be in the developed nations.
Though Indian and China have lesser recorded Herbal medicines have been used for isolation of active
cardiovascular diseases when compared to other constituents and have been then commercially used for
economically developed countries in the world. [1-13] drug preparations. Example: digitoxin from foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea), ephedrine from ma-huang
METHODOLOGY: (Ephedra sinica), reserpine from snakeroot (Rauwolfia
CVD’s are a severe condition and this review has been serpentina), salicin from willow bark (Salix alba) etc.
performed to understand the implications of herbal are some of the herbal products which have been used
medicines and fruits on these conditions. While worldwide for treatment of CAD and other CVD’s [17]
performing the review a lot of research papers were
searched and collected from various databases including Salvia miltiorrhiza is a Chinese herbal medicine which is
PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Core, Science open, used popularly in the treatment of cardiovascular
Directory of open access journals, Google Scholar, Pub disease. It has shown reliefs in researches by relieving
Med, Science Open, Shodhganga, and World Wide the artery circulation, restraining cell apoptosis a
Science. The keyword searched for the study were reduction in ROS production and protecting heart against
“Ayurveda”, “herbal medicine”, “herbs”, any kind of ischemia or reperfusion injury. [17-25]
“Cardiovascular Disease”, “Coronary Artery Disease”. A
total of 42 papers were selected for the review. Grapefruit or Citrus paradisi Macfad. belongs to the
family Rutaceae is a plant containing high amounts of
Inclusion Criteria: lycopene and pectins which help in losing weight and
The papers considered for the study were: improves the cardiovascular health. [26]
Published in reputed journals in English language
The data’s were complete and written clearly. Ginkgo biloba L. belongs to the family Ginkgoaceae is a
Papers related to researches or herbs and fruits were tree dating back to 200 million years ago. It is used
considered for the review. popularly in treating circulatory disorders, Alzheimer’s
Papers which were falling in the criteria of herbal disease and peripheral vascular disease. [27]
medications and plants were considered.

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Agathosma betulina belonging to the Rutaceae family is
commonly called as Buchu. The plant has been used
since centuries by South African people for treatment of
ailments. This has proved effective in treatment of
inflammation and also as a hypotensive agent. [28]
Allium sativum belonging to the family Liliaceae is
commonly called as Garlic. It has been proven by many
researches that the herb is useful in treatment of
hyperlipidemia by increasing the production of nitric
oxide hence leading to vasodilation and relaxation of
smooth muscles. A meta-analysis was performed which
demonstrated that the use of garlic lead to decrease in the
blood pressure in the patients who were suffering from
high systolic pressures [29] The herb has also shown
benefits and curable effects in patients who were
suffering form hypertension. [30] Anti-oxidative action
of garlic was also studied by taking twenty patients into
observations who were given preparations made of garlic
for a complete duration of two months. There was a
significant improvement in patients suffering from HTN
[31]
Artocarpus altilis belonging to the family Moraceae is
commonly called as Breadfruit. This herb is native to the
islands in western Pacific and to Malay Peninsula.
Studies have reported that the herbal extract prepared
from the leaves of Artocarpus altilis caused a reduction
in the phenylephrine tension which increased the aorta
rings by 15 to 35% in isolated aorta from guinea pig.
[32]

Table 1: Summary of some popular herbs used in ayurvedic medicines or as a whole for treating CAD [33, 34, 35]
Scientific name Common Name Family Ethnopharmacological use Reference
Convallaria majalis Lilly of the valley Asparagus Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure [33,34]
Selenicereus Night Cactaceae Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure [33,34]
grandiflorus blooming cereus
Storphantus preussi Strophanthus Apocynaceae Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure [33,34]
Fumaria officinalis Fumitory Papaveraceae. Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure [33,34]
Digitalis purpurea Foxglove Plantaginaceae Coronary Artery Disease, many Cardiovascular [35]
diseases

Table 2: Summary of traditional herbs used in treatment of Hypertension

S. No. Botanical Name Family Part Used Therapeutic Benefit Reference
1 Salvia sp Lamiaceae Ariel parts: Petals Lowering blood pressure [36]
2 Anethum graveolens Umbelliferae Aerial part Hypotensive [37]
3 Matricaria chamomilla Asteraceae Flowers Hypotensive [38]
4 Rumex pulcher L. Polygonaceae Roots Hypotensive [39]
5 Mentha longifolia Lamiaceae Flower Anti-Hypertensive [40]
6 Suaeda altissima Chenopodiaceae Leaf and Stalk Hypotensive [41]
7 Crataegus monogyna Rosaceae Flowers and Leaf Hypotensive [42]
8 Taxus baccata L. Taxaceae Leaf Hypotensive [42]
9 Berberis integrima Berberidaceae Leaf and stalk Hypotensive [37]
10 Olea europaea L Oleaceae Fruit Hypotensive [37]

clearly avoiding the arbitrary use of medications must be

strictly prohibited.

The increase in use of herbal medicines, interactions

between herbs and supplements if any must be given to
the patients to avoid any kind of complications as they
can be very critical. A lot of plants have been reported of
therapeutic effects like antioxidant effects, heart rate-
regulating, anti-clotting, hypotensive, influence
hypolipidemia, and in treatment of coronary artery
disease, CHF and other cardiovascular diseases.
a) Digitalis purpurea produces b) Rauwolfia serpentina produces
digitoxin digitoxin Reserpine
Figure 1: Plants used in treatment of Coronary artery diseases CONCLUSION:
Use of herbs since Vedic times and in medical
DISCUSSION: treatments for locals and tribal has been evident since the
Herbal medications are useful for treatment of heart beginning of civilization. Plant sources are useful in
diseases. But the training of patients to take a note of pharmacotherapy and are often used recommended to be
drug interactions if any must be taken into account and used in addition to exercises and even other forms of
medicines, commercial drug preparations or plant
extracts for effective and sustained relief. A lot plants
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have been useful in treating the cardiac ailments like 10. Srivastava, A.M.; Mohan, V.R.U.; Bachani, D. Obesity, Diabetes
and Cardiovascular Diseases in India: Public Health Challenges.
digitoxin from Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove), ephedrine
Current Diabetes Reviews. 2017; 13:65-80.
from Ephedra sinica (Ma-huang), reserpine from 11. Chauhan, A.S.; Mukherjee, K. Economic burden of coronary
Rauwolfia serpentina (Snakeroot), salicin (The source of heart disease in North India. Int J Non-Commun Dis. 2016; 1:18-
aspirin) from Salix alba (Willow bark) etc. 25.
Natural products have gained a wide popularity since
ages for the utility of the bio active compounds present
in them hence considerable attention must be given to
these herbs and they must be evaluated in comparison
with the synthetic medications. The adverse reactions
must be studied well and when found significantly low
they can be used as a therapy as well as a preventive
medication for cardio vascular problems.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
There is no conflicting data presented in this paper.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I am very thankful to my department and my supervisor
for encouraging me to perform an extensive review.
Contribution of Authors: Every author has significantly
contributed in documenting the review.
ABBREVIATIONS:
CVD: Cardiovascular diseases
CAD: Coronary artery disorder
HTN: Hypertension
CHD: Coronary heart disease
TKM: Traditional Korean Medicine
TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine
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