Phytotherapy in cardiovascular diseases: From ethnomedicine to evidence based medicine

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are now considered to be one of the major causes of mortality in the developed and developing world. With the advent of better diagnostic procedures and therapeutic strategies their management has become more efficient, yet the role of herbal and plant remedies is paramount in the developing and remote areas of the world. Phytotherapy or therapeutics using plants and herb based compounds or crude drugs are an indispensable part of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The benefits of most of these plants are controversial as their toxicology and pharmacological activities are not well studied and documented. However certain plants species like Ginko biloba and Crataegus have shown promise in experimental and clinical trials. In the present review, some anthropo-geographical and historical perspectives of phytotherapy are mentioned. Some important manifestations of cardiovascular pathology and their phytotherapy are reviewed. The holistic approach of phytotherapy and folkloric ethno medical practices indeed have opened new horizons for quality care in cardiovascular diseases. Phytotherapy and traditional medicine have proven their potential place in the modern and more skeptical evidence based medicine. © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information.