Medicinal plants and their interaction with drugs used to control systemic arterial hypertension

Abstract

Chronic diseases with evidence for systemic arterial hypertension are one of the main causes of mortality in the country. The treatment of these diseases is done through allopathic medicines and medicinal plants, and their association is increasingly frequent and thus also increases the risk of interactions. A literature review was carried out on the implications of the use of medicinal plants and their interaction with drugs used to control arterial hypertension, based on works published between 2014 and 2022, addressing the interactions between medicinal plants with popular knowledge and their drug interactions. The approached plants that showed interactions were Allium sativum L., Passiflora sp., Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia alba (Mill.), Citrus sp., Sechium edule and Alpinia zerumbet. The possible interactions of these plants with allopathic medicines were evaluated and it was observed that the main interactions are of the pharmacodynamic type, so caution is necessary when used concomitantly with other medicines or without guidance of a professional that can bring harm to health and decrease the effect of the drug on the body.