Hypertension poses a significant global health burden due to its prevalence and serves as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction and renal dysfunction. Current clinical guidelines emphasize pharmacological management and lifestyle modifications. Despite the availability of effective pharmacological therapies, including diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, hypertension control remains suboptimal due to side effects, limited patient adherence, and the inability of single-target drugs to address the multifaceted nature of the disease. This has fuelled interest in herbal therapies as safer and more holistic alternatives, leveraging the therapeutic potential of plant-derived phytoconstituents. Medicinal plants are rich in bioactive phytoconstituents such as flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, coumarins, tannins, phenolic acids, and terpenes. These compounds exhibit diverse antihypertensive effects, including ACE inhibition, calcium channel blockade, vasodilation, diuretic action, and antioxidant activity. Flavonoids enhance nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, improving endothelial function and reducing vascular resistance. Alkaloids modulate calcium channels and sympathetic activity, while phenolic acids and terpenes exhibit RAAS modulation and oxidative stress reduction. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of these phytoconstituents in treating hypertension via various mechanisms. Advancements in research have highlighted the potential of these compounds as adjuvant therapies, offering synergistic effects when combined with standard antihypertensive treatments. Such combinations may reduce the required doses of synthetic drugs, minimize side effects, and enhance patient compliance.
Gupta et al. (Wed,) studied this question.