An Ethno Botanical Review on Medicinal Plants Used for the Management of Hypertension

Abstract

Hypertension has become one of the most principal growing health problems in developing countries, and is an important cause of cardiovascular death in the world. It is also called the silent killer as it usually shows no direct symptoms and many people die of the disease without understanding its. Despite their availability and effectiveness, the conventional drugs used for the treatment of hypertension have caused adverse side effects and increased the risks of developing new diseases. Herbal medicines, therefore, are gaining great demand and more importance in the treatment of hypertension because of their wide biological and medicinal activities, higher safety margins and lesser cost. Accordingly this review article mainly focuses on medicinal plants used for the management of hypertension in Ethiopia and provides a list of sixty six anti-hypertensive plants obtained from various sources. Furthermore, the review briefly describes the photochemistry and pharmacological properties of Moringa stenopetala, Thymus serrulatus, Thymus schimperi, Syzygium guineense and Calpurnea aurea. The purpose of this review is to create baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical investigations involving traditional medicinal plants used for treating hypertension and to preserve the traditional knowledge.

Possible Tracheal Relaxant and Antimicrobial Effects of the Essential Oil of Ethiopian Thyme Species (Thymus serrulatus Hochst. ex Benth.): A Multiple Mechanistic Approach

“…This study attempted to investigate the possible therapeutic uses of T. serrulatus essential oil in hyperactive airways disorders and its effectiveness against related microbial infections (Meresa et al, 2017). For this purpose, T. serrulatus essential oil extracted by hydro-distillation was tested on isolated guinea-pig tracheal tissues mounted in organ bath with physiological buffer and carbogen.…”

“…T. serrulatus is an endemic medicinal plant traditionally used for various disease conditions including flue (Meresa et al, 2017) and cough (Melka et al, 2016). In various scientific studies the plant has been found active against various bacterial and fungal strains (Damtie and Mokonen, 2016), possess diuretic and antihyperlipidemic (Melka et al, 2016;Getachew, 2018).…”

Technical Report on the notification of leaf powder of Moringa stenopetala as a traditional food from a third country pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283

“…Phytochemical screening tests reported the presence of alkaloids, saponins, polyphenols, coumarins, anthraquinones, tannins, phytosterols and cardiac glycosides in either aqueous or ethanol extracts or infusion of M. stenopetala leaves (Meresa et al, 2017;Fekadu et al, 2017;Geleta et al, 2016b). Toma et al (2014) and Melesse et al (2017) also reported the presence of condensed tannins in either ethanol extracts or dried leaves of M. stenopetala (i.e.…”

Protective Effect of Thymus serrulatus Essential Oil on Cadmium-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats, through Suppression of Oxidative Stress and Downregulation of NF-κB, iNOS, and Smad2 mRNA Expression

“…Thymus serrulatus Hochst. Ex Benth (family Lamiaceae) grows in Ethiopia and has traditionally been used to treat influenza [21] and cough [22]. T. serrulatus is a much-branched perennial subshrub that grows in the Afromontane and Afroalpine zones of Ethiopia and Eritrea [23].…”