MEDICINAL PLANTS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO TREAT HYPERTENSION: STUDIES THAT WERE DONE IN THE LAST DECADE

© 2020 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.Hypertension or high blood pressure is a prevalent condition in the world. According to the World Health Organization, one out of five people is hypertensive. There are several drugs to treat hypertension, among them, vasorelaxants, diuretics, calcium modulators, and inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme are commonly used. The angiotensinconverting- enzyme is a key part of the system renin-angiotensin. The main role of this enzyme is to hydrolyze Angiotensin 1 into Angiotensin 2; the last is bond to blood vessel receptors causing vasoconstriction, then hypertension. Inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme are very effective, however, they present adverse effects such as cough. To substitute inhibitors, several plant extracts containing diverse phytochemicals have been proved. This book chapters focused on the description of medicinal plants with inhibitory activity of the angiotensinconverting enzyme. Besides, plant extracts have been proved as vasorelaxants. The potential of plant extracts for the treatment of hypertension is continuously studied, and the possibility to find new hypertensive drugs is continuously increasing.

MEDICINAL PLANTS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO TREAT HYPERTENSION: STUDIES THAT WERE DONE IN THE LAST DECADE Book in Scopus