[Omeo33] Art 0957 - J Biol Science, 2008, 8 (2), 242-247

[Gino Santini]

Phytotherapy in Cardiovascular Diseases: From Ethnomedicine to 
Evidence Based Medicine
Ovidiu Burta, Felicia Tirlea, Olivia Ligia Burta, Syed Minnatullah Qadri

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.

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