The Effectiveness of Combined Herbal Therapy and Conventional Therapy on Hypertension: A Literature Review of Clinical Trials and Methodological Limitations
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Abstract
Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease and global mortality. Many pharmacological therapies are effective, but the side effects they cause encourage the search for alternatives. Combination with herbal therapy is believed to increase effectiveness and reduce side effects compared to monotherapy. This study was a systematic literature review that analyzed studies in the last five years from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Connected Papers. The inclusion criteria focused on peer-reviewed articles published between 2018–2023, written in English, involving adult human subjects with hypertension, and specifically evaluating combined herbal and conventional therapies. Exclusion criteria included animal studies, non-English articles, and reviews without original data. After the screening process, the 4 main articles were selected and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The combination of Cucumis sativus with Losartan, celery extract with Captopril as well as the combination of herbs such as garden cress, fenugreek, and black seed with metoprolol tartrate (MT) showed mixed results, some combinations providing better synergistic effects compared to the application of monotherapy. However, studies of Moringa oleifera with antihypertensive drugs showed no additional effects. The combination of herbal and pharmacological therapies has the potential to improve the effectiveness of hypertension treatment, but this review is limited by the small number of eligible studies, variability in sample sizes, heterogeneity of herbal preparations, and lack of standardized dosage across trials. Therefore, further large-scale clinical trials are required to confirm both safety and optimal efficacy.
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References
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