Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine

Chapter 3 / Botanical Medicine and CVD 27
3 Botanical Medicine
and Cardiovascular Disease
Tieraona Low Dog, MD
CONTENTS
ARTICHOKE (CYNARA SCOLYMUS)
BISHOP’S WEED (AMMI VISNAGA)
CARDIAC GLYCOSIDES
DANDELION (TARAXACUM OFFICINALE)
GARLIC (ALLIUM SATIVUM)
GINKGO (GINKGO BILOBA)
GUGGUL (COMMIPHORA MUKUL)
HAWTHORN (CRATAEGUS OXYACANTHA, C. LAEVIGATA,
AND C. MONOGYNA)
HORSE CHESTNUT (AESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM)
PLANT STEROLS
RAUWOLFIA (RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA)
RED YEAST RICE (MONASCUS PURPUREUS)
TEA (CAMELLIA SINENSIS)
REFERENCES
The role of plant medicine in the treatment of cardiovascular disorders
has been a long and distinguished one. Our first effective treatments
for hypertension and congestive heart failure (CHF) were derived from
plants. Plant sterols effectively reduce cholesterol and are now added to
food products as part of a heart-healthy dietary approach. Flavonoids,
which are responsible for the colors of flowers, fruit, and, occasionally,
plant leaves are believed to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease
(CAD) by inhibiting platelet aggregation, reducing injury from ischemia
From: Contemporary Cardiology
Complementary and Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Edited by: R. A. Stein and M. C. Oz © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
27