Volume 155, Issue 2, 11 September 2014, Pages 1029–1045
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Terminalia arjuna
(Roxb.) Wight & Arn. is one of the most popular and beneficial
medicinal plants in indigenous system of medicine for the treatment of
cardiovascular diseases. This comprehensive review provides latest
updates on traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacological and
toxicological data, clinical efficacy and safety of Terminalia arjuna
as well as outlined strategies for future research and development to
scientifically validate the therapeutic potential of this plant.
Materials and methods
Information about Terminalia arjuna was collected via
a systematic electronic and library search of various indexed and
non-indexed journals, some local books and varied articles published on
ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and traditional uses. Various
pre-clinical (2000–2014) and clinical studies (1990–2014) have also been
considered regarding efficacy and safety profile of Terminalia arjuna.
Results
Evidence from various in vitro, in vivo and clinical trials reveal the pleiotropic effects of Terminalia arjuna
such as anti-atherogenic, hypotensive, inotropic, anti-inflammatory,
anti-thrombotic and antioxidant actions for treatment of various
cardiovascular disorders. It is clearly documented that this plant has a
good safety profile when used in conjunction with other conventional
drugs. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the exact molecular
mechanism of its action, appropriate form of drug administration,
whether whole crude drug or aqueous or alcoholic extract should be used,
toxicological studies and its interaction with other drugs.
Conclusions
In conclusion, this review highlights the importance as well as pleiotropic actions and functional aspects of Terminalia arjuna
especially in cardiovascular diseases. Though, various pharmacological
studies and clinical trials support its benefit in the CVD as per
traditional use, new clinical trials using more rigorous state of the
art technology and in a larger population setup are warranted to assess
the traditional putative efficacy of Terminalia arjuna.
Graphical abstract
Chemical compounds studied in this article
- Arjunolic Acid (PubChem CID: 73641);
- Arjungenin (PubChem CID: 12444386);
- Luteolin (PubChem CID: 5280445);
- Arjunolone (PubChem CID: 14034821);
- Gallic Acid (PubChem CID: 370);
- Ellagic Acid (PubChem CID: 5281855);
- Arjunic acid (PubChem CID: 15385516);
- Arjunglucoside I (PubChem CID: 49768307);
- Arjunten (PubChem CID: 3052779);
- Cyanidin (PubChem CID: 128861)
Keywords
- Coronary artery disease;
- Terminalia arjuna;
- Cardio-protective;
- Antioxidant;
- Anti-inflammatory;
- Anti-atherogenic
- Correspondence
to: Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Research
Block ‘B’, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
(PGIMER), Chandigarh-160012, India. Tel.:
+91 172 2747585x5235; fax: +91 172 2744401.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
