Efficacy and safety of oral Panax notoginseng saponins for unstable angina patients: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Phytomedicine. 2018 Aug 1;47:23-33. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2018.04.044. Epub 2018 Apr 18. . Duan L1, Xiong X2, Hu J1, Liu Y2, Wang J3. Author information 1 Graduate School, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 11 North Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China; Department of Cardiology, Guang' An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, No. 5 Bei xiange, Xicheng District, Beijing 100029, China. 2 Department of Cardiology, Guang' An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, No. 5 Bei xiange, Xicheng District, Beijing 100029, China. 3 Department of Cardiology, Guang' An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, No. 5 Bei xiange, Xicheng District, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: wangjiedoctor2015@163.com. Abstract BACKGROUND: Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) is one of the most important active ingredients in Panax notoginseng, which plays an important role against cardiovascular diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). METHODS: This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. We searched the following databases from their inception to February 2017: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE Database, WHO ICTRP, CNKI, WANFANG, VIP and SinoMed. All the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on PNS in patients with unstable angina (UA) which meet the standard were included. RESULT: Seventeen studies were included in this systemic review. The included studies indicated that PNS has promising therapeutic effects on reduction of the primary end point [RR 0.05 (95% CI -0.07, -0.02); P < 0.001], electrocardiography (ECG) [RR 0.32 (95% CI 0.23, 0.46); P < 0.001], the frequency and duration of angina attacks [MD -1.88 (95% CI -2.03, -1.72); P < 0.001], and dosage of nitroglycerin [MD -1.13 (95% CI -1.70, -0.56); P < 0.001] of UA patients. Adverse events were described 9 included RCTs. CONCLUSION: Oral PNS could reduce the end point, and improve the ECG, the frequency and duration of angina pectoris, dosage of nitroglycerin and lipids in UA patients. And the results indicated oral PNS is safe up to now. However, we need more multi-centre, large-sample, high-quality RCTs to provide high-quality evidence. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH. KEYWORDS: Efficacy; Panax notoginseng saponins; Safety; Systematic review; Unstable angina PMID: 30166105 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2018.04.044 [Indexed for MEDLINE]