Ambulantná terapia 1/2008

PLANTS AND SUBSTANCES FOR TREATMENT OF PERIPHERAL AND CEREBRAL VASCULAR DISORDERS

Plants and substances of plant origin are also used for the treatment of peripheral and cerebral vascular disorders. Therapeutic effects of following plants are widely used: horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and garlic (Allium sativum). Substances of plant origin which are used are mainly escin and flavonoids (rutin, troxerutin, oxerutin, diosmin and hesperidin). Some of these substances are marketed as authorized drugs, some are available in community pharmacies as dietary supplements. Authorisation of most marketed drugs is based on small scale trials that showed efficacy against subjective symptoms rather than improvement of measurable parameters. Randomized studies with homogeneous data and performed on adequately large numbers of patients have been available particularly for diosmin/hesperidin, oxerutin and to some extent also for ginkgo.

Keywords: plants, venotonics, horse-chestnu, bilberry, ginkgo, garlic, escin, rutin, diosmin, hesperidin, troxerutin, oxerutin