Abstract

Aim Background: Hypertension is surging around the world and negatively affecting lives and livelihoods along its way. This plight is felt especially hard by the world’s rural population in developing nations where many barriers to medical care exist. These barriers can exhibit themselves as monetary or distance barriers. In Pakistan, where barriers to medical care caused by remoteness and financial hardship are strong, people have drawn on traditional medicinal plants to treat this plight of hypertension.
Materials and Methods: In this review, we assess the interface between hypertension and plant-based medicine among a population with limited health care access. We queried the scientific databases of Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for the search terms: medicinal plants of Pakistan, ethnobotany of Pakistan, and ‘anti-hypertension plants of Pakistan’.
Results: This search revealed 114 species used to combat hypertension in Pakistan. It also showed how the majority of species are harvested from sustainable aerial or leaf plant parts. Conclusion: The promotion of cultivation and validation studies may prove promising for these remedies that people in need of health care turn to.

Key words: Hypertension; Medicinal plants; Anti-hypertensive activity; Traditional uses; Pakistan