Abstract:
The development of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disorders present a major
public health challenge in both developed countries and countries with emerging economies.
Hypertension and associated complications including stroke and myocardial infarction have
reached pandemic levels. Current management strategies of hypertension predominantly include
the utilization of pharmaceutical drugs which are often associated with undesirable side e ects.
Moreover, the drugs are often too expensive for populations from resource-limited Southern African
rural, and some urban, communities. As a result, most patients rely on ethno-medicinal plants for the
treatment of a variety of diseases including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The e ectiveness
of these plants in managing several cardiovascular diseases has been attributed to the presence
of bioactive phytochemical constituents. In this review, the treatment options that target the
renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in the management of hypertension were summarized, with special
emphasis on ethno-medicinal plants and their influence on the ACE1 RAS pathway. The dearth of
knowledge regarding the e ect of ethno-medicinal plants on the ACE2 pathway was also highlighted.
