Evidenced-based Phytotherapy Overview: Protective Role of Diverse Bioactive Phytochemicals in Myocardial ischemia through Pharmacodynamics and Molecular Mechanisms

Abstract During the last decades, the rise in the number of patients with Cardiovascular Disease (CVDs), a class of chronic disease including Myocardial Iinfarction (MI) has threatened the healthcare system all over the world largely due to increased mortality. Thus, emphasizing the urgent need for an efficient drug without any deleterious adverse side effects. Presently used synthetic drugs clinically in the treatment of CVDs, especially MI do provide a good chance of survival but are associated with adverse side effects and are costly. Hence, the demand to search for safer, effective, and natural products from plants is increasing. Plants are rich in biochemicals, which are secondary metabolites (comprised of polyphenols, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and many more) also called phytochemicals, possessing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antilipidemic, and many other diverse biological activities that may be useful for the prevention and/or treatment of MI. However, many bioactive extracts lack much-needed pre-clinical pharmacological, toxicological, as well as phytochemical data. Some of these phytochemicals may be useful and play a prominent role in cardioprotective activity either prophylactically or as a complementary medicine or adjuvant along with currently used clinical drugs. The present review addresses the role of different bioactive herbal extracts and several types of phytochemicals in the protection of MI along with their effects on hemodynamics, biochemical markers, and molecular mechanism(s) of action. It also presents future perspectives and novel approaches for the development of evidence-based new-generation cardioprotective medicines of plant origin.