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Pulmonary hypertension is a serious and life-threatening disease of the pulmonary blood vessels that significantly reduces quality of life and places a heavy financial burden on patients and health systems. Although modern pharmacotherapy has advanced, the condition remains difficult to manage, prompting interest in complementary approaches such as traditional Chinese medicine.
Researchers conducted a systematic review of scientific literature published between January 2021 and August 2025, searching four major databases including PubMed and Web of Science. They focused on studies examining traditional Chinese medicine formulas, plant extracts, and isolated active compounds used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, analysing both their observed effects and their proposed biological mechanisms.
The review found that traditional Chinese medicine interventions — including classical and novel herbal formulas, ethanol and aqueous extracts, volatile oils, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids, and glycosides — act across multiple signalling pathways simultaneously. These include pathways governing inflammation, oxidative stress, abnormal cell proliferation and migration, blood vessel remodelling, and endothelial cell function. The most commonly used experimental models were monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in animals and oxygen-deprivation models in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells.
Conclusion: This review suggests that traditional Chinese medicine formulas, extracts, and active components demonstrate meaningful therapeutic potential for pulmonary hypertension and may serve as a promising complementary strategy alongside conventional treatment.
Source: Wang R, Wang Z, Weng Y et al. Journal of ethnopharmacology (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 41856389) · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2026.121545