Review highlights Anak Dalam antihypertensive plant knowledge

A new review in Drug Design, Development and Therapy maps 34 medicinal plants reportedly used by the Anak Dalam tribe in Jambi, Indonesia, for hypertension and highlights nine as the most frequently cited: Curcuma longa, Allium sativum, Morinda citrifolia, Citrus aurantiifolia, Apium graveolens, Averrhoa bilimbi, Orthosiphon aristatus, Annona muricata, and Zingiber officinale. The paper, published May 15, 2026, draws on Indonesia’s RISTOJA dataset and broader literature to argue that these plants may hold pharmacological promise as culturally accepted alternatives or complements to conventional antihypertensive therapy, largely because of reported antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory, diuretic, and ACE-inhibitory effects. (dovepress.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this isn’t a clinical practice paper, but it is a useful reminder that ethnobotanical knowledge continues to shape how communities think about chronic disease management and “natural” therapeutics. Reviews like this can help clinicians anticipate questions from pet parents about plant-based cardiovascular products, while also underscoring a key evidence gap: global literature supports traditional antihypertensive plant use as a research lead, but experts consistently note that validation, standardization, toxicology, dosing, and clinical testing are still needed before these remedies can be treated as reliable therapeutic substitutes. (sciencedirect.com)

What to watch: The next step is whether any of these candidate plants move from ethnobotanical review into standardized preclinical and clinical development, with clearer safety, interaction, and formulation data. (dovepress.com)