A Review on Thrombolysis Enhancing Indian Edible Plants

Impaired thrombolysis is one of the causes of the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The synthetic thrombolytic agents such as streptokinase, urokinase and antistreplase have their own side effects. Plants are always considered as safe and cost-effective therapeutic agents. Dietary therapeutics is an emerging branch for the prevention and treatment of several ailments. The present article compiles 43 edible plants which have shown in vitro thrombolytic potential and are also employed in the diets of several ethnic communities in India. Among these, Bauhinia purpurea and Baccaurea ramiflora are two plants having more than 70% in vitro clot lysis potential; Coccinia grandis, Curcuma longa, Cyperus rotundus, and Typha domingensis have 50-70% thrombolytic activity; and the rest of the plants have 11-49% thrombolytic activity. These 43 plants also include spices and condiments such as Turmeric, Black pepper, Indian Bayleaf, Coriander and Ginger, which affirms the traditional saying of using food as medicine. Besides, these edible plants also possess various phyto-constituents and health-beneficial pharmacological activities. If these plants could be incorporated into a routine diet, it might be possible to prevent or delay the onset of CVD. However, detailed studies are required to evaluate the pattern of CVD in ethnic communities consuming such plants, as well as systematic clinical trials are warranted to investigate the thrombolytic efficacy of these plants.