Review of Jian Ling Decoction Efficacy for
Treating Hypertension Shows Inconclusive but Potentially Promising Results
Hypertension is a massive public
health issue today. It leads to increased risk for cardiovascular and renal
disease, and is currently ranked as a leading risk factor for mortality
globally despite being largely preventable. It is thus vital to develop
effective treatments for hypertension to relieve symptoms early. In East Asia,
practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine often prescribe Jian Ling
Decoction (JLD), a mixture of eight common herbs, to treat essential
hypertension.
Recent trials have suggested that JLD may effectively
relieve hypertension symptoms, but these trials are small and their results are
often unclear or inconclusive. A recent study published in the British Journal
of Medicine (BMJ) has compiled a comprehensive review of many trials to better
evaluate the overall efficacy of JLD as a hypertension treatment.
This study reviewed ten randomized
controlled trials with 655 participants total. Trials were only included in
this review if they focused on patients who met the diagnostic criteria for
essential hypertension, and if they tested the effects of JLD against the
effects of another drug for hypertension treatment. JLD produced no serious
side effects in patients in any of these trials.
After compiling the results of all
these trials, researchers found some evidence to suggest that JLD can greatly
reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients, but this
result was only significant in trials where JLD was combined with an existing
hypertension treatment in the experimental group. Trial results also suggested
that JLD may improve long term quality of life in hypertensive patients.
Overall, though results were inconclusive, there is some evidence that JLD may
ameliorate certain hypertension symptoms and future studies are needed to
explore these findings further.
This study was not without
limitations. The trials looked at were varied in their methods and scope, and
they often had small sample sizes. The number of trials reviewed was also
fairly small. This review is still important, however, as it paves the way for
further research into the potential efficacy of JLD and explores the vital
issue of treating hypertension globally.
BMJ Open.
2015;5:e006502 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006502
Caroline
Russell-Troutman is the 2014-2015 Research Highlights Editor.
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