AUTHOR=Li Jingjing , Li Renkai , Wu Xiaoping , Zheng Chengwen , Shiu Polly Ho-Ting , Rangsinth Panthakarn , Lee Simon Ming-Yuen , Leung George Pak-Heng 

TITLE=An Update on the Potential Application of Herbal Medicine in Promoting Angiogenesis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.928817

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.928817

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=Angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries from pre-existing vascular networks, plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes. The use of pro-angiogenic agents has been proposed as an attractive approach for promoting wound healing and treating vascular insufficiency-related problems, such as ischemic heart diseases and stroke, which are the leading causes of death worldwide. Traditional herbal medicine has a long history and is considered effective and safe, although there is still a need for more in-depth study and evidence-based confirmation from controlled and validated trials. A growing number of in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that herbal medicines and their bioactive ingredients exert pro-angiogenic activity. The most frequently studied pro-angiogenic phytochemicals include ginsenosides from Panax notoginseng; astragalosides and calycosin from Radix Astragali; salvianolic acid B from Salvia miltiorrhiza; paeoniflorin from Radix Paeoniae; ilexsaponin A1 from Ilex pubescens; ferulic acid from Angelica sinensis; and puerarin from Radix puerariae. This review summarises the progression of research about these phytochemicals, especially those related to their pro-angiogenic mechanisms and applications in ischemic diseases, tissue repairing and wound healing. In addition, an outline of their limitations and the challenges during drug development is also presented.