REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
This article is part of the Research TopicTraditional medicine inspired drug development against central nervous system (CNS) disordersView all 3 articles
Selected Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions for Post-Stroke Cerebral Edema: A Review Integrating Clinical Evidence and Mechanistic Insights
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Third School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital Department of Neurology, Hangzhou, China
- 3Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Affiliated Third Hospital, Hangzhou, China
- 4Department of Neurology, Tiantai People' s Hospital of Zhejiang Province (Tiantai Branch of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital ), Hangzhou Medical College, Taizhou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Stroke is a leading cause of global death and disability. Post-stroke cerebral edema significantly worsens neurological outcomes. While conventional therapies face safety limitations, selected traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) interventions offer a potential alternative. Aim of the study: This narrative review aims to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM interventions for post-stroke cerebral edema and elucidate their potential mechanisms based on experimental evidence. Materials and methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubM ed, Web of Science, and other databases using keywords related to stroke, cere bral edema, and TCM interventions. Studies were screened according to predefi ned inclusion criteria to ensure methodological rigor. Results: Clinical and preclinical studies indicate that TCM interventions can re duce cerebral edema volume, improve neurological outcomes, and exhibit good safety. These effects may be associated with modulation of ion homeostasis an d aquaporins, neuroinflammatory inhibition, blood-brain barrier protection, oxida tive stress reduction, and apoptosis suppression. Conclusion: Selected TCM interventions show promise for post-stroke cerebral edema. Their clinical experience and mechanistic insights provide a valuable foundation for future research and drug development.
Keywords: Stroke, cerebral edema, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Safety, Botanical drug
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Jin, Chen, Wang and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jian Wu, archon0902@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.