[The bioactivity of angiotensin II and the effects of related Chinese Herbs].
OBJECTIVE
To review the bioactivity of angiotensin II and the effects of Chinese herbs on it.


METHODS
The correlative documents published in recent years were summarized.


RESULTS
Angiotensin II plays an important role in the development of many diseases, such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, myocardial lesion due to ischemia and reperfusion, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, dysfunction of fibrinolytic system, thrombosis, renal failure etc. Some Chinese herbs inhibit the actions of angiotensin II.


CONCLUSIONS
Further researches must be done to investigate the bioactivity of angiotensin II and the effects of Chinese herbs on preventing the body tissue from being impaired by it.
Shen
Yun-hui
YH
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China.
Chen
Chang-xun
CX
D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000503:physiopathology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000503:physiopathology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D044139:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2 / Q000502:physiology
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D044139:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2; D000804:Angiotensin II