title: Cardiovascular aspects of geriatric medicines in traditional Persian medicine; a review of phytochemistry and pharmacology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Geriatrics are a group of patients over 65 years and with multiple comorbidities and different functional impairments. Apart from decline in body mass, presence of exhaustion and general fatigue, an aged person may also suffer from various disorders. Approximately, around 30% of geriatric subjects have significant cardiovascular ailments. Apart from the intensive management of cardiovascular aspects in elderly, monitoring of the complementary cardiac medicine in those people should be received more attention.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  There are many management lines for a cardio-geriatric condition in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). Accordingly, this paper aimed to deal with those medicaments as well as evidence-based clinical aspects and phytochemistry.
  
  
  METHODS
  By searching through main pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine during 10th-18th centuries (A.D.), concurrently, natural medicines for geriatrics and remedies for cardiovascular ailments were derived. On the other side, related phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of those remedies were highlighted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 38 cardiovascular and 34 geriatric medicaments were found in those manuscripts. Antihyperlipidemic and cholesterol lowering activities of those medicines were the most reported activities in current medicine. However, other pharmacological reports were related to hypotensive, coagulant, cardio-protective and cardiotonic activities. In regard of the chemical composition, medicaments were mainly of polyphenols and flavonoids and also most of the employed extracts and fractions were yielded from polar or semi-polar solvents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With reference to these findings, flavonoid-rich medicaments from Persian medicine may be selected as considerable herbs for geriatrics with cardiovascular ailments.
authors.affiliation: Medicinal Plants Processing Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Department of Phytopharmaceuticals (Traditional Pharmacy), School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Electronic address: zarm@sums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohammad M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Zarshenas
authors.affiliation: Department of Phytopharmaceuticals (Traditional Pharmacy), School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jamshidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Research Office for the History of Persian Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Arman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zargaran
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000379:methods; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000266:history*; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000266:history*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Cardiovascular; Geriatric; Persian medicine; Phytochemistry