Family Name: COMBRETACEAE

Botanical Name : TERMINALIA ARJUNA

Common Name: ARJUNA, ARJUNA HERB, ARJUNA ROOT, MYROBALAN

Part Used: BARK

Uses : The bark is astringent, sweet, acrid, cooling, aphrodisiac, cardiotonic, urinary astringent, expectorant, alexiteric and is useful in fractures, ulcers, cirrhosis of the lever, hyperhidsis, otalgia and hypertension.

The Ayurvedic sage Vagbhatta (342 BC) was the first to describe Arjuna as a tonic. Used in India as a cardiotonic for over 1500 years.

Best herb for heart disease (prevents and helps in the recovery of), angina and heals heart tissue scars after surgery.

The bark is useful as an anti-ischemic and cardioprotective agent in hypertension and in ischemic heart disease. It also has a tonic effect in cases of cirrhosis of the liver. It induces a drug-dependent decrease in blood pressure and heart rate. It has been reported to possess protective cardiovascular and hypolipidemic properties. It reduces the level of triglycerides and cholesterol and has been reported to enhance the synthesis of LDL-apoprotein (apoB).

 

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Research on Terminalia Arjuna

Efficacy of Terminalia arjuna in chronic stable angina: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study comparing Terminalia arjuna with isosorbide mononitrate

Bharani A, Ganguli A, Mathur LK, et al. Indian Heart J 2002;54:170-175.

BACKGROUND: Terminalia arjuna, an Indian medicinal plant, has been reported to have beneficial effects in patients with ischemic heart disease in a number of small, open studies. The need for a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study with adequate sample size has long been felt. The bark extract (IPC-53) contains acids (arjunic acid, terminic acid), glycosides (arjunetin arjunosides I-IV), strong antioxidants (flavones, tannins, oligomeric proanthocyanidins), minerals, etc. and exhibits antifailure and anti-ischemic properties. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-eight males with chronic stable angina (NYHA class II-III) with evidence of provocable ischemia on treadmill exercise test received Terminalia arjuna (500 mg 8 hourly), isosorbide mononitrate (40 mg/daily) or a matching placebo for one week each, separated by a wash-out period of at least three days in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design. They underwent clinical, biochemical and treadmill exercise evaluation at the end of each therapy which were compared during the three therapy periods. Terminalia arjuna therapy was associated with significant decrease in the frequency of angina and need for isosorbide dinitrate (5.69+/6.91 mg/week v. 18.22+/-9.29 mg/week during placebo therapy, p<0.005). The treadmill exercise test parameters improved significantly during therapy with Terminalia arjuna compared to those with placebo. The total duration of exercise increased (6.14+/-2.51 min v. 4.76+/-2.38 min, p<0.005), maximal ST depression during the longest equivalent stages of submaximal exercise decreased (1.41+/-0.55 mm v. 2.21+/-0.56 mm, p<0.005), time to recovery decreased (6.49+/-2.37 rain v. 9.27+/3.39 min, p<0.005) and higher double products were achieved (25.75+/-4.8 1x10(3) v. 23.11+/-4.83x10(3), p<0.005) during Terminalia arjuna therapy. Similar improvements in clinical and treadmill exercise test parameters were observed with isosorbide mononitrate compared to placebo therapy. No significant differences were observed in clinical or treadmill exercise test parameters when Terminalia arjuna and isosorbide mononitrate therapies were compared. No significant untoward effects were reported during Terminalia arjuna therapy.

CONCLUSIONS: Terminalia arjuna bark extract, 500 mg 8 hourly, given to patients with stable angina with provocable ischemia on treadmill exercise, led to improvement in clinical and treadmill exercise parameters as compared to placebo therapy. These benefits were similar to those observed with isosorbide mononitrate (40 mg/day) therapy and the extract was well tolerated. Limitations of this study include applicability of the results to only men with chronic stable angina but not necessarily to women, as they were not studied

Cardioprotective effect of the alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna bark in an in vivo model of myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury.

Karthikeyan K, Bai BR, Gauthaman K, Sathish KS, Devaraj SN.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of chronic administration of the alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna (TAAE) bark on isoproterenol induced myocardial injury. The TAAE was administered orally to Wistar albino rats (150-200 g) in three different doses, by gastric gavage [3.4 mg/kg: (T1), 6.75 mg/kg: (T2) and 9.75 mg/kg: (T3)] 6 days/week for 4 weeks. At the end of this period, all the animals, except the normal untreated rats that served as the control group, were administered isoproterenol (ISO) 85 mg/kg, S.C., for two consecutive days to induce in vivo myocardial injury. After 48 hours rats were anaesthetized with anaesthetic ether, then sacrificed and the hearts were harvested for biochemical and histological studies. A significant rise in myocardial thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and loss of reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (suggestive of increased oxidative stress) occurred in the hearts subjected to in vivo myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury. The 6.75 mg/kg TAAE treatment group (baseline) shows a significant increase in myocardial TBARS as well as endogenous antioxidants (GSH, SOD, and catalase), but not in the other treatment groups. In in vivo ischemic reperfusion injury of the TAAE treated rats there was a significant decrease in TBARS in all the groups. In 6.75 mg/kg treatment group, a significant rise in the levels of GSH, SOD and catalase were observed, and it shows better recovery profile than the other groups subjected to in vivo ischemic reperfusion injury. In histological studies, all the groups, except the isoproterenol treated group, showed preserved myocardium. The present study demonstrates that the 6.75 mg/kg TAAE augments endogenous antioxidant compounds of the rat heart and also prevents the myocardium from isoproterenol induced myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury.

Terminalia arjuna.

[No authors listed]

Terminalia arjuna is a deciduous tree found throughout India growing to a height of 60-90 feet. The thick, white-to-pinkish-gray bark has been used in India's native Ayurvedic medicine for over three centuries, primarily as a cardiac tonic. Clinical evaluation of this botanical medicine indicates it can be of benefit in the treatment of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and possibly hypercholesterolemia. It has also been found to be antibacterial and antimutagenic. Terminalia's active constituents include tannins, triterpenoid saponins (arjunic acid, arjunolic acid, arjungenin, arjunglycosides), flavonoids (arjunone, arjunolone, luteolin), gallic acid, ellagic acid, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), phytosterols, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and copper.

Other Scientific Researches on Terminalia Arjuna

Terminalia arjuna bark extract, 500 mg 8 hourly, given to 58 male patients with stable angina with provocable ischemia on treadmill exercise, led to improvement in clinical and treadmill exercise parameters as compared to placebo therapy. Bharani 2002

Terminalia arjuna tree bark powder (500 mg) in capsules daily in one hundred and five successive patients with coronary heart disease showed that it has significant antioxidant action that is comparable to vitamin E and in addition, it has a significant hypocholesterolaemic effect. Gupta 2001

Bark stem powder of T. arjuna, 500 mg 3 times daily, for 3 months, to 12 heart patients provided improved left ventricular ejection fraction and reduced left ventricular mass compared to the control group Dwivedi 1997