The potential benefit of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) in pulmonary arterial hypertension: A short review

Rooibos is a uniquely South African plant cultivated to produce rooibos herbal tea or extract and often incor-porated into iced herbal tea, soap, skin lotion, facewash, and shampoo. Rooibos provides health benefits against multiple diseases including cardiac pathologies, skin disorders, obesity, and diabetes via its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumour, and anti-apoptotic properties. The pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) includes increased lung inflammation and oxidative stress, and tumour-like growth (i.e., the increased proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells and apoptosis of pulmo-nary artery endothelial cells). In this review, we discuss literature supporting rooibos as a potential novel therapeutic agent to protect against PAH. We suggest that rooibos may reduce lung inflammation and oxida-tive stress and limit pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation and endothelial cell apoptosis, thereby inhibiting PAH progression.(c) 2022 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article discusses the potential of rooibos tea as a novel therapeutic agent for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Rooibos tea possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumour, and anti-apoptotic properties, which may reduce lung inflammation and oxidative stress, and inhibit the proliferation of smooth muscle cells and apoptosis of endothelial cells in the pulmonary arteries, thereby protecting against PAH progression.