Herbal Interventions in Cardiometabolic Disorders

Abstract

Cardiometabolic disorders, covering hypertension, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, constitute the largest chronic disease cluster in European populations by both prevalence and aggregate health-system cost. Conventional pharmacological management has improved substantially over the past decade with SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 agonists and high-intensity statins, but a meaningful patient subpopulation has incomplete control on maximal pharmacotherapy, tolerance issues, or preference for integrative approaches as complementary or alternative options. Ayurvedic medicine has a substantial herbal repertoire for cardiometabolic indications with classical therapeutic categorisation under Hridroga (heart disease), Medoroga (metabolic / obesity), Madhumeha (diabetes), and related diagnostic patterns. This study reviews 62 primary clinical and observational studies published between 2005 and 2021 evaluating Ayurvedic herbal interventions in cardiometabolic disorders, grouped under five intervention frames: M1 (lipid-focused interventions), M2 (glycaemic-focused interventions), M3 (blood pressure-focused interventions), M4 (integrated classical polyherbal formulations), and M5 (multi-domain integrated cardiometabolic protocols). Each frame was scored with the Herbal Cardiometabolic Disorder Index (HCDI). Multi-domain integrated cardiometabolic protocols (M5) scored highest at HCDI 0.836, with glycaemic-focused interventions (M2) at 0.808 and integrated polyherbal (M4) at 0.786