The combination of hawthorn extract and camphor significantly increases blood pressure: A meta-analysis and systematic review

  • Phytomedicine. 2019 Oct:63:152984. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2019.152984.
Dezső Csupor  1 ,  Réka Viczián  2 ,  Tamás Lantos  3 ,  Tivadar Kiss  4 ,  Péter Hegyi  5 ,  Judit Tenk  6 ,  László Márk Czumbel  7 ,  Sang-Ngoen Thanyaporn  7 ,  Zoltán Gyöngyi  8 ,  Gábor Varga  7 ,  Gábor Gerber  9 ,  Erika Pétervári  6 ,  Barbara Tóth  4
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary; Interdisciplinary Centre of Natural Products, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 2. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary.
  • 3. Department of Medical Physics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary.
  • 4. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary; Interdisciplinary Centre of Natural Products, University of Szeged, Szeged 6720, Hungary.
  • 5. Institute for Translational Medicine, Medical School, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Translational Gastroenterology Research Group, First Department of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
  • 6. Institute for Translational Medicine, Medical School, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary.
  • 7. Department of Oral Biology, Semmelweis University, Budapest 1089, Hungary.
  • 8. Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary.
  • 9. Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest 1085, Hungary.
PMID: 31255877 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2019.152984
Abstract

Background: A fixed combination of hawthorn and camphor (Korodin Herz-Kreislauf-Tropfen®) has been used in the therapy of hypotension for decades. Although its efficacy was evaluated in clinical trials, these studies have not been critically assessed in meta-analyses.

Purpose: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of a fix combination of camphor and hawthorn extract (Korodin®) on blood pressure and cognition compared to placebo, in a meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Study design: The meta-analysis was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines, using the PICO format, and it was registered in the PROSPERO register.

Methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant studies. Placebo-controlled clinical studies involving adult patients receiving a fix combination of hawthorn extract and camphor were included. No language or publication year restrictions were applied.

Results: Four randomized trials including a total of 221 patients were pooled for statistical analysis. According to the present meta-analysis, the fixed combination of hawthorn and camphor significantly increases systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to placebo (p-values: 0.017 and 0.049, respectively) and had a beneficial, but not statistically significant effect on the cognitive performance in the connect-the-numbers test (p-value: 0.071).

Conclusion: Korodin® is an effective and presumably safe complementary therapy for the treatment of hypotension. Its blood pressure increasing effect is confirmed; however, the evidence supporting its use is very limited. The optimum dose and duration of treatment is still unclear. The comprehensive evaluation of efficacy and safety is required in further, high-quality clinical studies, involving larger patient populations and comparable endpoints.

Keywords
Camphor; Cognitive; Crataegus; Hawthorn; Hypotension; Meta-analysis.
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