Research Progress on Antihypertensive Effect of Polysaccharide and Its Mechanism

Hypertension is one of the major risk factors leading to premature death and disability worldwide. Hypertension and its related complications are increasing year by year in China, and tend to be younger nowdays. Blood pressure can be temporarily controlled within a normal range by oral antihypertensive drugs, but the serious adverse reactions maybe done to multiple systems of the body. With the in-depth research on the relationship between polysaccharides and hypertension, more and more results have shown that polysaccharides, as natural active substances, as safe for hypertension and have less side effects. This paper introduces the antihypertensive effect of polysaccharides from the aspects of type, source, dose and animal model of polysaccharides, and expounds the hypotensive mechanisms of polysaccharides, such as regulating renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, improving endothelial function and regulating multi-factors. This paper briefly describes the structure-activity relationship between polysaccharides and antihypertensive effect, and looks forward to the prospect of polysaccharide application in the treatment of hypertension, which provides a scientific reference for the research and development of antihypertensive drugs of polysaccharides. It also provides more options for disease prevention and treatment of patients with hypertension.