Southeast Asian Medicinal Plants with Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibition Properties

Introduction: This article aims to provide a summary of medicinal plants in the Southeast Asian countries that have an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity that is therapeutically useful for treating hypertension. Methods: This review paper is a result of extensive searches via electronic database platforms, including Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct with the keyword search terms: ACE enzyme, Southeast Asia countries, plants, and extracts. Results: Thirty-four articles on ACE inhibition activity of 76 Southeast Asian medicinal plants were found and further reviewed. Several plants from Malaysia (Chassalia curviflora, Citrus hystrix, Murraya koenigii, Senna garrettiana), Indonesia (Gnetum Gnemon, Momordica charantia, Nasturtium officinale, Peperomia pellucida, Pereskia saccharose), and Thailand (Mammea siamensis) were found to exhibit strong ACE inhibitory activity in vitro. Bioactive compounds such as 3’,4’, dihydroxy-3-5 dimethoxy flavone-7-O- β-rhamnose and quercetin-3-O-glucoside showed the highest potency in exhibiting the ACE inhibition activity in this review. Conclusions: This review suggests for an in-depth investigation on the potent crude extracts for the potential development of complementary herbal medicines as well as on the potent ACE inhibitor compounds for further development as new ACE inhibitor candidates for hypertension therapy.