BACKGROUND

Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) is one of the most important active ingredients in Panax notoginseng, which plays an important role against cardiovascular diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

METHODS

This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. We searched the following databases from their inception to February 2017: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE Database, WHO ICTRP, CNKI, WANFANG, VIP and SinoMed. All the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on PNS in patients with unstable angina (UA) which meet the standard were included.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were included in this systemic review. The included studies indicated that PNS has promising therapeutic effects on reduction of the primary end point [RR 0.05 (95% CI -0.07, -0.02); P < 0.001], electrocardiography (ECG) [RR 0.32 (95% CI 0.23, 0.46); P < 0.001], the frequency and duration of angina attacks [MD -1.88 (95% CI -2.03, -1.72); P < 0.001], and dosage of nitroglycerin [MD -1.13 (95% CI -1.70, -0.56); P < 0.001] of UA patients. Adverse events were described 9 included RCTs.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral PNS could reduce the end point, and improve the ECG, the frequency and duration of angina pectoris, dosage of nitroglycerin and lipids in UA patients. And the results indicated oral PNS is safe up to now. However, we need more multi-centre, large-sample, high-quality RCTs to provide high-quality evidence.