Herbal Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Literature Review

Background and aim: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of blindness and it has risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, smoking, or genetic characteristics. There is no certain cure for AMD till now, so it is very important to design new therapeutic agents or strategies for treatment of AMD. This literature review assessed the effects of different plants or herbal extracts on the retinal diseases such as AMD either for treatment or prevention of disease.

Materials and methods: Fifteen studies were included in this literature review and assessed possible herbal treatments or preventions of AMD or its related diseases and risk factors.

Results: From a wide range of medicinal plants, Artemisia annua contained artemisinin, Lycium barbarum, Fructus barbarum rich in carotenoids like zeaxanthin, Scutellaria baicalensis contained wogonin, saffron, rosemary contained carnosic acid, and Melissa officinalis are of the most important and beneficial medicinal plants that can be used for production and design of new drugs and therapeutics for AMD. They act via different mechanisms such as anti-oxidation, anti-VEGF, or anti-inflammatory actions. There are several other important herbal effective compounds for AMD, such as fisetin and luteolin that are polyphenols. Also, there are other herbal compounds such as HESA-A, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Guibi-tang (GBT), Samul-tang (SMT), and Sipjeondaebo-tang (SDT) that are contained in several different beneficial medicinal plants and their extracts for AMD.

Conclusion: There is a need for more investigations on these medicinal plants and their benefits on AMD, but they can be beneficial in lowering the risk of AMD or several other retinal diseases and prevention of them. For each mechanism included in AMD pathogenesis, one or more medicinal plant is introduced in this review.