Functional Plants/Nutraceuticals as Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Protective Agents

Myocardial infarction (MI) is considered the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and death in people worldwide. Furthermore, the complex mechanisms trigger ischemic/reperfusion injury (IR) in MI. The main mechanism of IR is oxidative stress and the production of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS). It appears that herbal medicine and the natural ingredients derived from it are a reliable source of antioxidant and ROS scavenging potential. Furthermore, they showed positive cardioprotective effects in various IR models. This chapter discusses the medicinal plants and phytochemicals that have cardioprotective effects thanks to the inhibition of IR damage, in terms of their pharmacological and molecular mechanisms.