Hawthorn/Passion-Flower Extract and Improvements in Physical Exercise Capacity of Patients with Dyspnoea Class II of the NYHA Functional Classification

Author(s): Brunner, H., Haegeli, A., Kreuter, U., Martina, B., Meier, B., Schaffner, W.

Abstract: Objective: The aim was to determine the efficacy of a hawthorn/passion-flower extract on changes in physical performance of patients with dyspnoea class 11 of the NYHA functional classification.Design: Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, stratified according to physical performance.Patients: Of the total of 46 patients included in the study 40 could be evaluated. They were aged from 53 to 86 years and had dyspnoea commensurate with a NYHA functional class II. Exclusion criteria were unstable angina pectoris, severe heart failure, obstructive pulmonary disease and others.Interventions: Two ml hawthorn/passion-flower extract (n = 19) or placebo (n = 21) 3 times daily for a duration of 6 weeks.Main Variables: The main variable was the improvement in physical exercise capacity which was determined with a 6-minute walking test and a bicycle ergometer test. Blood lactate levels, heart rate, and blood pressure were also measured during exercise. Additionally improvements in symptoms, particularly in dyspnoea, and changes in the biochemical parameters of urine and blood were measured.Results: The study showed that exercise capacity, measured with a walking test, increased significantly in those patients receiving the hawthorn/passion-flower extract (95% CI 2.3 m - 33.3 m; p < 0.05). Maximum exercise capacity measured in a bicycle ergometer test increased in both groups by about 10% over the baseline. Changes in this parameter did not differ significantly between the groups. Physical performance capacity at the aerobic transition threshold of 2 moI lactate/I blood increased by 6.5 % in the group receiving the extract, while it fell by 4.4 % in the placebo group. 'This difference between the groups, however, was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). In the group receiving the extract there was a slight but significant fall in heart rate at rest and in mean diastolic blood pressure during exercise (p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in total plasma cholesterol levels in the group receiving the extract in comparison with the placebo group (p < 0.01). The subjective symptoms of breathlessness improved in both the extract and the placebo group.Conclusion: The hawthorn/passion-flower extract improves the everyday physical capacity of patients with symptoms commensurate with a NYHA functional class II.

Keyword(s): Weissdorn-/Passionsblumenextrakt

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