Single- or double-blind treatment With Balsamodendron mukul and nifedipine in hypertensive patients.

This study assessed and compared the effects of Balsamodendron mukul (an extract of the gum of a small tree) and nifedipine (a calcium-channel-blocking reference drug) on blood pressure, lipids, lipoproteins, and phospholipids in randomly selected patients with essential hypertension. Fifty-seven newly diagnosed hypertensive patients were randomly divided into three groups. They received either single-blind B. mukul (1.5 g/d) or single-blind nifedipine (10 mg/d) double-blind therapy with nifedipine (10 mg/d) and B. mukul (1.5 g/d) for 6 weeks. These groups were compared with control subjects. On treatment with B. mukul, levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipid levels were significantly reduced, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly elevated, as compared with untreated hypertensive patients. Combined therapy with B. mukul and nifedipine was more beneficial than the treatment with B. mukul alone. Our study suggests that B. mukul may be an effective antihypertensive and hypolipidemic agent.