Shengmai is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has long been used for the treatment of heart failure and ischemic heart disease. It is a mixture of three herbal components. Constituent herbs of Shengmai include Panax ginseng, Ophiopogon japonicus and Schisandra chinensis. Many clinical trials show Shengmai is beneficial for heart failure. This updated review analysed six randomised controlled clinical trials to further research.
In the treatment of heart failure, five (of six) trials used Shengmai in addition to usual conventional Western drugs and one compared Shengmai with placebo. Benefits of Shengmai were reported in comparisons with usual treatment alone or placebo, on clinical outcomes including myocardial contractility, cardiac haemodynamics, and repair of heart structure in the short term. Some mild adverse effects were reported. However, the evidence for any benefit of Shengmai is weak, as the trials were all of low quality, small in size and results are mostly confined to single studies. The effect of Shengmai in the treatment of heart failure must be determined in a properly controlled clinical trial and, if it is shown to be effective, the active herbal ingredient must be determined.