Blood circulation promoting

"Blood circulation promoting" is a comprehensive therapeutic principle and pharmacological category, primarily originating from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as the "Huoxue" effect, rather than a single molecular target or receptor [1, 3, 6]. It refers to the physiological action of enhancing blood flow, resolving blood stasis, and improving microcirculation through a multi-target and multi-pathway mechanism [2, 12]. This pharmacological profile is achieved by modulating various proteins involved in vascular homeostasis, including the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) for vasodilation, the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX-1/2) to reduce platelet aggregation, and the upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to promote angiogenesis [4, 5, 8]. Modern pharmacological research identifies key molecular mediators of this effect such as SIRT1, VEGFR-2, tPA, and various inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha and IL-6 [2, 5, 10]. Agents with these properties, including specialized herbal formulations like Danhong injection or purified compounds like ginsenosides and salvianolic acids, are clinically used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases where impaired rheology is a central pathology [7, 11]. Due to the potent anticoagulant and anti-platelet effects associated with this category, the primary therapeutic challenge involves balancing efficacy with the risk of hemorrhage [1, 8].

Other names

Blood-activating and stasis-removingActivate blood circulation and remove blood stasis (ABCRS)Huo-Xue-Hua-YuPromoting blood circulationBlood-activatingBlood-activating therapy

Promotion of vascular homeostasis through the activation of the eNOS/NO pathway to induce vasodilation; inhibition of platelet activation and aggregation via modulation of COX enzymes and P2Y12 receptors; enhancement of fibrinolysis by increasing tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) levels; and stimulation of angiogenesis through the VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling cascade.