Chinese herbal drugs for erectile dysfunction through NO-cGMP-PDE5 signaling pathway / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Great progress has been made in the basic researches on erectile dysfunction (ED) ever since the recognition of the close association of micromolecular nitric oxide (NO) with penile smooth muscle relaxation in 1990. NO-cGMP-PDE5 signaling pathway plays an important role in regulating the relaxation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle, and its relevant studies have contributed greatly to the clinical treatment of ED. Chinese herbal drugs have long been used in the treatment of ED, and the action mechanisms of some of them clarified through the NO-cGMP-PDE5 signaling pathway. This article presents an overview on the recent advances in the studies of ED treatment with Chinese herbal drugs.