Hawthorn Benefits, Usage, Medicinal Properties, Nutrition, Dosage, Preparations, safety, science backed and traditional view

Hawthorn – Crataegus levigata (Poiret)DC, Crataeugus Monogyna (Jacq) also known as Hawthorn Berries, Thornapple, Maytree, Whitethorn, Hawberry, Quickset, Aggles, Hedgethorn, Glog.

 

It is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the Rosaceae Family. It is currently estimated that there are 200 species. They can grow 16-49 ft. tall (5-15 meters), with small pome fruit and usually thorny branches. Some thorns can grow to be three inches long! The leaves grow spirally arranged on long shoots and in clusters on spur shoots on the branches. The “fruit” (sometimes known as the “haw”) is berry-like but structurally contains 1-5 pyrenes that resemble “stones” of plums and peaches, etc.

Habitat: Hawthorn is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America.

 

Part used: bud, leaf, flower, berry

 

Constituents: Flavonoids (including Hyperoside, Rutin, Quercetin, and Vitexin) especially in flowers; triterpene acids (including Ursolic acid, Oleanolic acid, and Crataegolic acid) especially in berries; Oligomeric procyanidins (OPC`s) especially in leaves; Epicatechin, Catechin,  Amines, Phenols such as Chlorogenic acid and Tannins, Saponins, Pectin, Purine. Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Manganese, Chromium, Zinc, Iron, digestive enzymes.

 

Flavour/Temps: Sour, Slightly Sweet, Dry, Neutral, Slightly Cool, Bitter, Astringent

Nourishing, Calming, Restoring, Softening, Dissolving, Astringing

 

Tropism: Cardiovascular, Heart, Nerves, Intestines

 

Meridians: Liver, Stomach, Spleen, Pericardium, Heart, Yin wei meridians

Fluid/air bodies

 

Key Actions western medicine: Cardiotonic, Astringent, Antiparasitic, Hypotensive, Anti-inflammatory, Diuretic, Restorative, Sedative, Antioxidant, Antiarrhythmic, Anti-ischemic, Nourishing

 

Indications in western medicine: Congestive heart failure, irregular heartbeat, atherosclerosis, indigestion, chest pain, high or low blood pressure, constipation, diarrhoea, stomach pain, promotes urination, menstrual problems, anxiety. Can also treat tapeworms and other intestinal infections. Externally it is used to treat acne, skin boils, sores, ulcers, and frostbite also for skin and hair care products.

 

Key actions in eastern medicine: Relieves Food Stagnation, Tonifies Heart Qi and Relieves precordial oppression, Restores and Nourishes the Heart, Aids Circulation, Tonifies Yin, Clears Heat, Calms Shen, Promotes Urination, Transform Blood Stasis, Soften Nodules, Dissolves Deposit and Promote Weight Loss.

 

Indication in eastern medicine: Digestive aid, loose stools, poor appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, heavy feeling in the chest, degenerative heart conditions of all sorts, stabbing cardiac pain, menopausal syndromes, night sweats, insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, feverishness, thrombosis, tachycardia, gallstones, urinary stones, restlessness, angina, postpartum abdominal pain and clumps, hernia disorders.

 

Constitutions: all krases, biotypes and constitutions.

 

Preparations: fresh Juice, Infusion, Decoction, Tincture

 

Dosage usually 2-3 times a day unless instructed otherwise by herbalist:

Fresh berry juice 1-4 teaspoons

Infusion of leaf/flower 4-12g

Decoction of berry 6-16g

Tincture 1:2, 2-6 ml, 30% ethanol

Tincture 1:5, 5-10ml, 30% ethanol

Note: to make full spectrum hawthorn cardiotonic first decoct crushed berry, then add at the end leaf and flower and infuse future 10-15 minutes under cover.

Note: Tincture can be made from all parts at once using dried parts, or if preparing fresh parts tinctures, mix them after autumn berry tincture is ready.

 

Note: Bottom dose range often repeated (more than 3 times a day) is sometimes more effective than top dose range in heart conditions, but larger dose ranges are needed to relieve food stagnation and stopping discharges.

 

Note: Functional heart diseases respond to hawthorn more rapidly then organic ones. Degenerative and organic disorders, parasympathetic nervous insufficiency at least 2 month curse in recommended.

 

Synergy examples: Hawthorn berry, leaf and flower for hearth and cardiovascular health. According to some research and herbalist clinical experience, those parts connected will create full spectrum cardiotonic, each part has different constituents and all of them acting on heart and cardiovascular health.

Hawthorn berry, leaf and flower, Linden flower – calming and uplifting cardiotonic.

 

Cautions: Hawthorn is mild herbal remedy with minimal chronic toxicity and can be taken safety continuously. Caution needed if used together with digitalis glycosides and beta blockers, and other hypotensive drugs; modification of drug dosage may be required.

 

Contradictions: None

 

Interactions with drugs: Hawthorn interact with digitalis glycosides and beta blockers, and other hypotensive drugs; modification of drug dosage may be required.

 

Side effects: None expected. Hawthorn is generally safe for oral and topical use.

 

History and folklore:

Hawthorn berries are packed with nutrition. They are a rich source of polyphenols that contain powerful antioxidant properties.

Hawthorn is an excellent example of an herb that is used very differently in the West than in China. In the West, the parts of the plant above ground are valued, however in the Orient, the roots are valued. In China, hawthorn is considered integral to formulas treating food stagnation. The berries are also often used to treat high blood pressure.

Some preliminary research in humans and animals suggests hawthorn might lower serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and/or triglycerides . In an animal model, hawthorn seems to lower accumulation of lipids in the liver and aorta. The fruit extract may lower cholesterol by increasing bile acid excretion, reducing cholesterol synthesis by the liver, and enhancing LDL-receptor activity. Hawthorn also seems to have antioxidant activity.

Each part of this plant is very important medicine for cardiovascular system and those parts are quite different and quite complementary, together they bring synergistic effect and offer broadly therapeutic and cardiotonic effect, giving strength and resilience to tissues, vessels and valves, regulating rhythm and force of hearth beat.

Many cultures have historically used hawthorn. For example, modern Chinese Medicine uses it to treat hepatoprotective activity and hepatitis. In Iran, the fruit is eaten raw as a snack or made into jelly. In Mexico, the berries (called “tejocotes”) are stuffed into pinatas during the pre-Christmas celebration Las Posadas. In the ancient Middle East, it is suggested that hawthorn was the source of Jesus’s crown of thorns. In Britain and Ireland, it is considered bad luck to uproot the plant. In Gaelic folklore, hawthorn is said to mark the entrance of the “otherworld” and is strongly associated with the fairies. Serbian and Croatian folklore notes that hawthorn is deadly to vampires and stakes used for their slaying must be made from hawthorn wood.

Preliminary clinical research in patients with angina taking chronic beta-adrenergic receptor blockers or ACE inhibitor therapy shows that taking a hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifada) extract 100 mg orally three times daily for four weeks improves angina and electrocardiogram (ECG) findings and reduces nitroglycerin intake when compared with placebo

Meta analysis of multiple trials in people with congestive heart failure has verified that hawthorn increase maximal workload tolerance, exercise tolerance, decrease cardiac oxygen consumption and improve symptoms of fatigue and shorth breath.

Many species of hawthorn make excellent bonsai trees. Medicinally, it is known to increase the amount of blood pumped out of the heart during contractions. It can widen the blood vessels and increase the transmission of nerve signals. Research suggests hawthorn can also lower blood pressure and seems to lower the accumulation of fats in the liver and the aorta.

Skin aging is caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) A and B rays from sunlight. There is interest in using polyphenols from hawthorn to protect from UVB radiation damage to slow skin aging. Preliminary research in human skin cell lines and in animal models shows that hawthorn polyphenol extract increases activity of antioxidant enzymes and reverses oxidative stress caused by UVB irradiation. Hawthorn extract also seems to reduce epidermal thickening and increase collagen production, which might help to reduce wrinkles and skin damage from UVB radiation.

Hawthorn is best known for treating congestive heart failure (CHF), chest pain, irregular heart rate, high or low blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and high cholesterol. Hawthorn helps to increase the production of bile, which can help reduce the amount of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

Study in patients with diabetes and hypertension shows that taking a specific hawthorn extract 1,200mg daily for 16 weeks significantly decreased diastolic, but not systolic, blood pressure when compared with placebo

Research shown that Hawthorn may exhibit antineoplastic activity and collagen stabilizing actions. Two triterpenes, uvaol and ursolic acid, were isolated from hawthorn and suggested to be responsible for cytotoxicity against human and murine cancer cell lines. Triterpene-enriched fractions of hawthorn extract have demonstrated almost complete inhibition of cultured larynx cancer cell growth and stronger in vitro activity than 6-mercaptopurine solution.

 Another research on Hawthorn shows that it acts on the myocardium by increasing force of contraction and lengthening the refractory period, increasing coronary blood flow and cardiac output, and reducing oxygen consumption. Hawthorn's cardiotrophic properties are attributed to increased membrane permeability for calcium, and phosphodiesterase inhibition, which increases intracellular cAMP. Increased cAMP leads to increased coronary blood flow, vasodilation, and positive inotropic effects. Hawthorn seems to have hypotensive and vasodilatory activity. In a human study, hawthorn extract had beneficial effects on endothelial function. In animals, it seems to cause peripheral vasodilation and to induce endothelium-dependent arterial relaxation. The proantocyanidin constituents seem to be responsible for this effect

This herb also surfaces in Arthurian legend concerning Vivian, the young girl who sought to learn all Merlin could teach. She learned Merlin’s final and deepest knowledge, how to turn a man into a tree, and supposedly turned the magician into a hawthorn tree.

Hawthorns provide food and shelter to birds and mammals. The flowers are important for nectar-feeding insects. The “haw” is important to thrushes and waxwings in Winter, as they eat them and disperse the seeds in their droppings.

 

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