Medicinal Uses Of Hawthorn Berries

The scientific name for the hawthorn plant is crataegus, which means strength. Over the centuries, hawthorn berries have helped treat several health problems, particularly with the heart. These berries contain natural antioxidants even more powerful than vitamin C. Although you can eat hawthorn berries, many people take hawthorn extract in pill form.

Medicinal History

The hawthorn berry has been a means of heart treatment since the 1st century A.D. Doctors in the United States began using this special plant to help with problems in the circulatory and respiratory systems back in the 19th century. Hawthorn berries have helped with issues from cholesterol to heart failure. Originally, the whole plant was harvested, but modern-day treatments typically call for the flowers and leaves instead of the berries.

Antioxidants

Hawthorn berries are rich in antioxidants. These agents fight against free radicals that can destroy cell tissue, cause health problems and may even result in death. Typically, free radicals will proliferate in your body as you grow older, but other circumstances can cause an increase as well, such as smoking or alcoholism.

Blood Pressure

Along with helping the heart, hawthorn may be able to treat hypotension, or low blood pressure. A study by the University of Munich's Psychology Department in 2008 found a link between participants who were given hawthorn extract and an increase in blood pressure.

Heart Problems

In 2001, the journal "Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy and Phytopharmacology" published results from a study concluding that one form of hawthorn extract "is clinically effective in patients with congestive heart failure." A study in the "American Family Physician" in 2010 reported hawthorn extracts helped ease the symptoms of mild heart failure and improved patients' sense of well-being.

Stress Reliever

In tests at Anadolu University in Turkey, researchers studied reactions to the extract of hawthorn fruit -- seeds and pulp -- in lab mice. Anxiety and coordination of motor skills were recorded in the rodents. Researchers found that the fruit extract caused anxiety in the mice to greatly decrease. The 2010 study concluded that hawthorn may be useful in fighting stress, sleep deprivation and pain.