Extracts from the hawthorn bush have been used since the 1st century to treat a variety of conditions, including heart disease. To this day, herbalists advise using hawthorn to treat cardiovascular conditions, particularly heart failure, in which the heart pumps insufficient amounts of blood to other organs. In addition to its cardiac effects, hawthorn has a mild to moderate sedative -- or calming -- quality. While many scientific studies support hawthorn's use in treating heart failure, others have shown no effect. Consult your doctor before taking hawthorn.
Features
Hawthorn -- botanically known as Crataegus laevigata, C. oxyacantha and C. monogyna and also called the maybush and whitethorn -- is a common thorny shrub that grows on sunny hillsides throughout the world. Hawthorn features lobed leaves, clusters of aromatic white flowers that bloom in the spring, and round, bright-red fruits, sometimes called haws. The fruits may contain one to three nuts, depending on the hawthorn species. Although hawthorn has been employed medicinally since the days of the ancient Greeks as an antispasmodic, sedative and general heart remedy, it wasn't until the late 19th century that hawthorn was used specifically to treat such cardiac conditions as coronary artery disease, angina and arrhythmia. Hawthorn's use for these applications continues today.
Constituents and Effects
Hawthorn leaves, fruits and flowers contain beneficial flavonoids, such as quercetin, hyperoside, rutin and vitexin-4-rhamnoside. Plant pigments -- including anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins -- are also present, as are saponins, tannins and vitamin C.
Drugs.com -- which provides peer-reviewed medical information to consumers -- credits the flavonoids in hawthorn with potent cardiac activity, including increase in coronary heart rate and flow. Hawthorn also causes strong contraction of heart tissue in animal studies, and can enhance circulation by dilating and relaxing blood vessels. The University of Maryland Medical Center adds that hawthorn may have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. In a review article published in the January, 2007 issue of "Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology," the authors report that human and animal studies support hawthorn's mild to moderate sedative effects, and speculate that its procyanidins are responsible.
Research
In a cohort study published in the August 2004 issue of the German medical journal "Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheikd" -- translated "Research in Complementary and Natural Classical Medicine" -- 952 patients with heart failure were given hawthorn extracts as a course of treatment for two years. The author of the study found that hawthorn produced favorable effects on clinical symptoms such as palpitations, breathing problems and fatigue, even though the patients received markedly fewer synthetic drugs than the comparative group. The author concluded that hawthorn extracts showed a clear benefit in patients with heart failure.
Usage and Considerations
Anxiety is not reported as a side effect for hawthorn; the herb is more likely to relive anxiety than to cause it. If you experience anxiety after taking hawthorn, notify your doctor. Drugs.com notes that hawthorn may be taken in liquid or powdered extracts standardized to contain proanthocyanidins, with dosages ranging from 160 to 900 mg a day. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine reports that hawthorn is considered safe for most adults when used short-term. Rare side effects may include nausea, headache and dizziness. Hawthorn may interact with prescription drugs. Consult your doctor before taking hawthorn. Hawthorn causes uterine activity; don't take it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
References
- Drugs: Complete Hawthorn Information
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Hawthorn; UMMC Staff; March 2009
- "Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheikd": Prospective, Comparative Cohort Studies and Their Contribution to the Benefit Assessments of Therapeutic Options: Heart Failure Treatment With and Without Hawthorn Special Extract WSE 1442; M. Habs; August 2004
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Hawthorn: NCCAM Herbs at a Glance; Staff; December 2006
- "Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology"; Crataegus Oxycantha: A Cardioprotective Herb; S.K. Verma et al; January 2007
