Crataegus, commonly called hawthorn, is a thorny flowering shrub. As an herbal medicine, hawthorn is mainly used to improve symptoms of heart disease and to lower high blood pressure. Research is lacking on the effects of hawthorn berry on anxiety. Consult a qualified health care provider before taking hawthorn for anxiety or any other condition.
Benefits
Hawthorn berries have a traditional use for treating a wide range of cardiovascular problems, including irregular heart rhythm, congestive heart failure, hardening of the arteries, angina and high blood pressure, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The leaves and flowers may contain more beneficial components than the berries do. Research indicates that herbal remedies of hawthorn leaves and flowers significantly improve heart function in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure, and that hawthorn may be beneficial for people with angina, reports the medical center.
Considerations
Most supplements that claim to have anti-anxiety effects have no actual evidence of benefits for this condition, according to an article published in the August 15, 2007, issue of "American Family Physician." The small number of studies investigating hawthorn for treatment of anxiety combined this herb with others, making it difficult to determine which individual components of the mixture were responsible for any effects seen, notes the article.
Sympathyl
A study published in the January 2004 issue of "Current Medical Research and Opinion" investigated the effects of an herbal remedy on mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders. The tonic, named Sympathyl, which is produced in France, contains extracts of the hawthorn species Crataegus oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia californica, known as California poppy, along with magnesium. A total of 130 participants took Sympathyl and 134 took a placebo for three months. Both groups experienced improvements in anxiety, with the treatment group experiencing a small but significantly greater level of improvement than those taking a placebo.
Euphytose
Another study investigated an herbal remedy containing a combination of extracts of hawthorn and five other herbs on patients with a condition defined as adjustment disorder with anxious mood. For 28 days, 91 participants took the remedy, named Euphytose, also available in France, and 91 took a placebo. As with the Sympathyl study, both groups improved, but the treatment group experienced a small but statistically significant greater level of improvement than the placebo group did. This research appeared in a 1997 issue of "Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology."
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Hawthorn
- "American Family Physician"; Herbal and Dietary Supplements for Treatment of Anxiety Disorders; Sy Atezaz Saeed, et al.; August 2007
- "Current Medical Research and Opinion"; Double-Blind, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a Fixed Combination Containing Two Plant Extracts (Crataegus Oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia Californica) and Magnesium in Mild-to-Moderate Anxiety Disorders; M. Hanus; January 2004
- "Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology"; A Combination of Plant Extracts in the Treatment of Outpatients With Adjustment Disorder With Anxious Mood; M. Bourin; 1997
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