Hawthorn is a flavonoid-rich herb, renowned for its ability to support the normal activity of the heart. Planetary Formulas Hawthorn Heart combines this precious botanical with tonifiers from Europe, North America, and Asia, to support the cardiovascular system.
Hawthorn is one of the oldest known herbs used in traditional European herbal medicine. It is first mentioned in the journal of Dioscorides, a Greek physician of the first century. The Hawthorn tree was regarded as sacred at one time due to the belief that it furnished the Crown of Thorns in early Christian history. Hawthorn contains various compounds such as procyanidins, flavonoids and flavonols which exhibit antioxidant properties.
Benefits:
- Circulatory Support
- Supports Heart Health
- Antioxidant Properties
- A Dietary Supplement
For use in medicine, hawthorn leaves and flowers are collected, dried, and powdered. The powder is then made into capsules or tablets or added to beverages or soft foods. Occasionally, hawthorn fruits are used topically to relieve itching. In the past, a poultice of hawthorn leaves was applied to skin sores and a wash was made from hawthorn fruits because it was thought to treat frostbite. Currently, hawthorn is rarely used topically.
Hawthorn is much more accepted as a medicine in Europe than it is in the United States. In Germany, hawthorn is approved for the treatment of heart failure, the German governmental agency that evaluates the safety and effectiveness of herbal products. The United States does not have a comparable agency to evaluate herbal products.
Mainly, hawthorn is taken orally to relieve chronic heart conditions -- primarily congestive heart failure, but also angina and arrhythmias. Chemicals in hawthorn may act directly on the heart muscle to increase the force of heartbeats and on the blood vessels to relax the arteries around the heart. It may also lengthen the time that the heart rests between beats. Hawthorn may also work indirectly by widening blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. As a result, it may also help to lower blood pressure. Due to its multiple effects on the heart, hawthorn should not be taken before its use has been discussed with a doctor.
Chemicals in hawthorn may have other effects, as well. Based on the observation that hawthorn produces a mild soothing effect, it may be used occasionally to treat anxiety and insomnia. No clinical studies have been published to prove or disprove hawthorn's soothing effect, however. In animal studies, hawthorn has also appeared to lower cholesterol levels both by reducing the production of cholesterol and by increasing the breakdown of cholesterol by the body. One small study conducted in humans seemed to show similar cholesterol-lowering results, but further research is needed to verify these results.