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Page 1 of 2  hawthorn flowers Crataegus spp.(Hawthorn) and derived extracts are rich in polyphenols and are currently prescribed to treat moderate heart failure, nervousness and sleep disorders. Hawthorn leaf and berry are cardioprotective, hypotensive, peripheral vasodilator, antiarrhythmic, antioxidant, mild astringent and collagen stabilizing
Medical practitioners in Europe and China use hawthorn to treat early stages of congestive heart failure characterized by diminished cardiac function, a sensation of pressure or anxiety in the heart area, age-related heart disorders which do not require digitalis, and mild arrhythmias. Numerous pharmacological and clinical studies have shown that hawthorn fruit or berry extract improves blood flow to and from the heart by strengthening its contractions. Hawthorn flower and leaf extracts improve circulation to the extremities by reducing resistance in the arteries.
Literature review
Extracts either from fresh plant parts (flower buds, flowers, young leaves or green fruits) or from dried parts (flowers and flowering tops) were shown to be effective inhibitors of lipoperoxidation and scavengers of oxygen species(1). Quettier-Deleu et al investigated the capacity of total and ethyl-acetate extracts from dried flowers, tops and fruits to inhibit Cu(2+)-induced LDL oxidation. This capacity was positively linked to their content in total polyphenols, proanthocyanidins (global and oligomeric forms), as well as to their content in two individual phenolics: a flavanol, the dimeric procyanidin B2 and a flavonol glycoside, hyperoside. Flavanol-type phenolics showed to be higher active than the majority of the flavonoids tested in inhibiting Cu(2+)-induced LDL peroxidation. This study suggests that hawthorn could be a source of polyphenols able to inhibit LDL oxidation(1). In a randomized double-blind pilot study of mild, essential hypertension, Walker et al investigated the hypotensive potential of hawthorn extract and magnesium dietary supplements individually and in combination, compared with a placebo(2). Thirty-six mildly hypertensive subjects completed the study. At baseline, anthropometric and dietary assessment, as well as blood pressure measurements were taken at rest, after exercise and after a computer 'stress' test. Volunteers were then randomly assigned to a daily supplement for 10 weeks of either: (a) 600 mg Mg, (b) 500 mg hawthorn extract, (c) a combination of (a) and (b), (d) placebo. Factorial contrast analysis in ANOVA showed a promising reduction (p = 0.081) in the resting diastolic blood pressure at week 10 in the 19 subjects who were assigned to the hawthorn extract, compared with the other groups. Furthermore, a trend towards a reduction in anxiety (p = 0.094) was also observed in those taking hawthorn compared with the other groups. In another study by Walker at al they investigated the effects of hawthorn for hypertension in patients with type 2 diabetes taking prescribed drugs in a randomised controlled trial(3). Patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 79) were randomised to daily 1200 mg hawthorn extract (n = 39) or placebo (n = 40) for 16 weeks. At baseline and outcome a wellbeing questionnaire was completed and blood pressure and fasting blood samples taken. Hypotensive drugs were used by 71% of the study population with a mean intake of 4.4 hypoglycaemic and/or hypotensive drugs. There was a significant group difference in mean diastolic blood pressure reductions (P = 0.035): the hawthorn group showed greater reductions, there was no group difference in systolic blood pressure reduction from baseline. No herb-drug interaction was found.
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