PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Hawthorne, a natural antioxidant: supports heart and circulatory system health, helps balance blood pressure, prevents angina attacks, treats of Raynaud’s disease and varicose veins.

For all-natural heart-health nutrition, it’s hard to beat hawthorn berries! Used for centuries as an herbal cardiovascular tonic, hawthorn berries are rich in antioxidant flavonoids with unique nutritive benefits for the heart and cardiovascular system. Each convenient capsule from Doctor’s A-Z® contains 565 mg of pure hawthorn berries.

General Description
Hawthorn is the popular name used to describe plants of the genus Crataegus (family Rosaceae), which includes hundreds of species of shrub-like trees with sharp thorns. The species most often used for health purposes are Crataegus oxyacantha (also known as Crataegus laevigata) and Crataegus monogyna. These species grow up to 15 feet in height and have alternate, lobed or toothed leaves, which are dark green on top and bluish-green underneath, and vary in size and shape. Hawthorn flowers from May to June, bearing clusters of small, five-petaled blossoms, which are usually white or pink in color. The tree bears small, bright-red, berry-like fruit with a yellow, pulpy center. The leaves, flowers, and fruit are used for health purposes.

Health applications

Cardiovascular health   
Antioxidant support

History and traditional use
Hawthorn has a history of medicinal and ornamental use dating back 2,000 years. The ancient Greeks and Romans used hawthorn for corsages and bouquets in wedding ceremonies as a symbol of hope and happiness. The Romans believed hawthorn leaves had the power to fend off evil spirits. The Greek physician Dioscorides used hawthorn for medicinal purposes in the first century A.D., and the herb appears in the writings of many other early herbalists. To this day, hawthorn is commonly cultivated as a hedge plant in England and much of continental Europe (in fact, the name "hawthorn" is derived from the Old English term for "hedgethorn"). In folk medicine, the leaves, flowers, and berries are used in heart tonics.

Chemical composition
The berries, flowers, and leaves of hawthorn contain a variety of antioxidant bioflavonoids including hyperoside, vitexin-rhamnose, rutin, vitexin, and oligomeric procyanidins.¹

Cardiovascular health
Standardized extracts of hawthorn leaves and flowers are listed in Germany's Commission E Monographs as approved herbs for lowering blood pressure and improving heart function. While the berries are listed as unapproved herbs, the Monographs note that hawthorn berries are used traditionally to strengthen and envigorate the heart and circulatory function.¹ Research indicates that bioflavonoids found in hawthorn can increase the strength of heart contractions, lower blood pressure, and increase exercise tolerance.^2-4 As antioxidants, many of these flavonoids have demonstrated the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation and platelet aggregation,^5-9 factors which contribute to atherosclerosis.

Dosage/toxicity
The recommended dosage for hawthorn supplements depends on the type of preparation used. For dried or powdered berries, recommendations range from one to five grams per day. For concentrated extracts (standardized to 1.8 percent vitexin-rhamnoside concentration), 250 to 750 mg per day is commonly taken. Hawthorn has no known toxicity, and appears to be very safe at these doses. People taking prescription heart medications should consult their doctor before using hawthorn.

INGREDIENTS

MORE INFORMATION

Historically, hawthorn (crataegus oxyacantha) was used by Roman physicians as a heart drug in the first century A.D. The literature from that period focuses on its symbolic use of hawthorn for religious rites and political ceremonies. During the Middle Ages, hawthorn was used for the treatment of "dropsy," or congestive heart failure. Today, extracts of the hawthorn plant have been used extensively in Europe to treat a variety of circulatory disorders, including high blood pressure.

Hawthorne's flowers, leaves and berries are all used in herbal supplements Each is high in flavonoid content, which gives the plant powerful antioxidant properties. Hawthorn contains three groups of compounds which are key to the plant's positive effects on the cardiovascular system. These constituent groups are the triterpenoid saponins, the amines and the flavonoids. By inhibiting free radical formation, hawthorn's antioxidant activity can be beneficial in maintaining healthy heart vessels and promoting overall heart health.

Research Indicates

Helps balance blood pressure

In a study of 132 individuals, standardized hawthorn extract compared favorably to captopril, a member of a class of prescription medications known as ACE-inhibitors

Believed to support heart and circulatory system health including heartbeat, blood flow, control of artherosclerotic plaque

May be useful for promoting restful sleep

Used by practitioners for help in preventing angina attacks

Another study involving 136 patients, the hawthorne group showed improvement in the areas of heart function evaluated, whereas the placebo group did not.

May be useful in treatment of Raynaud's disease and varicose veins

Research indicates hawthorne may help preserve collagen

Dosage

Typical dosage is 250-300 mgs of standardized extract one to three times a day.

Cautions

If you are pregnant or lactating consult your health care practitioner prior to using Hawthorn.

There are no known reports of toxicity associated with Hawthorn.

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