Hawthorn has many different useful properties. This plant is used not only for treatment, but also for the prevention of a variety of diseases. There are many legends associated with the origin of the plant. One of them says that it appeared on the plea of birds for protection from predators. According to another legend, there once lived a woman helping people. She wanted to continue to provide assistance after death. The people went to the witch, so that she would help the nobles to stay with people. And she turned the old woman into a beautiful and useful shrub.
Whatever the origin of the plant, since ancient times, people have known the benefits and harms of hawthorn. Its red berries attract attention. The bush has several names: lady, rump, boyar, cock spur, hawk claws.
Chemical composition
To date, the exact chemical composition of the plant is unknown. It is believed that the therapeutic effect is achieved due to plant polyphenols, flavonoids. They not only give coloring to berries, but also prevent fragility of the walls of blood vessels, and also relieve free radicals. It is the chemical composition that determines the benefits and harms of hawthorn. This plant contains:
- Quercetrin, supporting the elasticity of the walls of the capillaries. Also, this substance has an antioxidant and antitumor effect.
- Quercetin, which is an excellent tool for the treatment and prevention of cerebrovascular disorders, CVS pathologies. With sufficient intake of quercetin in the body, the risk of developing cataracts is reduced.
- Hyperoside. This substance is able to increase oxygen consumption by tissue cells, and also enriches the heart muscle with potassium, which leads to an increase in cardiac output.
- Vitexin. The element enhances the metabolic processes occurring in the heart.
Acids were also found in hawthorn. This plant contains:
- Caffeic acid. It has a strong antibacterial property, and also increases the excretion of bile.
- Oleanolic. Tones up, increases blood supply to the heart and brain.
- Ursolic acid. It has anti-inflammatory, wound healing effect.
- Chlorogenic. It affects the performance of the kidneys, liver. It has anti-sclerotic and choleretic properties.
The benefits and harms of hawthorn are also determined by carotenes, vitamins, macro- and microelements. Some plant species are comparable in content to rose hips in terms of vitamin A content. The fruit contains sugar, sorbitol. They have a lot of calcium, potassium, iron, copper and manganese, zinc, tannins. After freezing, the latter becomes smaller, and the berries acquire a sweetish taste.
Before you start taking infusions, tinctures or decoctions, you need to know what benefits and harm hawthorn can bring to the body. This plant has a complex effect on systems and organs. The substances that make up the drug affect various organs and systems.
Effects on the heart, blood vessels, nervous system
The benefits and harms of hawthorn berries for the cardiovascular system are determined by its constituent elements. This plant has a vasodilating effect, provides a sufficient supply of oxygen. Reception of hawthorn allows you to normalize heart rate, increase the strength of heart contractions. As a result, the excitability of the heart muscle decreases, fatigue passes, the condition of the coronary circulatory system, and cerebral circulation improves.
The benefits and harms of the fruits of hawthorn are said for tachycardia, atrial fibrillation. This plant is able to restore heart function with these pathologies, eliminate mild arrhythmias.
The plant normalizes blood coagulability, prevents the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, and also normalizes cholesterol levels. The benefit and harm of tincture of hawthorn allows you to determine whether the drug will help in a particular case. So, it can be prescribed for vasospasm as an antispasmodic. But hawthorn can not be used by those who suffer from hypotension, since the plant is able to lower blood pressure. In hypotensive patients, this remedy can cause collapse.
Preparations based on hawthorn have a sedative effect, but without drowsiness. The plant helps to remove the excitability of the nervous system, normalizes sleep.
Benefits for the digestive tract
Knowing everything about the benefits and harms of the extract of hawthorn, you can decide whether or not to take this drug for the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal pathologies. This plant has a positive effect on the stomach with gastritis of any form, helps to overcome flatulence. As prescribed by a doctor, it can be used for difficult digestion in children. Hawthorn helps to cope with diarrhea.
Other useful properties
Flowers and fruits help to overcome headache, dizziness. The plant has an antioxidant effect that prevents the formation of tumors. Knowing everything about the benefits and harms of hawthorn for the body, you can quickly restore strength after an illness, SARS.
The benefit of the bush was appreciated by lactating women. Remedies from hawthorn help stimulate milk production. Cosmetics are made from fruits and flowers, which help restore the skin's natural moisture, eliminating age-related changes.
Pharmacological preparations
For the preparation of medicines use the fruits and flowers of ordinary, blood red, prickly hawthorn and some other varieties. These species are better understood.
Hawthorn fruits are available in different dosage forms. They can be purchased in the form of plant materials, powder, tincture and extract. There are tablets for resorption. All the proposed pharmacological preparations help eliminate arrhythmia, have a calming effect on the central nervous system, normalize blood coagulation, increase milk production, and also help fight digestive disorders in children.
Hawthorn flowers help lower blood pressure.
Medications
In the pharmacy you can buy different types of drugs developed on the basis of hawthorn. It can be:
- "Cardiovalen." These drops are intended for oral administration. The composition of the drug includes different types of herbs: valerian, adonis, enhancing the beneficial properties of hawthorn.
- Valemidine. The drug relieves muscle spasm from blood vessels and internal organs, has a calming effect.
- Fitorelax. Sold in pharmacies in the form of tablets. It contains valerian rhizome. It has a sedative effect, helps to cope with insomnia, nervous excitability.
- "Kedrovit." It is offered in the form of an elixir. The tool tones, increases the body's resistance, helps to restore strength in case of overwork.
- Amrita. It has a restorative and tonic effect.
There are other remedies based on hawthorn.
Home recipes
Knowing everything about the benefits and harms of taking hawthorn, you can cook a variety of infusions, decoctions, teas, juices with berries. Each remedy has a special effect.
During flowering, flowers are picked. They are laid out in a thin layer on a newspaper and dried under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area. After ripening, berries are picked. They can be dried, frozen. Dried flowers and fruits have a lot of useful properties.
Healing tea
And what are the benefits and harms of hawthorn berries, how to take them? The simplest recipe for cooking is hawthorn tea. To prepare it, you will need twenty to thirty berries, pour a liter of boiling water and insist on the night. In the morning, healthy tea is ready. It is taken in a cup no more than three times a day. You can add rose hips to tea.
Tea from hawthorn helps relieve fatigue, calms, normalizes the digestive tract and the cardiovascular system. If rosehip is added to tea, this remedy will help restore strength after a cold.
Infusion recipe
To prepare the infusion, you need to take a handful of berries and brew them with a liter of boiling water. The remedy is infused overnight. In the morning, the composition is filtered, taken in a third of a glass three times a day. The infusion helps get rid of arrhythmia, nervous agitation, angina pectoris.
You can chop the berries to get the product faster. To do this, take a spoonful of crushed raw materials and steamed with a glass of boiling water. An hour later, the infusion is ready. It is taken in a third glass three times a day.
Cooking tincture
Tincture is prepared from dried flowers and berries. For cooking, you need five tablespoons of hawthorn, which are poured with two glasses of vodka. The remedy is infused for fifteen days. Ready tincture is filtered. Take it in twenty-five drops diluted with water. Drink tincture an hour before meals.
A flower remedy has more benefits than berries. This type of drug has a greater effect than a berry preparation.
Tincture is used for angina pectoris, with hypertension.
Contraindications
Like any medicinal plant, hawthorn has its own indications and contraindications for use.
Prolonged and excessive use of hawthorn-based medications leads to a strong decrease in blood pressure and cause heart rhythm disturbances. With extreme caution, remedies for hawthorn should be taken with hypotension, since they have already low blood pressure.
You can not drink infusions, decoctions on an empty stomach. Otherwise, drugs can provoke intestinal spasm, nausea, vomiting, and vasospasm.
Before starting therapy, it is necessary to learn how to prepare infusions or decoctions of hawthorn, benefits and harms, how to take, what is the composition of the plant. After all, it can not be used by those who are allergic to the substances that make up the berries and flowers.
Others are capable of using hawthorn
Hawthorn berries are appreciated not only for their medicinal properties, but also for excellent taste. They make jams, jelly, juices, marmalades. The flowers of the plant are an excellent honey plant - from one plant you can get up to twenty kilograms of healthy and tasty honey.
Homemade wine is made from hawthorn. Its use has a positive effect on both women's and men's health, especially those over forty. Avicenna also knew about the benefits.
Every day more and more people prefer traditional medicine. However, few decide to consult with experts in this field first. Herbal therapists help to choose the right dosage of medicinal plants, talk about how and how much to take decoctions and infusions, identify contraindications.