- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Europe, North Africa, and western Asia; Crataegus species
- Other names
- Tweestijlige meidoorn
Europe · Herb · № 47
Crataegus monogyna, C. laevigata (en C. pinnatifida)
Herb · Europe
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, C. laevigata (en C. pinnatifida)
Studied for heart failure with conflicting results. For most conditions there is little or no good evidence.
Safety notes
One specific preparation was linked to worsening heart failure. With heart disease, use it only after consulting a doctor. Side effects can include dizziness and nausea.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Chinese materia medica: Not with spleen and stomach deficiency. Consult your doctor if you take heart medication.
Preparation
Berries, leaves, and flowers are used as tea or extract.
Use in traditions
Traditionally used for heart complaints, digestion, circulation, and kidney and bladder problems, and topically for sores, itching, and frostbite.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Vasodilating, strengthens the heart, astringent; for heart and vascular complaints, diarrhoea, poor digestion.
Preparation and amount
Tea or tincture of flowering tops as a heart tonic, for angina, high blood pressure and poor circulation (with linden, yarrow or ju hua); juice of fresh berries; decoction of 30 g berries in 500 ml (15 min) for diarrhoea or high blood pressure; Chinese hawthorn (shan zha) for abdominal pain and bloating.
Western herbalism
Attributed effects
Strengthens the heart, diuretic, astringent, tonic; dilates blood vessels, for high blood pressure, angina pectoris, rapid heartbeat and poor circulation; berries against diarrhoea; calms in anxiety and palpitations.
Preparation and amount
Berry decoction: 1–2 tsp per cup, 10–15 min, 1–3 cups a day; leaf/flower tea: 1–2 tsp, 12–15 min; syrup 1–2 tsp; tincture 1–2 dropperfuls 1–3 times a day.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sour, sweet, slightly warm
- Meridians
- heart, liver, spleen, stomach
Attributed effects
The Chinese hawthorn berry (shan zha, Crataegus pinnatifida) helps digest fatty and heavy food in a full feeling, poor appetite and diarrhoea, moves the blood in pain after childbirth and absent menstruation, and supports heart and blood pressure.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 9–15 g a day, usually in a decoction. As a sweet treat for children to stimulate the appetite.
Combinations
- With barley sprout and shen qu for food stagnation
Caution: Not with spleen and stomach deficiency. Consult your doctor if you take heart medication.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Fertility, harmony, luck, the otherworld, protection, beloved by fairies.
Home, kitchen and folk use
Preparation and amount
As a boundary marker and hedge; hard wood that gives a lot of heat.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionTinctureSyrup, honey and oxymel
- Formulas
- Bao he wan