Hawthorne is a spiky bush or tree found in Europe, northwestern Africa, and
western Asia. In England it is grown as a hedge plant. The tree reaches 13 feet
in height and grows along the edges of woods and forests. Hawthorne has smooth,
gray bark and sharp thorns which grow along the branches. The leaves are dark
green with shiny, bluish-green undersides, and have irregular tooth margins.
Snow white flowers bloom from May to June and grow in terminal corymbs. The
fruits are bright red, oval, two to three seeded, and hang down in clusters. The
medicinal parts are the flowers and the fruit.
Other common names:
| English hawthorn |
May bush |
May tree |
| Quickset |
Thorn apple tree |
White thorn |
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
| Acetylcholine |
Anthocyanins |
Caffeinic acid |
| Chlorogenic acid |
Flavonoids |
Hormones |
| Oleanolic acid |
Oxyacanthine |
Phenolic acids |
| Plant acids |
Saponins |
Triterpene acids |
| Ursolic acid |
|
|
* For definition of some of the above terms see the dictionary section of
this book.
NUTRIENT COMPOSITION
| Bioflavonoids |
Choline |
Lecithin |
| Vitamin B complex |
Vitamin C |
|
PROPERTIES AND USES
Antispasmodic - an agent which relieves or prevents spasms, usually of
the smooth muscles; barbiturates and valerian are examples of
antispasmodics.
Cardiac - a substance which stimulates heart metabolism and
strengthens contractions, and may at times cause a slowing of heart rate due to
more efficient activity.
Sedative - a class of drugs which function to quiet nervous excitement
and reduce motor activity without inducing sleep. They are used in the
management of neuroses and in the treatment of anxiety and apprehension
accompanying various disease states such as hypertension. Sedatives commonly
function to induce reversible depression of the central nervous system. Examples
of this class are phenobarbital, secobarbital sodium, and pentobarbital.
Vasodilator - an agent which causes dilation of blood vessels.
Hawthorne berries are very effective for relieving insomnia. A poultice of
crushed leaves or fruit has strong draining powers and has been used in England
for centuries for the treatment of embedded thorns and splinters, and some
sores. The fruits are used for nervousness and also to prevent miscarriage. It
has been known for centuries as a treatment for heart disease. Regular use
increases cardiovascular health. It is an excellent heart tonic; it dilates
peripheral blood vessels, increase metabolism in the heart muscle, dilates
coronary vessels, and improves blood supply to the heart. The herb also acts to
abolish rhythm disturbances.
Several of hawthorn's most active constituents are cholines, chlorogenic
acid, caffeinic acid, and ascorbic acid. The constituents in hawthorn berries
work together to help prevent coronary thrombosis and cardiac arrest. The
choline present in the berries is the main principle in lecithin, which helps to
control cholesterol by breaking fat into tiny particles which can then pass very
easily into the tissues of the body.
Hawthorn is hypotensive and anabolic
Compared to digitalis, it is much milder and safer to use, more a tonic than
a specific. The herb is tonic for both high and low blood pressure, as well as
tachycardia and arrhythmia. Mild anti-arteriosclerotic principles have been
identified in hawthorn; antispasmodic and sedative properties have also been
ascribed to it, but have not been experimentally verified.
Hawthorne is an excellent cardiotonic
It functions by peripheral vasodilation; very mild dilation of coronary
vessels; increased enzyme metabolism in the heart muscle; and increased oxygen
utilization by the heart.
A noted expert in the area maintains that hawthorn drugs are characterized by
three basic healing properties which complement one another:
1. Improvement of coronary blood supply which leads to a decreased frequency
of anginal attacks and of subjective complaints.
2. Improvement of the metabolic processes in the myocardium, which results in
an improvement of functional heart activity.
3. Abolition of some types of rhythm disturbances.
In human patients with perfusion disorders of the coronary arteries due to
coronary sclerosis, hawthorn significantly decreased oxygen utilization during
exercise. In 40 of 52 patients, intravenous administration of hawthorn extract
for a mean period of 13.4 days produces a noticeable decrease in the ischemia
reaction in the exercise EKG. In patients undergoing standard therapies such as
CD2 partial baths, an improvement was seen in only 25% of the cases.
In another study on human subjects with primary heart disease, intravenous
hawthorn extract produced an improvement in almost all cases, as determined by a
normalization of heart dynamics (the mechanical efficiency of the heart muscle).
In patients with secondary heart disease the effect was not as great in terms of
the number of cases helped, but significant effects were seen in those cases
that were helped. The herb also helped patients whose heart disease was caused
by hepatitis or other liver disease. Taken together, these results suggest a
positive inotropic action.
Excellent results in a wide variety of coronary problems were obtained
utilizing a crossed, double-blind procedure. The substance used was a German
drug called Corguttin, which composed of Adonidiss, Covallaria majalis,
Hawthorn, Primula officinales, and Valerian officinales. This product proved
extremely effective in meeting the routine, daily needs of patients with minor
heart problems.
Hawthorn has vasodilatory action
It has a marked and prolonged vasodilatory action, and an ability to lower
peripheral resistance to blood flow in dogs and guinea pigs. The extract was
injected directly into the arteria coronaria. Intravenous injection caused no
change in the volume of coronary blood flow, but still showed lowering of
peripheral resistance. The blood supply of the central nervous system was
influenced in the same manner as that of the coronary vessels, i.e., the
resistance to blood flow was lowered, and following direct injection into the
carotid, the blood volume passing through was also increased.
Hawthorne increases blood flow
In a series of experiments in dogs, aqueous solutions of
heptahydroxyflavenoglycoside, a component of hawthorn, was used to demonstrate
the herb's cardiac and circulatory actions. Intra-arterial injections in the a.
femoralis, a. femoris post. sup. (a muscle vessel), and a. coronaria dextra,
caused increased blood flow. In the a. saphena (a skin vessel) and the a.
renalis, the blood flow was lowered. Blood pressure was raised by injection into
the a. coronaria dextra and intravenous injection. No changes in urinary
excretion and respiration were found. No definite dose-response relationship
could be determined because the degree of response was unpredictable.
Hawthorne successfully destroys experimentally-induced blockade of anaerobic
glycolysis, a condition that typifies some forms of heart disease cause by
enzyme insufficiency.
In patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency, hawthorn has produced a
quickening of the heart beat. It increased coronary blood flow by increasing the
cardiac output and by direct influence on the smooth muscles of the vessels.
Arterial and venous blood pressure were not affected, the EKG was not
influenced, and no pulmonary damage was observed.
Hawthorn is hypotensive
A fraction of the hawthorn extract, containing flavan polymers, had a low
toxicity in the mouse, a pronounced hypotensive activity in the cat, and strong
and prolonged cardiotonic action and detoxicating properties in the rabbit.
Oligomeric procyanidins isolated from hawthorn extract decrease blood
pressure in cats; in mice, they decreased aggression and body temperature, and
prolonged hexobarbital narcosis.
Hawthorn versus Digitalis
It was once assumed that hawthorn and digitalis belonged to the same class of
agents. That hypothesis has been totally refuted by studies which demonstrated
that hawthorn may partly antagonize the undesirable properties of digitalis. In
addition, hawthorn enhances pulse and positively potentiates the force of
muscular contractions. It enhances cardiac output or performance in rats as
measured by stress swimming trials. On isolated from heart, it has a tonic and
normalizing action. Unlike digitalis, hawthorn lowers blood pressure through
dilation of peripheral vessels, rather than by direct action on the heart. Thus
it preserves critical reflexive blood pressure regulation. In man, hawthorn acts
even on the healthy heart to increase cardiac activity. Hawthorn appears to have
less of an immediate effect than digitalis. After longer periods of use,
subjective betterment accompanied by objective measurable improvement in tonus
and regulation of cardiac activity are observed with hawthorn. Unlike digitalis,
hawthorn exhibits an absence of cumulative activity; it appears to occupy a
position somewhere between digitalis and adrenaline.
Heart tissue pretreated with either Hawthorn or Digitalis becomes sensitized
to the other, so that only about half the normal dose of the second is required
to obtain normal results. This suggest a synergism between the two
substances.
Hawthorn has an anabolic effect on metabolism
After 14 hours of abstinence from food, the blood levels of free fatty acids,
free glycerol, triglyceride, glucose, lactate, and pyruvate were measured in ten
human subjects. These levels were measured again 30, 60, and 120 minutes after
intravenous injection of hawthorn extracts. Thirty and sixty minutes after
injection, a significant decrease in free fatty acids and lactate was observed.
Glucose and pyruvate also decreased, whereas the concentration of triglycerides
increased. The observed alterations in fat and carbohydrate metabolism suggests
that hawthorn has an anabolic effect on metabolism, presumably by an influence
on the enzymatic system. In this way, a decrease in oxygen and energy
consumption would occur.
TOXICITY FACTORS
No toxicity has been attributed directly to hawthorn. However, since it is an
active cardiotonic herb, users should exercise extreme caution when combining
this herb with other cardiac drugs.
DRUG PRECAUTIONS AND INTERACTIONS
Known Interactions
The effects of hawthorn and digitalis are synergistic, such that only half
the normal dose of digitalis is required if hawthorn is also being used.
Possible Interactions
Diuretic-induced hypokalemia may increase the activity of hawthorn;
guinidine, procainamide, and propranolol may also enhance its effects.
Conversely, the effects of the herb may be reduced by propantheline,
spironolactone, and triamterene, as well as by antacids, anti-diarrheal
absorbent suspensions, neomycin, cholestyramine, and other anionic exchange
resins. Hawthorn is synergistic with parenteral calcium salts, pancuronium,
succinylcholine, rauwolfia alkaloids, ephedrine, epinephrine, and other
adrenergic agents. The inotropic action of this herb may be reduced by
propranolol; however, the effect of the two substances on AV are additive.
Cyclopropane or halogenated hydrocarbon anesthetics may sensitize the myocardium
to the cardiotonic effects of hawthorn, although the chances of this happening
are very low.
Comments
The cardiac alkaloids in hawthorn may antagonize the action of heparin.
Certain drugs induce activity by hepatic microsomal enzymes that metabolize
cardiac glycosides. These agents probably affect the action of hawthorn, but in
an as yet unknown manner. To the extent that hawthorn's action depends on the
presence of cholinergic substances, it will be affected by the decrease in
cholinergic-receptor stimulation produced by anticholinergics. Drugs utilized to
treat angina pectoris, such as nadolol and propanolol HDI, may reduce AV
conduction induced by this herb. |
