Horse chestnut: medicinal properties, features and contraindications

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

In folk practice, the healing properties of horse chestnut have been known for a long time, and modern medicine does not lag behind it either, using it in the production of some medicines. This article will discuss what useful properties this tree has, how to properly collect and prepare raw materials from which you can independently make various medicinal preparations.

Where chestnut grows

In the wild at the moment it can be found in India, southern Europe, eastern Asia and North America. This tree prefers a temperate climate, as well as deep, loose and fertile soil.

According to one version, the plant came to Europe thanks to Turkish soldiers who once fought on these lands. They used its fruits as food for their horses. Therefore, in order not to confuse edible nuts with animal food, they called it horse.

Active ingredients

It is thanks to them that the field of medical use of horse chestnut is quite extensive. The seeds of the plant contain flavonoids - triosides and biosides of kaempferol and quercetin, saponin escin, tannins (not more than 0.9%), oil (fat content 6.45%), starch (about 50%), various protein compounds, artrescin, vitamins B, C and K.

Isoquercitrin, quercitrin and rutin were found in chestnut flowers. The bark of both the branches and the trunk of a tree contains glycosides. This is again fatty oil and tannins, as well as saponin escin triterpene and esculin.

The leaves of the plant contain quercetin, isoquercitrin, which belong to flavone compounds. In addition, they contain carotenoids - violaxanthin and lutein, as well as spireoside, rutin and astragalin.

What can be useful plant

Extract, tincture or decoction with its use will help alleviate the patient's condition. These drugs may:

• lower blood pressure;
• help reduce capillary permeability;
• eliminate vasospasms;
• improve heart and liver function;
• remove cholesterol from the body;
• normalize the secretory work of the gallbladder;
• prevent the formation of stasis in capillaries;
• remove harmful substances, including radionuclides and toxins;
• remove various inflammations and puffiness;
• increase the production of antithrombin in the vascular system itself;
• help reduce blood viscosity;
• increase the tone of all venous vessels;
• normalize digestion;
• normalize gastric acidity;
• accelerate venous blood flow;
• help slow blood clotting;
• relieve joint pain;
• expand blood vessels;
• remove excess s alt from the body;
• prevent blood clots.

Collection and subsequent storage

Chestnut flowering lasts from May to June, and after its completion, green cocoons begin to appear among fan-shaped leaves, completely covered with long and sharp spikes. They contain fruits (seeds), similar to nuts, which have healing qualities. The medicinal properties of horse chestnut have been known for a very long time. Since time immemorial, folk healers have used not only its fruits, but also the bark, roots, flowers and leaves of this tree. We will talk about how to collect and store them correctly later in the article.

First, the fruits (seeds) of the chestnut must be cleaned from the pericarp and dried. To do this, they are laid out on some flat surface with a layer no higher than 5 cm. So the raw material will dry for three or four weeks. In order to speed up this process, you can use a special dryer by setting the temperature in it to 40-60 ° C. In this case, it can be reduced to two or three days. With the right technology for drying fruits, their shelf life is extended to two years. At the same time, they should have a shiny surface, rich brown color (exceptgray spot on the side), as well as astringent taste.

Horse chestnut foliage can be harvested all season from May to September. The main thing is to have time to collect it before it starts to turn yellow. If the foliage is collected from one tree, then this can be done at the end of summer. Experts recommend using only young trees that have grown no more than 2-3 meters in height for these purposes. The loss of 1/3 of all the foliage on it will not cause any harm to the plant.

Raw materials should be dried under a canopy or in a room with good ventilation. It should be spread out in a layer whose thickness does not exceed 10 cm. In order to reduce the drying time, in the first days the foliage must be turned over twice a day. You can store it for one year, provided that everything was done correctly. This is very easy to check by taking a leaf and bending its petiole. It should break easily, and the raw material itself should remain green and have a pleasant, barely perceptible aroma.

Horse chestnut bark is harvested in the spring, when pruning is already completed. It is removed from branches, the age of which is from 3 to 5 years. You can dry it either in the attic or in a well-ventilated area. It is recommended to store the bark for no more than one year.

How to plant a tree

To collect raw materials, it is best to have your own plant. A one- or two-year-old tree is suitable for planting. It is necessary to dig a hole with a depth and width of not more than half a meter. The excavated earth must be mixed with sand and humus. It can alsoadd some nitrogen fertilizer and slaked lime.

Now you can lower the roots of the tree into a hole, fill it with soil prepared as described above, forming a mound, and pour plenty of warm water. If the seedling is small and thin, it can be strengthened next to it with a stuck stick. The first inflorescence of a chestnut usually appears by the age of 4-5.

What and for what diseases is used

Dry fruits (seeds) of the tree are used as an effective diaphoretic and diuretic for colds. They are also indicated for atherosclerosis, varicose veins, diarrhea and thrombophlebitis. Fresh fruits can be used, for example, for malaria or chronic diarrhea, and fried - for bleeding.

Chestnut leaves are used as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic for inflammation of the veins in the arms and legs, as well as for uterine bleeding.

The bark of the tree is used in the treatment of neuralgia and various rheumatic diseases. In addition, it is part of astringents and antipyretics.

The flowers of the plant can be useful in the treatment of ulcers, hemorrhoids, prostate adenoma, endarteritis and radiation sickness. Also, this part of the tree can be used as a rub for rheumatism.

Can fruits be eaten

In the south of Europe, a real chestnut grows, the nuts of which can be eaten boiled, fried and even raw. Their dried fruits are added to various pastries and sweets. It can also be a worthy substitute for naturalcoffee.

As for the horse chestnut, its fruits have only an external resemblance to the real ones. Even the name given to it speaks eloquently that these nuts should not be eaten by people. Where it grows, its fruits are fed exclusively to domestic animals, and even then they are pre-ground into flour.

Horse chestnut properties

They are well known and there are quite a few of them:

• antithrombotic;
• anti-sclerotic;
• antioxidant;
• bactericidal;
• astringent;
• venotonic;
• antipyretic;
• hemostatic;
• diuretic;
• painkillers;
• anticancer;
• anti-inflammatory;
• sweatshop;
• decongestant;
• wound healing.

What drugs can be purchased at the pharmacy

Horse chestnut, as mentioned above, is part of not only folk remedies, but also medicines recognized and widely used in modern official medicine. They are freely sold in pharmacies without a prescription. But, despite this, before starting treatment with such medications, it is imperative to consult a specialist.

In a pharmacy, horse chestnut can be sold in the form of drops, tablets, ointments, infusions, gels, extracts and balms. Most often, such drugs consist of several main components at once. For example, in the ointment, in addition to chestnut, there are also grape leaves, mint and products of the relic ginkgo tree. All theseplants are designed to increase the healing effect of the main biocomponent. The ointment is used to treat both thrombosis, varicose veins and edema, and after injuries.

Horse chestnut extract is attributed to patients suffering from venous insufficiency, as well as muscle pain, cramps and hemorrhoids. In addition, the drug can be used as a prophylactic. Doctors recommend it to their patients with thrombophlebitis, stroke and atherosclerosis. The drug is called "Aescusan". By the way, it can be sold in various pharmaceutical forms.

Gel and ointment based on horse chestnut, the price of which is currently about 180-220 rubles, can be purchased at almost any pharmacy. In the form of tablets (40 pieces), the drug will cost from 100 to 160 rubles. A bottle with drops of 20 milliliters will cost 100-140 rubles. Prices for drugs may vary depending on the value of the trade margin and the location of the pharmacy.

Recipes of traditional medicine

Here are just a few of them:

• Tincture of chestnut flowers. For its preparation, you will need 20 g of raw materials, which is poured with half a liter of vodka. Insist 14 days. Used for diseased joints, rubbing them with the resulting composition 2 times a day.
• Decoction of chestnut bark. To prepare it, take one tablespoon of raw materials and pour 200-250 ml of freshly boiled water into it. Put on fire and cook for no more than a minute, then cover with a lid and leave for one hour. Decoction beforeuse must be filtered. It is taken for coughs caused by diseases such as bronchitis, tuberculosis and pneumonia. With ARVI, this decoction is used to gargle and wash the nose.
• Horse chestnut tincture, applied externally. To do this, you need already ripened fruits along with the peel. To prepare one liter of tincture, you need to twist 300 g of nuts in a meat grinder, and then transfer them to a glass container and pour vodka. The resulting mixture is placed in a dark place for a period of 7 days. This remedy helps with s alt deposition, thrombophlebitis, muscle inflammation and sciatica.

Contraindications

Horse chestnut, on the basis of which various medicines are made, helps with many diseases, but its use has some limitations. Since the substances in its composition are capable of thinning the blood, tinctures and other products containing any parts of this plant should not be taken by people suffering from a clotting disorder. Such drugs are also prohibited for those patients who have heart or kidney failure, low blood pressure, gastritis or chronic constipation. Contraindications that exclude the use of drugs using this type of chestnut also apply to people who are allergic to saponin and other constituents of its substance.

Adults, and especially children, should know that this plant is not at all harmless, as it seems. There are many cases when chestnut became the cause of poisoning. Most of the victims were children. That is why doctors categorically do notrecommend the use of medicines based on it in pediatrics. As a result, they are forbidden to use during pregnancy, especially the first trimester, as well as at the stage of breastfeeding, since through it you can harm the baby himself.

Treatment with horse chestnut can cause side effects such as heartburn and nausea. If this happens, you should immediately contact your doctor in order for him to adjust the therapy.