Medical properties of hawthorn are known since ancient times. Its red fruits – mellow autumn signs. Hawthorn is a blood-red bush or a small tree with height up to 5 m.

Fruits ripen in September and are prepared only completely mature, they contain almost 10 % of sugars, vitamin C, carotin, crategus, apple and lemon acids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, tannins, and seeds contain up to 38 % of fat oil.

Hawthorn fruits can be dried, prepared in the form of spirit infusions. Tincture from hawthorn fruits is prepared on 70 % spirit in the ratio 1:10. It represents a transparent yellow-red liquid. Take 20-30 drops 3-4 times a day before meal.

Dried up inflorescences or separate flowers with pedicels are used for tincture preparation. Length of a pedicel is up to 3,5 sm. Smell is weak, original, taste is poorly-bitterish, mucous. A period of flower storage is till 2 years, fruits — till 8 years.

What’s hawthorn’s use?

Except hawthorn fruits, they also use berries and leaves, as tea leaves for tea. Substances contained in fruits of hawthorn, have expanding effect on heart vessels and improve mastering of oxygen by cardiac muscle (it starts being reduced stronger and less often). In Chinese national medicine they used fruits for digestion strengthening at intestines diseases, and in a combination to wine — at heart troubles throughout a number of centuries.

Hawthorn contains polyvitamins, is applied at functional frustration of heart activity, arrythmia and cardiovascular insufficiency, dizziness, for decrease of arterial pressure. It is prescribed as a medicine at sleeplessness and for rinsing at throat diseases.

What’s the use of herbal medicine?

Herbal teas have slowed down medical effect, improvement is usually marked only after 3-5 weeks. However, use of phytopreparations excludes by-effects. Having treated, and having received positive result, it is not recommended to stop treatment sharply. Herbal medicine is effective only at continuous treatment with change of applied preparations.

Attention: hawthorn does not need to be abused! Consult to a doctor before application!

Folk remedies of hawthorn use:

•  wash 0,5 kg mature hawthorn fruits and split up with a wooden pestle, add 100 ml water, heat up to 40°С and press with a juice extractor. Drink received juice this way: 1 table spoon 3 times a day before meal. It has salutary effect on heart, especially in advanced age: prevents overstrain and wearability of cardiac muscle.

• In national medicine various kinds of hawthorn (prickly in particular) were used at hypostases, short wind, epilepsy, migraine, fever, mental frustration during climacteric period. There are data on hawthorn extract effect against herpes virus.

• Broth of hawthorn fruits is useful at hypertensive illness: boil 20 g during 30 minutes in 1 glass water, filter, squeeze and lead up volume to initial boiled water. Take 1 table spoon 3 times a day. It is possible to take also tincture (a chemist’s preparation) - 20-30 drops 3 times a day to meal

• Hawthorn tea: pour 2 teaspoons flowers and leaves with 1/4 l boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. Dosage: 1 cup 2-3 times a day. Taste of tea can be improved. In this case honey or sea-buckthorn juice with sugar are very good.

• Mix 1 part flowers with 2 parts 90 % spirits, leave for 15 days. Filter. Squeeze and take 30-40 drops 3 times a day, washing down with 1 table spoon water.

• Homeopathic remedy Crataegus is prepared from mature fruits and is also applied at heart diseases and to support exhausted senile heart. Take 5-20 drops from 2 to several times a day. At strong nervousness and excessive excitability, instead of initial tincture, use second or its third cultivation (D2-D3).

• At defects, heart neurosis, arrythmia, and also for improvement of blood circulation in heart vessels, take hawthorn blood-red infusion. For this purpose pour 3 table spoons of dry raw materials with 3 glasses of boiled water, leave for half an hour, filter and take 1 glass 3 times a day. For the same purpose you can use broth of fruits: boil 20 g dry raw materials in 1 glass water for 15 minutes, filter, squeeze and lead up volume to initial boiled water. Take 1 table spoon 3 times a day.

• In chemist’s practice they usually apply not natural fruits and flowers, but tincture, which is prepared from crushed dried fruits on 70 % spirit (100 g fruits on 1 litre tincture). It is a yellowish, transparent liquid with a slight smell. Take 20-30 drops 3-4 times a day to meal. In house conditions you can prepare hawthorn flower infusion - 5 gramme (1 table spoon) on 200 milliliters hot water. Take half of glass 2-3 times a day before meal. Infusion is prepared the same way - 1 table spoon fruits on a water glass.

• At flu and pneumonia broth of hawthorn fruits can help: boil 20 g dry raw materials in 1 glass water for 30 minutes, filter, squeeze and lead up volume to initial boiled water. Take 1 table spoon 2—3 times a day.

• At hypertensive illness. Brew a table spoon of hawthorn blood-red dried fruits, leave for 2 hours in a warm place. Filter. Take 1-2 table spoons of infusion 3-4 times a day to meal.

• Calming heart drops: mix 15 drops hawthorn spirit tincture with 15 drops valeriana roots spirit tincture. Take 30 drops with water 3—4 times a day to meal.

Good luck!