Hawthorn is commonly used to treat patients with heart failure. It may also be helpful for the treatment of other conditions such as angina, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and some arrhythmias. In addition, the antioxidant bioflavonoids in hawthorn berry protect against injury to blood vessels and may be beneficial in the treatment of certain connective tissue disorders. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the effects of this herb for these specific conditions.

Hawthorn is a common thorny shrub that grows up to five feet tall on hillsides and in sunny wooded areas throughout the world. In May its flowers bloom, but although hawthorn is in the same botanical family as roses, the flowers are not fragrant. They grow in small clusters, and are white, red, or pink. Small berries, called haws, sprout after the flowers. They are usually red when ripe, but they may also be black. Hawthorn leaves are shiny and grow in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Hawthorn medicines start with the leaves, the berries, and sometimes, the flowers (only the white flowers are medicinal). These parts are dried and then made into powder. The powder is put into capsules, or added to alcohol or glycerite (a sweet, non-alcohol liquid), along with water, so you can take it in a liquid form. In liquid forms of botanicals, the alcohol and water create a more digestible form.

Hawthorn comes in capsules, tinctures, standardized fluidextracts, or solid extracts. You can also make a bitter-tasting tea from dried cut hawthorn leaves, flowers, and berries.

Pediatric

There are no known scientific reports to date about the use of hawthorn in children.

Adult

Hawthorn products standardized to contain either 4 to 20 mg flavonoids/30 to 160 mg oligomeric procyanidins, or 1.8% vitexin rhamnoside/10% procyanidins should be used.

Hawthorn for heart failure or angina may require at least six weeks of use, three times per day before an effect is noticed.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) gives hawthorn a class 1 safety rating, which indicates that it is a very safe herb with a wide dosage range. Even so, it is always wise to follow recommended dosages. If you are pregnant, do not use hawthorn.

It is extremely important for you to note any changes you feel while you are taking hawthorn. More pain, more angina attacks, more exhaustion while walking or exercising—these are all good reasons to stop taking hawthorn and see your health care provider right away. Even if you don't experience any of these symptoms, see your health care provider if your condition hasn't improved after six weeks of hawthorn treatment. Your progress should be monitored even if you do feel better, so see your health care provider in either case.

Although hawthorn reportedly enhances the activity of digoxin, a medication used to treat heart conditions, there are no known reports of interactions between hawthorn and digoxin identified in the literature to date.

In a laboratory study, an alcoholic extract of hawthorn fruit counteracted the effects of phenylephrine, a medication that constricts blood vessels and is commonly found in nasal decongestant products. However, this interaction has not been studied in humans; therefore, the relevance of this interaction to people is unknown at this time.

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