Crataegus monogyna

What is Crataegus monogyna?

What is hawthorn and what is it used for?

Crataegus monogyna is the common hawthorn, a thorny tree of hedges and woodland. The leaves, flowers and small red berries are all used in herbal medicine. Most products today are sold as a heart tonic.

The tree grows across Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It has been planted far beyond that range. The fruit is also eaten as a food, in jellies and country wines.

Here is the honest verdict. In people with mild chronic heart failure, trials of standardised leaf-and-flower extract show small gains in symptoms and exercise capacity. They do not show a longer life, and one large trial found no survival benefit.

Hawthorn is used as an add-on, never as a swap for prescribed heart drugs. Its long history in folk medicine is not proof that it works. It is also not proof that it is safe for you.

How does Crataegus monogyna work?

How is hawthorn thought to act on the heart?

The short answer: the mechanism is mostly worked out in labs, not in people.

In cell and animal studies, hawthorn flavonoids (plant pigments) appear to widen blood vessels. That may let more blood reach the heart muscle. Whether this happens at the doses people take is not established.

In isolated animal hearts, hawthorn extract appears to raise the force of each beat slightly. It also appears to lengthen the heart's recovery time between beats. These are laboratory findings, not proven effects in patients.

In test tubes, the same compounds mop up reactive molecules and may protect vessel linings. That antioxidant work has not been shown to change heart outcomes in people.

The plain summary: we can measure modest symptom changes in trials. We cannot yet say with confidence why they happen.

What forms does Crataegus monogyna come in?

What forms does hawthorn come in?

- Standardised leaf-and-flower extract in tablets or capsules. This is the form used in most trials. - Dried leaf and flower for tea.

- Tinctures and fluid extracts in alcohol. - Berry extracts, syrups and powders. - Berries as food, in jellies, vinegars and country wines.

Strength varies a great deal between products. A tea is far weaker and far less predictable than a standardised extract. Two bottles with the same plant name may not be the same thing.

Look for the plant part and the extract ratio on the label. If neither is listed, you do not know what you are taking.

Where it comes from:

What did tradition claim for hawthorn?

Hawthorn was a heart herb in European folk medicine for centuries. Writers from the Middle Ages onward listed it for chest pain, palpitations and dropsy (old word for swelling from heart or kidney trouble).

It entered mainstream European medicine in the late 1800s. Irish and American doctors wrote up berry tinctures for angina. German herbal practice later took up leaf-and-flower extracts, and much of the modern research came from there.

In North Africa and the Middle East, related hawthorns were used for blood pressure, nerves and poor digestion. Chinese medicine used a different species, Crataegus pinnatifida, mainly for food stagnation rather than the heart.

These records describe what people did. They are not a reason to treat a heart problem yourself.

What does Crataegus monogyna help with?

• Mild chronic heart failure (as an add-on to prescribed treatment): This is the best-studied use. A Cochrane review pooled 14 trials of standardised leaf-and-flower extract. Added to usual drugs, it gave small gains in symptoms and in how much work people could do. A later large trial, SPICE, followed over 2,600 patients. It found no clear effect on deaths or hospital stays. So the picture is modest symptom help at best. Hawthorn is not a substitute for heart failure drugs. Any use alongside them is a decision for your doctor.
• Exercise tolerance in heart failure: Several trials measured work capacity on an exercise bike. Groups taking hawthorn extract did a little better than placebo. The gains were small and the trials were short. This does not tell you how you would feel day to day. It also says nothing about people with healthy hearts.
• Mild high blood pressure: The evidence here is weak and mixed. A few small trials found slight drops in blood pressure, mostly in people with diabetes or mild raised readings. Other trials found no change. No trial shows hawthorn prevents strokes or heart attacks. It should not replace blood pressure medicine.
• Palpitations and nervous heart complaints (traditional use): Folk medicine used hawthorn for a racing or fluttering heartbeat. Some European herbal products are licensed for this on tradition alone, not on trial results. There is no good human trial support. New or persistent palpitations need a medical check first, not an herb.
• Angina (traditional use): Nineteenth-century doctors reported hawthorn tincture easing chest pain. These are case reports, not controlled trials. Modern evidence is too thin to support this use. Chest pain can signal a heart attack and always needs urgent care.
• Mild anxiety and poor sleep (traditional use): Hawthorn appears in old calming mixtures, often with valerian or lemon balm. One small French trial of a combination product suggested less anxiety. Because the product held several herbs, the result cannot be pinned on hawthorn. Call this unproven.

Which foods are rich in Crataegus monogyna?

Hawthorn berries are eaten as a food in jellies, sauces, vinegars and country wines. Food amounts are far smaller and less concentrated than supplement extracts. Eating the jam is not the same as taking the studied extract. The seeds contain small amounts of cyanide-forming compounds, so they are not chewed or ground.

What are the side effects of Crataegus monogyna?

• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Nausea or stomach upset
• Headache
• Tiredness
• Palpitations (a fluttering or racing heartbeat)
• Sweating
• Nosebleed, reported rarely
• Skin rash in people allergic to the rose family

Good to know:

How common and how serious are they?

Side effects are usually mild and uncommon. In trials, rates were close to those seen with placebo.

Dizziness is the one reported most. It matters more if you already take blood pressure drugs, because the drop can add up.

Serious harm is rare in published studies. The real risk is less direct: using hawthorn in place of proven heart treatment, or delaying care for chest pain.

How much Crataegus monogyna should you take?

• Recommended daily: What amounts do labels usually carry? This is a description of labels, not advice for you. Standardised leaf-and-flower extracts used in trials ran from about 160 mg to 1,800 mg a day. Most products sit between 160 mg and 900 mg, split into two or three doses. Labels often state the flavonoid or proanthocyanidin content. Tea and tincture strengths vary widely, so no general figure means much. Anyone with a heart condition, or on heart or blood pressure drugs, should settle the amount with a doctor or pharmacist first. Do not change your prescribed doses.
• Best time of day: Does the time of day matter? Not much. Doses are usually spread through the day to keep levels steady. If a dose makes you feel dizzy, that is worth telling your doctor rather than shifting the clock.
• With or without food: With food or without? Either works. Taking it with a meal may reduce nausea, which is the most common complaint. Tea is usually drunk warm, once or twice a day, in the traditional pattern.
• Time to effect: How long before anything happens? In the trials, changes took about 6 to 8 weeks to show. Nothing useful happens in a day or two. It may also do nothing at all. Many people in the trials saw no benefit over placebo.
• How long to take it: How long is it usually taken? Trials ran from 4 to 24 weeks. The large SPICE trial ran for two years. European product guidance often suggests a review after about six weeks of use. If nothing has changed by then, there is little reason to keep going. Long-term use beyond two years has not been well studied.