What is Aesculus hippocastanum used for?
What is Aesculus hippocastanum used for?
Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) has been used for centuries as a treatment for dysentery, bronchitis, hemorrhoids, and venous problems in folk medicine. Clinical studies support its use in chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and postoperative edema.
What is the common name for Aesculus hippocastanum?
horsechestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum, commonly called horsechestnut, is native to the Balkans. It is a medium to large deciduous tree that typically grows 50-75′ tall with an upright oval-rounded crown.
Why is it called horse chestnut?
Etymology. The common name horse chestnut originates from the similarity of the leaves and fruits to sweet chestnuts, Castanea sativa (a tree in a different family, the Fagaceae), together with the alleged observation that the fruit or seeds could help panting or coughing horses.
What is Aescin used to treat?
Aescin is a component in horse chestnut extract with anti-inflammatory properties. It has been found to reduce inflammation related to injury, venous insufficiency, and swelling ( 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ).
Who should not take horse chestnut?
Don’t use it if you have a bowel or stomach disorder. Liver disease: There is one report of liver injury associated with using horse chestnut. If you have a liver condition, it is best to avoid horse chestnut. Latex allergy: People who are allergic to latex might also be allergic to horse chestnut.
Can deer eat horse chestnuts?
Uses of horse chestnuts: Nutritional: Although horses shouldn’t eat horse chestnuts, the nuts do provide nourishment to public enemies number 1 and number 2: deer and squirrels.
Is Aesculus hippocastanum invasive?
Family Hippocastanaceae – Horse-Chestnuts & Buckeyes. Horse chestnuts thrive in any soil, including alkaline, and are common in parks and gardens as an often spectacular specimen planting. The horse chestnut is considered invasive in some locales.
What happens if you eat horse chestnut?
Toxic horse chestnuts cause serious gastrointestinal problems if consumed by humans. Consuming the nuts or leaves of horse chestnut trees causes bad colic in horses and other animals develop vomiting and abdominal pain.
What is wrong with the horse chestnut trees?
One of the most common diseases of horse chestnut trees is leaf blight. Leaf blight is a fungal disease which causes large, brownish spots to develop on the tree’s leaves. Often, these brown spots will also be surrounded by yellow discoloration.
Is horse chestnut good for skin?
The saponins are potent anti-inflammatory compounds and produce a gentle soap which aid in skin softening. As skin uses this as a moisturizing component, a reduction in this enzyme can lead to an increase in skin hydration. Horse Chestnut Extract has soothing, anti-irritant and toning properties on the skin.
Is horse chestnut good for arthritis?
Horse chestnut leaf is used for eczema, menstrual pain, soft tissue swelling from bone fracture and sprains, cough, arthritis, and joint pain. Horse chestnut branch bark is used for malaria and dysentery. Some people apply horse chestnut branch bark to the skin for lupus and skin ulcers.
What animals eat horse chestnuts?
There are some animals that can safely eat conkers. These include wild boars and deer. However, they are too toxic for humans to eat and will make people unwell. Strangely, despite the name horse chestnuts, they are also poisonous for horses.
What kind of Medicine is Aesculus hippocastanum used for?
Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) has been used for centuries as a treatment for dysentery, bronchitis, hemorrhoids, and venous problems in folk medicine. Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) has been used for centuries as a treatment for dysentery, bronchitis, hemorrhoids, and venous problems in folk medicine.
What do the leaves on A hippocastanum plant look like?
The leaf scars left on twigs after the leaves have fallen have a distinctive horseshoe shape, complete with seven “nails”. The flowers are usually white with a yellow to pink blotch at the base of the petals; they are produced in spring in erect panicles 10–30 cm tall with about 20–50 flowers on each panicle.
Where does the Aesculus hippocastanum moth come from?
Aesculus hippocastanum is affected by the leaf-mining moth Cameraria ohridella, whose larvae feed on horse chestnut leaves. The moth was described from North Macedonia where the species was discovered in 1984 but took 18 years to reach Britain.