Hawthorn

Hawthorn suggested uses include for arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, Buerger's disease, circulatory disorders, congestive heart failure (CHF), hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure (hypertension), low blood pressure (hypotension), indigestion, and tapeworm infections.

• There is contradictory evidence about the effects of hawthorn extract in heart failure patients.
• An increase coronary circulation with use of hawthorn is confirmed by double-blind studies; it is comparable to captopril.
• A decrease serum lipids with use of hawthorn has been shown in animal studies.
• Hawthorn is available under the following different brand and other names: aubepine, Chinese hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, English hawthorn, hagthorn, hedgethorn, ladies' meat, maybush, mayflower, maythorn, oneseed hawthorn, shanzha, and whitehorn.

Suggested Dosing

Brewed tea

Three times daily after meals; 1 teaspoon of leaves and flowers/ 8 oz boiling water

Fruit

• Dried powder: 300-1000 mg orally three times daily
• Liquid extract: 0.5-1 ml orally three times daily
• Tincture: 1-2 ml orally three times daily
• Solid extract: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon orally once/day
• Syrup: 1 teaspoon orally two to three times daily

Leaf/flower

• Extract: 160-900 mg/d orally div two to three times daily
• Powder: 200-500 mg orally three times daily
• Tincture: 20 drops orally two to three times daily

Other Information

• Extract standardized to 1.8% vitexin-4-rhamnoside or 20% procyanidins
• Up to 2 weeks of treatment necessary to produce observable effects

Dosage Considerations – Should be Given as Follows:

See “Suggested Dosing”

Side effects of hawthorn include:

• Agitation
• Circulatory disturbances
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal disturbances
• Headache
• Nausea
• Nosebleeds
• Palpitations
• Sleep disturbances (insomnia)
• Stomach upset
• Sweating

This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur. Check with your physician for additional information about side effects.

If your doctor has directed you to use this medication, your doctor or pharmacist may already be aware of any possible drug interactions and may be monitoring you for them. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with your doctor, health care provider, or pharmacist first.

• Hawthorn has no known severe interactions with other drugs.
• Serious interactions of hawthorn include:
  • vandetanib
•  Hawthorn has moderate interactions with at least 51 different drugs.
• Hawthorn has no known mild interactions with other drugs.

This document does not contain all possible interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share the list with your doctor and pharmacist. Check with your physician if you have health questions or concerns.

Warnings

• This medication contains hawthorn. Do not take aubepine, Chinese hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, English hawthorn, hagthorn, hedgethorn, ladies' meat, maybush, mayflower, maythorn, oneseed hawthorn, shanzha, or whitehorn if you are allergic to hawthorn or any ingredients contained in this drug.
• Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center immediately.

Contraindications

• None reported

Effects of Drug Abuse

• No information available

Short-Term Effects

• See "What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Hawthorn?"

Long-Term Effects

• See "What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Hawthorn?"

Cautions

• Concurrent cardiovascular meds, vasodilatory agents, or central nervous system (CNS) depressants.

Pregnancy and Lactation

• Hawthorn is unsafe for use during pregnancy.
• Avoid the use of hawthorn while breastfeeding.