Horse Chestnut
It has a vasoconstrictor and tonic effect that strengthens blood circulation. For these reasons, it is used in the treatment of varicose veins, phlebitis and hemorrhoid diseases.
Horse chestnut is a representative plant of the chestnut family. The common name of about 25 species of trees or shrubs that shed their leaves in winter, the Aesculus genus, which grows in the Northern Hemisphere, is horse chestnut. The most relevant species to our subject is the Great Horse Chestnut or White Flowered (A. hippocastanum), which is native to the Balkan Peninsula and spread to Europe in the seventeenth century.
When the fruit ripens, the green, thorny shell splits and 1-3 shiny, dark brown, bitter and astringent seeds fall out. The name of the plant and these seeds was given to horses that used to suffer from shortness of breath. Horse chestnut is propagated by seeds or stem cuttings.
The most beneficial part of the plant for health is its seeds. These, namely horse chestnuts, contain large amounts of starch, sugars, saponin, tannin, oil, some bitter substances, aesculin and fraxin. It is used in the production of anti-inflammatory drugs in pharmacy. The sour-tasting tender leaves of the tree are collected in some places and eaten as wraps.
Use in folk medicine
1. It has a vasoconstrictor and tonic effect that strengthens blood circulation. For these reasons, it is used in the treatment of varicose veins, phlebitis and hemorrhoid diseases.
2. For the same reasons, it is useful in healing inflammation in the veins and skin cracks.
3. For the same reasons, it heals the cracking and bleeding of capillaries and ulcers on the legs.
4. It supports the strength and health of the vessels in the circulatory system.
In order to benefit from these effects, the seeds of the horse chestnut tree that ripen and fall to the ground in autumn are collected and dried. 1-2 teaspoons of dried seed pieces and some of the leaves of the tree, if any, are taken and 1 glass of boiling water is poured over them. An infusion is prepared by brewing for 10-15 minutes. This infusion is drunk three times a day, one glass at a time, sweetened.
Or in cases of phlebitis, hemorrhoids, inflamed veins, varicose veins, skin cracks and ulcers on the legs, the same infusion is applied externally, by rubbing it on the affected areas. “
