Hawthorn Berry

Hawthorn berry (slide 24)

Everything above that we said about Arjuna bark applies to Hawthorn.  Hawthorn is a western herb.  It is part of the Rose family.

They have a wicked thorn, so they are used in Europe as hedges. Thousands of miles of hedges.  They use them in pastures so the cows don’t cross them. The European people go out to pick the berries as food and medicine.

They look like little apples.  You can use them as you would an apple, to make pie, jelly, tea, juice.

It’s a little sour. Like Arjuna, but Arjuna is better for arrhythmia.

Hawthorn Berry and Hawthorn leaf and flower

Historically the berry was used, but now we are starting to use the leaf and flower.

Hawthorn is a cardiovascular panacea of western herbalism.  Typical rose blossom.

Chinese Medicine – digestive aid for fat and protein

Hawthorn berry is used in Chinese Medicine for digestive for fat and protein.  The Chinese don’t use it for heart, and the Western herbalist don’t use it for digestion.  It grows all over Europe and Asia

The Chinese variety is called:

• Shan zha
• Crataegus Oxyacantha

You can get it dried at a Chinese Herb store.  You can use it in a digestive formula or herbal digestive tea.  You can re-hydrate them and make a pie if you want.

Western herb

Usually found in capsules (slide 39) used for cardiovascular conditions.  Also found in tincture. (slide 40) Herb-Pham includes berry, leaf and flower.  The active ingredients have been found to extend into the whole plant, so Herb-Pharm uses bery, leaf, and flower.

Slide 41 Hawthorn soup.

Chinese Haw flakes

This is a tasty candy way of taking Hawthorn berries, dehydrated and flattened.  Found at every Chinese market.  They are both tart and sweet.  It’s a way to get into hawthorn.