ACTION AND DESCRIPTION
The florid subsusity is used, although sometimes the leaves and fruits have been used. They are shrubs or trees of 1.5-4 m, although some species can reach 10 m, hardwood, very branched and with thorny branches. The bark has a light grey color and is smooth in young species, although in adult species it has scales and is brown.
The leaves have an unpleasant smell and a slightly bitter taste. The fruits have an acidic and mucilaginous taste.
The leaves are tri or pentalobed, oval or rhomboid, bright green on the beam and lighter on the underside. The inflorescences are corimbos with numerous small flowers (8-15 mm). The 5 sepals are short and triangular, with the whole margin. In some varieties they can be long. The corolla is dialipétala, and consists of 5 orbicular petals and wavy margin, with a white or sometimes pink color. Androceo is made up of 10-20 stamens, while gynaecine is mono or pluricarpelar (up to 5 carpels) and inferno. In each carpal appear 2 eggs, one upper sterile and one lower, fertile. They have a false globose fruit or drupilanium, crowned by the remains of the chalice, which surround a depression from which tufts of rigid trichomes emerge. Its color is red, black or yellow, with a kind of white powder on its surface. They are about 10 mm in C. monogyna and are slightly larger in C. oxyacantha.
The two main species used are C. oxyacantha and C. monogyna, which differ in:
- Crataegus oxyacantha L. The leaves have 3-5 shallow, obtuse lobes, with a finely dented margin. The peduncles of the flowers are glabrous. The anars are red. The gynaecian has 2-3 styles. The false fruits have 2-3 seeds.
- Crataegus monogyna Jacq. The leaves have 3-7 sharp and uneven lobes, with almost the entire margin. Floral peduncles are hirsutes. The anars are black. A single style appears on the gynaecity. The false fruit has a single seed.
Ingredients
Sprayed berries of Hawthorn albar (Crataegus oxyacantha, 77.8 % be 386 mg per capsule), Potassium bicarbonate (1.61 % be 8 mg per capsule), Anti-agglomerants: magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide. Cover of plant origin: hydroxypropylmethylcellulose.
MODE OF USE
Take 4 capsules a day. 2 capsules at breakfast and 2 capsules at dinner with a glass of water.
CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS
Hawthorn is recommended for cardiac conditions only on prescription. Hawthorn has a complex and variable composition, which can make the effects subtherapeutic or, on the contrary, toxic. In addition, it can mask the symptomatology of severe cardiovascular imaging, delaying its diagnosis. It should also be noted that it could present interactions with digoxin and beta-adrenergic blockers, used as a treatment of choice in heart failure.
Hypotension. Hawthorn could sometimes lead to tables of hypotension, so regular monitoring of blood pressure is advised. In case of symptomatic hypotension it may be necessary to reduce the dosage.
Pregnant women should not use hawthorn.
If symptoms continue or worsen after two weeks of treatment, it is advisable to consult your doctor and/or pharmacist.
- It is advised not to drink alcohol during treatment.
- May cause drowsiness, so it is recommended to exercise caution when driving.
- Insomnia in children should only be treated on prescription.
- It is recommended to use with care in patients with heart disease or treated with digitalis.
- It is recommended to notify the doctor if the patient has dizziness, especially when getting out of bed or from a chair.
- Regular monitoring of blood pressure and heart functionality is advised.
Hawthorn could lead to drowsiness, substantially affecting the ability to drive and/or operate machinery. Patients should avoid handling hazardous machinery, including automobiles, until they are reasonably certain that drug treatment does not adversely affect them.