Hawthorn

Hawthorn is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The common hawthorn typically grows to 10 metres in height. The fruits are rounded, oblong, or pear-shaped, relatively small (the size of a large cultivated blueberry), and depending on the species, they range from orange-yellow, scarlet, red, black in colour.

Such as alıç, aluç, yemişen, ekşi muşmula, kuş yemişi.

The genus Crataegus has 200 different species in the world and most of them are in Northern hemisphere.

Currently, up to 20 Crataegus species have been identified in Turkey.

Hawthorn is a rich source of flavonoids.

Flavonoids have been reported to have a protective effect against heart diseases by preventing the conversion of fats into harmful compounds, reducing the burden on the heart by creating vasodilatation in the vessels and allowing the blood to circulate more easily, strengthen the heart muscle, regulate the heart conduction system and heartbeat, and reduce the risk of heart attack by showing an effect on arrhythmia.

It has been determined that flavonoids are effective on cardiovascular system diseases, regulate blood pressure and have a regulatory effect on lipid and insulin metabolism.

It was determined that quartz in hawthorn played an important role in the prevention of arteriosclerosis, which is a common disease of the arteries and called arteriosclerosis, and in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and in another study, it was determined that the development of arteriosclerotic areas stopped in mice given dacuarcet. In a study conducted on rats, they reported that Crataegus oxyacantha extract had an anti-arrhythmic effect, beneficial in the treatment of ischemia, and significantly reduced ventricular arrhythmias. In a long-term clinical study conducted on patients with type II diabetes, it was determined that the daily administration of 1200 mg of Crataegus extract significantly reduced diastolic blood pressure but had no effect on blood glucose levels. In another study, they found that the high concentration of hawthorn extract used in the treatment of ischemia strengthens the heart, that is, it has a cardioprotective effect, but low concentration hawthorn extract is not very effective in strengthening the heart. In a study conducted in hypertensive rats, Crataegus extract was found to reduce blood pressure, significantly preventing hyperlipidemia, thickening of the artery wall and narrowing of the vascular lumen. In addition, it was announced that daily application of Crataegus oxyacantha did not have a cardioprotective effect in rats and also caused arrhythmias.