Crataegus oxyacantha: A homoeopathic remedy

Abstract

Crataegus oxyacantha (Hawthorn) is a widely used Chinese herb for treatment of gastrointestinal ailments and heart problems and consumed as food. In North America, the role of treatment for heart problems dates back to 1800. Currently, evidence is accumulating from various in vivo and in vitro studies that hawthorn extracts exert a wide range of cardiovascular pharmacological properties, including antioxidant activity, positive inotropic effect, anti-inflammatory effect, anti cardiac remodelling effect, anti platelet aggregation effect, vaso dilating effect, endothelial protective effect, reduction of smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, protective effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury, anti arrhythmic effect, lipid lowering effect and decrease of arterial blood pressure effect.