May 2026

Polyphenols in herbal medicine

• Week 1: Polyphenols in herbal medicine
• Week 2: Hawthorn – A Heart Feeling Herb
• Week 3: Milk Thistle – Liver First Aid
• Week 4: Goldenrod – The Golden Healer

Hawthorn – A Heart Feeling Herb

What’s in a name

Hawthorn gets its name from Old English haguþor, combining “haw” meaning hedge with “thorn,” referring to its sharp spines. Historically hawthorn was used for hedging.  In Britain, it is often called the “May-tree” because it blooms in May. 

The botanical name Crataegus comes from the Greek krataigos, in which kratai- means mighty, strong, or powerful. 

Botanical Family: Roseaceae

Part used: leaves, flowers, and fruits.

Degree: 3rd degree

Description

Hawthorn is a shrub or tree that can reach 15-30 feet tall with dense, tangled branches that carry long, sharp thorns.  

The leaves are toothed and  lobed, about 6cm long. The flowers are hermaphrodite, meaning both male and female reproductive parts are contained within each flower. Flowers are highly scented, white or occasionally pink with five petals, and grow in flat-topped clusters. The fruits are round, red, and about 0.4 to 0.8 inches in diameter.

Growing 

Hawthorn is a hardy, low-maintenance tree or shrub thriving in full sun (6+ hours) and well-drained, slightly acidic to alkaline soil.

The flowers are harvested in late summer (here in New Hampshire) when they are in full bloom. The red fruits are harvested in late fall. 

History and lore

In England and Ireland, hawthorn was called May tree, and people would wait for it to blossom before they tilled their fields and sheared their sheep. Hawthorn’s blossoms were considered God’s blessings, its thorns, however, pointed to a dark side. 

The flowering branches decorated the Maypole and were used in fertility rituals, but bringing hawthorn into the home was forbidden, as it was believed to bring death. In Celtic mythology, hawthorn is a gateway tree that holds a doorway between our realm and the fairy realm. 

Sir Samuel Ferguson’s  story“The Fairy Tree” tells of a  group of maidens who sneak out to dance on a hill with the hawthorn (the fairy tree), ashes, and rowans. They slow down and quickly fall asleep and are enchanted, 

“For, from the air above, the grassy ground beneath, and from the mountain-ashes and the old Whitehorn between, a Power of faint enchantment doth through their beings breathe, and they sink down together on the green.” 

The fairies come to visit them, and one of them is taken away and never seen again.

Light and darkness, birth and death, hawthorn was connected to fate.

Energetic Architecture

Ruling Planet

In his book, The Complete Herbal, a classic 17th-century guide to herbal medicine by English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper places Hawthorn under the rulership of Mars due to its bright red berries, sharp thorns, and its strong action on the heat/excitation tissue state, aka inflammatory conditions. 

Ruling Element

The fiery, bright red fruits that are cooling the heat of inflammation suggest hawthorne has an affinity for the fire element, as does its affinity to the heart, which is the carrier of the body’s and soul’s warmth.

Alchemical Principal

Hawthorn is primarily associated with sulfur due to its protective, fiery, and cardiovascular-stimulating properties.

Psychological Profile

Hawthorns have a dual effect on the spiritual heart. On the one hand, it supports,

nourishes, and opens the heart. On the other hand, it is a protective herb that forms a thorny hedge around the heart. It is for people who need to learn to open their hearts while keeping boundaries. 

Taste

Hawthorn flowers and young leaves have a mild, delicate, and often nutty or almond-like flavor with subtle floral or sweet notes. 

The berries are mostly sour. 

Energetics

Temperature: Cooling

Fluids: Moistening 

Tone: Toning

Tissue State

Heat/Excitation – Hawthorn is cooling and moistening when inflammation creates heat and dryness in the tissue, leading to irritation. 

Damp/Stagnation – Hawthorn is astringent, which means it tones and tightens tissue, preventing fluid leakage and stagnation, such as in edema. 

Pharmacology

In the past 20 years, more than 150 different compounds have been found in hawthorne berries, including:

Flavonoids – including flavones such as quercetin and glucosylated flavonols, anthocyanins.

Triterpenoids such as Oleanolic acid , with  liver protection, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects, and Crataegolic acid, which possesses significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. 

Oligomeric proanthocyanidins are a “super antioxidant,” they help neutralize free radicals, reduce chronic inflammation, and protect against cellular damage.

Organic acids, such as chlorogenic acid, act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antimicrobials.

Pectin oligosaccharides with 2–11 polymers –  fresh hawthorn fruit was reported to be as high as 20.5% and demonstrated antioxidant, hypolipidemic, antiglycation, and antibiotic properties.  

Actions

Foundational actions are associated with the energetic pattern and can be experienced viscerally in the body.

Hawthorn is astringent, meaning it returns tone and integrity to the blood vessels, preventing leakage and edema. 

Primary actions relate to organs, systems, or tissues.

Heart tonic – Hawthorn is the classic heart tonic; it nourishes and supports the heart and cardiovascular system. 

Hypotonic – Hawthorn reduces blood pressure partly because it is a mild diuretic and partly because it has a vasodilating effect. 

Antiarrhythmic – used to manage mild heart palpitations and strengthen heart muscle. It works by increasing coronary blood flow. 

Anxiolytic – By steadying heart rate, hawthorn reduces anxiety. 

Secondary actions imply an end result without specifying energetics or the system affected. 

Anti-inflammatory – The polyphenols and flavonoids reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.

Antioxidant – The cardiovascular system has high energy needs because the heart works nonstop. The byproduct of constant energy production is oxidative stress. The polyphenols in hawthorn berries act as direct extracellular antioxidants; they directly scavenge free radicals in the vascular space and protect endothelial cell membranes from oxidative damage.

Organ affinity

• The cardiovascular system
• The nervous system

Clinical Pattern

“From these results my deductions are that Crataegus Oxyacantha is superior to any other of the  well known and tried remedies at present in use in the treatment of heart disease, because it seems to  cure while the other remedies are only palliative at best…  

Crataegus may be regarded as specific, or the nearest approach to a specific, in the following cardiac  diseases: Angina pectoris, valvular deficiency, with or without enlargement, endo-myo and  pericarditis, tachycardia, rheumatism (so-called) of the heart, cardiac neuralgias, from whatever  cause, palpitation, vertigo, apoplexy, dropsy, and functional derangements.”

 ~ Ellingwood 

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in developed countries, mainly through the development of atherosclerosis, a condition in which the arteries narrow and lose their flexibility, therefore cannot manage blood pressure. The end result is high blood pressure that may lead to a heart attack, aneurysm, and stroke. 

Atherosclerosis and high blood pressure are symptoms of hyperlipidemia (high LDL and triglycerides), inflammation, and increased oxidative stress. Studies suggest that hawthorne affects all the risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Endothelium Protection

Early stages of atherosclerosis are characterized by reduced nitric oxide-mediated vasodilator responses and increased vasoconstriction, leading to elevated blood pressure, elevated inflammatory markers, and increased LDL oxidation. You might want to think of it like narrowing a water hose, which increases the pressure of the water flowing through it. 

Hawthorn extracts reduced inflammatory markers and elevated nitric oxide levels in both human and animal experiments.

Hyperlipidimia

A 2025 study found that hawthorn flavonoids alleviated hyperlipidemia and its complications, as evidenced by reduced body weight gain and fat accumulation, and by improved dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. Also, hawthorn flavonoids were found to have a protective effect on the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, reducing lactate dehydrogenase levels and improving inflammation.

Another study found that pectin from hawthorn berries had a prebiotic effect on gut bacteria, promoting strains that had a positive effect on hyperlipidemia. 

Antioxidant

While high LDL contributes to atherosclerosis, the presence of LDL alone does not cause it; rather, when LDL remains in the blood longer, it is more likely to be oxidized by free radicals. 

In inflammation, metabolic processes increase to meet the body’s increased energy needs. Metabolism produces free radicals; in a healthy metabolism, the body’s innate antioxidants can bind to and remove these free radicals. However, in chronic inflammation, the antioxidant system may be overwhelmed, leading to oxidative stress and the release of free radicals into the blood and matrix. 

Rutoside, a flavonol glycoside present in hawthorn, is one of the most potent antioxidant compounds identified in the plant. Its molecular structure contains ten hydroxyl (–OH) groups, which significantly enhance its ability to scavenge free radicals. Rutoside protects biomolecules from oxidative damage, stabilizes cell membranes, and supports the regeneration of other antioxidants, such as vitamin C. Numerous studies have also highlighted its anti-inflammatory, vasoprotective, and cardioprotective effects.

Neuroprotection

Oxidative stress plays a leading role in nervous system degenerative conditions such as alzheimers and parkinson. Neurons are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage because they have very high metabolic rates and relatively limited antioxidant defenses compared to other cell types.

Hawthorn flavonoids were found to inhibit NF-κB the master inflammatory that drives microglial inflammatory cascades that damage cholinergic neurons. Suppressing microglial inflammation is crucial for slowing neurodegeneration.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly recognized as central to Alzheimer’s pathology. 

High levels of hawthorn were found to protect against mitochondrial membrane injury and cell death, central to preventing the development of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. 

Cholinergic neurons are especially dense in areas of the brain that are associated with memory consolidation (Hippocampus), executive function and focus (Prefrontal cortex), emotional memory (Amygdala), and cognitive processing. When Cholinergic neurons degrade, the whole cortex loses a fundamental modulatory input, leading to degenerative conditions. Some studies suggest that hawthorn extract can inhibit enzymes that break down acetylcholine, increasing its activity in the brain and leading to better memory, focus, and executive function in people with Alzheimer’s. 

Mood

Some research suggests that the neuroprotective effects of hawthorne extend beyond degenerative diseases and can help reduce stress and anxiety. 

Preparation and dosage

Standard decocation: 4-8 ounces 3 times daily

Tincture: dried leaf and flower 1:5 45%A. 

Dosage: 1-5 ml (0.2-1 tsp)2-4 times daily

Fluid extract: Dried berries and flowers 1:1 50%A

Dosage: 1-2 ml (0.2-0.4 tsp) 2-4 times daily

Glycerite: Dried flowers and berries 1:8 

Dosage 5-20 ml (1-4 tsp) 2-4 times daily

Solid extract: 0.5-1 tsp up to 3 times daily

Capsules: 1000-2000 mg 3 times daily

Safety

Hawthorn is a tonic herb that embodies the saying “food is medicine.”  It is safe to use as food long-term. 

Hawthorn is best known as a cardiovascular remedy; its superpower, however, is in protecting the boundaries.

Recipe for Remedy