Horse chestnut or scientifically known as Aesculus Hippocastanum is a plant that contains amounts of poison that can cause death if eaten raw. Despite of its deadly poison, the horse chestnut’s leaves, bark, flower, and seeds are used for medicinal purposes.
Horse chestnuts or Aesculus Hippocastanum have the ability to endure in wide variety of environments. That includes dry, wet, sandy, or even chalky type of soils. Horse chestnuts still prefers moist and well-drained soils and it grow as trees and shrubs. The fruit itself is thick layered, leathery with dark nuts. The horse chestnut is native in southeastern Europe and western Asia, but is now cultivated worldwide because of its medicinal benefits. It is the dried ripe seeds of the plant that has caught medicinal interest in several countries.
A Horse chestnut’s leaf has medicinal properties that are used for arthritis, cough, eczema, joint pain, menstrual pain, tissue swelling from bone fracture, and sprains. While a Horse chestnut bark is used for malaria, dysentery, and sometimes on the skin for lupus and skin ulcers.
The seeds of a Horse chestnut are commonly used for treating diarrhea, fever, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, swollen veins, and enlarged prostate. A Horse chestnut’s seeds undergo a process in separating chemicals so it would be left only with the medicinal extract that is used in treating chronic venous insufficiency. It is the difficulty in the blood circulation due to weak veins.
Research reveals that Horse chestnut has a component that thins the blood. This makes it difficult for fluid to escape out of capillaries and veins and promotes fluid elimination through the process of urination to aid in preventing water retention inside the body.
Continuous studies about Horse chestnut shows that it contains a substance called aescin which exhibits antioxidant activity and resist swelling without affecting the immune system. This is likely to be of tremendous interest to persons who experience the swelling that results when fragile capillaries leak fluid.
Globally known for its anti-inflammatory properties or its diuretic effect, continuous research has been conducted to look for possible treatments for conditions that may associate with fluid retention in the body. One of those is edema.
Horse chestnut may have a diuretic effect on the body but that doesn’t guarantee weight loss either. For the reason that there are a lot of factors in weight gain besides fluid retention, it could be calories or fats. Even swollen glands like for example, gynecomastia or commonly known as “man boobs.”
Gynecomastia is a result of increased estrogen levels or female hormone and decreased levels of androgens or male hormones. That is why increased estrogen levels causes the breast tissue to grow and commonly labeled as “man boobs.”
The anti-inflammatory properties and diuretic effects of a horse chestnut do not apply for this kind of condition as this has nothing to do with hormones. There are no scientific claims that horse chestnut will help in the treatment of gynecomastia.
Horse chestnut has no regulated standards of manufacturing that is approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in replacement for medicines prescribed by your doctor. That is why horse chestnut is often sold as an herbal supplement only.
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