This elegant deciduous tree is widely used in landscaping because of its characteristic bright colors and spiny green baskets in which its seeds are hidden. In North America, Aesculus hippocastanum (as is its Latin name) is known as "stag's eye", because of the resemblance between its seeds and the eye of one of the most graceful wild animals.
Its natural habitats are in North America and Eurasia, in zones between 380 and 500 meters above sea level. In our country, the species is protected by the Law on Biological Diversity.
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Its strongly developed stem grows up to 30 meters in height. It is covered with gray brownish bark. The leaves are opposite, composed of 5 to 9 palmately sessile leaves with an unevenly toothed periphery. Each compound leaf is elongated and obovate, with a wedge-shaped base and a short pointed apex. The flowers have an asymmetrical structure and are arranged in bell-shaped five-part calyxes. The petals, 4-5 in number, are white with a yellow or red spot at the base. The stamens are longer than the corolla and are 5, 6 or 7 in number. The flowers are unisexual and bisexual. Each upturned raceme is composed of several female or bisexual flowers and numerous male ones. Flowering spans the months of April and May. The fruit is a seed box with a spherical shape, covered with spines, in which one or two brown seeds are located with a size of 2-3 cm in diameter. The fruits ripen in early autumn - in September and October.
For medicinal purposes, the bark of the young stems and twigs, which is harvested before leafing out, and the seeds, which are collected after their maturation in autumn, are used.
The individual vegetative parts of the horse chestnut have a different chemical composition. The bark is rich in coumarin glycosides (esculin with aglycon esculetin and fraxin with aglycon fraxetin), triterpene saponin escin, allantoin, oil and tannins. The composition of the seeds includes hydroxycoumarins, methoxycoumarins, flavonoid biosins, phytosterols, starch, protein substances and oil. Horse chestnut leaves contain flavonoids (rutin, spiroside, astragalin, quercitrin, isoquercitrin and quercetin).
The rich chemical composition determines the multi-profile action of the extracts extracted from the plant. They have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, strengthen capillaries and blood vessel walls, prevent excessive blood clotting, counteract the formation of blood clots and reduce blood viscosity. These properties make it a valuable raw material for the pharmaceutical industry. It is no coincidence that the extract is part of the medicines for varicose veins, thrombophlebitis and hemorrhoids. The extract obtained from the seeds is particularly effective. It dilates constricted blood vessels and stops bleeding in hemorrhoid sufferers.
The extracts are among the main ingredients of pharmaceutical products to lower the levels of bad cholesterol and are prescribed to sufferers of atherosclerosis. Applied externally - for baths, they give good results for muscle pain and neuralgia.
The extract of horse chestnut is included in the formula of cosmetic means for protection against UV rays and removes the unwanted effects of sunburn.
Unlike other natural products, the beneficial properties of the chestnut were known and used by the proto-Bulgarians. They placed the seeds along the patient's bed, with the protruding part up, to neutralize negative energies and speed up his recovery. Placed in the same way under the pillow, the seeds help with mental fatigue and ensure restful sleep.
Folk medicine abounds in recipes that bring relief to various problems.
The infusion of flowers has an anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effect. It is obtained from 100 grams of dried flowers that are soaked for 20 days in 1 liter of vodka. Used for rubbing, in rheumatism and arthrosis, the same product relieves pain in the affected areas. With internal administration of 40 drops of the tincture, dissolved in 50 ml of water, before each meal, the condition of gout sufferers is alleviated.
Cool baths with decoction of chestnut bark are suitable for hemorrhoids. The same effect has the infusion of 1 tsp. finely chopped seeds, which is poured with 300 ml of boiling water. After 2 hours, the infusion is filtered and taken internally in 100 ml, 3 times a day.
Despite the wide application of the medicinal properties of horse chestnut, consultation with the attending physician before taking is mandatory. Self-medication can be extremely dangerous for the health and life of patients.
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
