Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
Hawthorn fruit and bark switch on the antioxidant and heme-clearing defenses in animals, and the heart is where the benefit lands.
What the evidence shows
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Chinese hawthorn berry widens the coronary arteries, feeding more blood to the heart and muscles, and eases the squeeze in the vessel walls.
Crataegus, the May blossom of European hedgerows, long called the heart's herb; its procyanidins strengthen each contraction so the heart muscle pulls fully.
The Chinese hawthorn berry relaxes smooth muscle in the vessel wall, and the pressure against it eases — the heart pushes blood with less effort.
In insulin-making cells stressed by high fructose, a polyphenol-rich hawthorn fraction sharply shut down the protein-folding stress response.
Where it appears
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