Common Horse Chestnut.

Common Horse Chestnut: properties and applications

Common horse chestnut (lat. Aesculus hippocastanum) is a perennial tree with a regular crown, belonging to the horse-chestnut family and reaching a height of up to 30 meters. The plant is distributed in the south, in the central zone of the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In the wild, it grows in deciduous forests, mainly on the northern slopes, at an altitude of 800-1800 m above sea level, often forming thickets.

The bark of the horse chestnut is gray-brown and fissured. The leaves are palmately compound, slightly toothed, with long groove-shaped petioles. After the leaves fall, a scar resembling a horse's shoe remains on the bark. The fruit is a spherical three-seeded capsule with spines and valves. The seeds are brown, flattened, with a scar at the base. Ripen in August.

Chestnut forests perform soil protection, water protection and sanitary functions. Wood is used in furniture production. It is used to produce high-quality barrels. An extract prepared from the bark is used to tan leather and dye cotton, wool and silk fabrics dark brown and olive green. Baskets are woven from young branches.

Horse chestnut leaves are a source of vitamin K and are used as livestock feed. The fruits are consumed fresh, baked, boiled and fried, used as a substitute for coffee, cocoa, chocolate and as a seasoning for meat. Chestnut fruits are also used to make flour and baked goods.

Chestnut bark, leaves and flowers contain many biologically active substances, including triterpenoids, saponins, phenols, phenolcarboxylic acids, catechins, tannins, coumarins, flavonoids, aldehydes, vitamins C, K, Bi and Br, carotenoids and fatty oil. These substances reduce the permeability of blood capillaries, reduce blood viscosity and increase the blood supply to the veins and their tone, especially if venous patency is impaired.

It is known that a decoction and infusion of horse chestnut bark is used for varicose veins, hemorrhoids and leg ulcers arising from impaired venous circulation. Chestnut is also used in cosmetology to strengthen capillaries and improve skin condition, especially with rosacea and rosacea. For these purposes, extracts from the bark, leaves and flowers of chestnut, as well as oil from its fruits, are used.

However, it must be taken into account that horse chestnut can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, cramps and allergic reactions. Therefore, before using chestnut for medicinal purposes, you should consult your doctor.