Rose hip

Hawthorn is a shrubby plant of the Rosehip (Rosaceae) family that grows throughout the Northern Hemisphere. More than 280 species of hawthorn are known, and herbalists use all of them equally. In our country, the main species used in medicine is the blood-red hawthorn, which is widespread in the eastern half of the European part of the country and practically throughout Siberia.

Hawthorn is the main medicinal plant for maintaining heart health. The beneficial properties of hawthorn are due to the biologically active substances contained in it. First of all, hawthorn is rich in flavonoids (hyperoside, vitexin, rutin and quercetin were found in the fruit). Heart disease is often associated with inflammation, and eating plants and foods high in flavonoids regularly reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. The content of flavonoids in the leaves of the blood-red hawthorn is 0.25−0.29%, in the fruits — 0.12−0.14%.

Also, the main active components of hawthorn are:

• oligomeric proanthocyanidins: catechin, epicatechin and procyanidin B2;
• Phenolic acids: chlorogenic and caffeic;
• Pentacyclic triterpenes: cretegolic, ursolic and oleanolic acids.

Hawthorn fruits also contain:
sugars (mainly fructose), pectin, tannins and coloring agents, coumarins, including oxycoumarins, which reduce the prothrombin index; organic acids — malic, citric, oleanolic, ursolic, crotegusic;
in large quantities iodine, vitamins B1, B2, PP, C, E, carotenoids, fatty oils, beta-sitosterol, choline, acetylcholine, steroids, sesquiterpenoids, lignans, nitrogenous substances.