I thought this article at about.com was pretty interesting.

Horse Chestnut
The herb horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is one of the most widely used natural treatments for varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency, a related condition.

The active constituent in horse chestnut is a compound called aescin. Aescin appears to block the release of enzymes that damage capillary walls.

In 2006, researchers with the respected Cochrane Collaboration reviewed studies involving the use of oral horse chestnut extract or placebo for people with chronic venous insufficiency.

The researchers found an improvement in the signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency with horse chestnut extract compared with placebo. Horse chestnut extract resulted in a significant reduction in leg pain and swelling compared with a placebo.

Adverse events were usually mild and infrequent. The researchers concluded that based on the evidence, horsechestnut extract was an effective and safe short-term treatment for chronic venous insufficiency. None of the studies, however, evaluated whether the extract could reduce the appearance of varicose veins.

Whole horse chestnut is considered unsafe by the FDA and can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, convulsions, circulatory and respiratory failure, and even death. Tea, leaves, nuts, and other crude forms of the horse chestnut plant should also be avoided.

Manufacturers of horse chestnut products remove the toxic component, esculin. These products appear to be safe, as there have been few reports of harmful side effects despite being widely used in Europe.

People with kidney or liver disease and bleeding disorders should avoid horse chestnut. The safety of horse chestnut in pregnant or nursing women or children has not been established. Horse chestnut should not be combined with aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), Ticlid (ticlopidine), Trental (pentoxifylline), Coumadin (warfarin), and other anticoagulant (“blood-thinning”) drugs unless under medical supervision as these medications may increase the effect of the medication.

Tags: Home Remedies // Add Comment »