Skip to content
DE
Botanical

Horse Chestnut

Horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, is a tree whose seed extracts are used in herbal medicine. Escin is their main active constituent.

Also listed as Aesculus hippocastanum, Conker tree, Rosskastanie, venostasin

LongevityHair & SkinCardiovascularBone & JointStress & Mood

Why does the preparation matter?

The trials reviewed by Cochrane used extracts standardized to escin. Raw horse-chestnut seeds, bark, flowers, and leaves contain a toxic component and are unsafe to swallow. The standardized extracts discussed by NCCIH have that component removed. 1 2

Sources

  2. Horse Chestnut National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health