A.Vogel Institute: Powerful Plants > Horse Chestnut topical use
Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum
by Jean-Yves Dionne BSc. Pharm.
Topical use
Many people regard skin as a sealed barrier between the body and the environment. In fact, skin is a dynamic barrier that lets some products in or out and blocks others. This characteristic is turned to good account in the treatment of heavy legs and venous insufficiency.
Venous insufficiency is a widespread problem that mainly affects people with standing jobs like nurses, pharmacists, clerks, etc. The oral forms of horse chestnut seed extract (tincture or tablet) have demonstrated their effectiveness in the treatment and prevention of heavy legs and venous insufficiency. The effectiveness of the topical forms (cream, gel, etc.) of horse chestnut, although clinically proven, is still not well known.
A double-blind study published in 1993 in Planta Medica demonstrated the effectiveness of a topical gel of horse chestnut seed extract standardized at 2% aescin to accelerate the resorption of haematomas (bruises).
Healthy volunteers were hit hard enough to produce a bruise. Part of them used a horse chestnut gel to treat the bruise and the rest used a placebo gel. In the treated group, the bruise was resorbed faster than in the control group.(1)
This study demonstrates the topical efficacy of horse chestnut seed to improve venous drainage. Many references from the 80’s support the results of this study.(2-4)
References
1-Calabrese C, Preston P. Report of the results of a double-blind, randomized, single-dose trial of a topical 2% escin gel versus placebo in the acute treatment of experimentally-induced hematoma in volunteers. Planta Med 1993 Oct;59(5):394-7. 2-Pedrini L, Cifiello BI. Modification of venous function after pharmacologic treatment. Plethysmographic study. Clin Ter. 1983 Aug 31;106(4):271-7. 3-Desogus AI, D'Alia G. Venotropic therapy: results of clinical experimentation. Clin Ter. 1986 Sep 15;118(5):339-42. 4-Montagnani A. Treatment of chronic venous insufficiency with phlebotropic drugs. Clin Ter. 1984 Jan 31;108(2):91-8.
