Scientific name: Aesculus hippocastanu
Family: Hippocastanaceae
Common name: horse chestnut
Species: A. hippocastanum
Genus: Aesculus
What is aesculus hippocastanum?
Aesculus hippocastanum, commonly called horsechestnut, is native to the Balkans. It is a medium to large deciduous tree that typically grows 50-75’ tall with an upright oval-rounded crown.
Mature horse chestnut trees grow to a height of around 40m and can live for up to 300 years. The bark is smooth and pinky-grey when young, which darkens and develops scaly plates with age. Twigs are hairless and stout; buds are oval, dark red, shiny and sticky.
Young leaves are brownish red and covered with wooly hair. After the hair disappears, the leaves turn green and extend themselves in a horizontal position. More than a hundred individual white or reddish blossoms are usually grouped in the conical, erect inflorescence. The green, spiny fruits have a coarse shell that bursts when the fruit is ripe. The fruit contains one or two glossy, dark brown seeds with a whitish chalaza.
What does aesculus hippocastanum taste like?
The tree’s fruits resemble sweet chestnuts but have a bitter taste and are unsafe to eat. However, people have traditionally used horse chestnut extract as herbal medicine to treat several health conditions. The main active component in horse chestnut is escin. Additionally, horse chestnut seeds contain the following chemical compounds:
kaempferol
quercetin
proanthocyanidins
sterols
What are the culinary uses for aesculus hippocastanum?
Edible parts of Horse Chestnut: The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute. Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The seed is quite large, about 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. It is usually produced in abundance in Britain. Unfortunately the seed is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. See also the notes above on toxicity. The seed contains up to 40% water, 8 - 11% protein and 8 - 26% toxic saponins. The following notes apply to A. californica, but are probably also relevant here:- The seed needs to be leached of toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days
What are the Health benefits of aesculus hippocastanum?
Health benefits of Horse Chestnut
Horse Chestnut is known for its great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, vasoprotective, astringent, and analgesic properties. Herbalists often recommend Horse Chestnut Seed Extract to treat varicose veins, varicose eczema, frostbite, bruising, rheumatoid arthritis, sprains, muscle tension, and edema. Listed below are few of the popular health benefits of Horse Chestnut
1. Anti-inflammatory
Horse chestnut is an astringent, anti-inflammatory herb that helps to tone the vein walls which, when slack or distended, may become varicose, hemorrhoidal or otherwise problematic. The plant also decreases fluid retention by increasing the permeability of the capillaries and allowing the re-absorption of excess fluid back into the circulatory system.
2. Treats chest pain
Seeds are decongestant, expectorant and tonic. They have been used in the treatment of rheumatism, neuralgia and hemorrhoids. A compound of the powdered roots is analgesic and has been used to treat chest pains.
3. Strengthens veins
Veins that are either weak or under chronic stress are more likely to fail and thus more likely to allow leakage of fluid from the vessels into the tissue space leading to swelling.
Fluid accumulation is more common in the legs and far more likely in individuals who stand for extended periods of time. Prolonged standing and obesity can increase pressure within leg veins causing weak veins to swell, leak and deteriorate into varicose veins. Aescin performs an antioxidant function and has a general vaso-protective role by protecting collagen and elastin (the two chief proteins that form the structure of veins). By protecting these key vessel proteins, veins and capillaries stay strong and maintain their structural integrity when exposed to stress.
4. Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Extract of the horse chestnut is famous for its anti-inflammatory effects. Thus, it is widely used to treat arthritic and rheumatic aches, sprains, and pains. In fact, a lot of massage products used by athletes to treat joint or muscular pain after extraneous workouts consists of horse chestnut.
5. Prevents the Premature Ageing of Skin
Horse chestnut is often recommended as an excellent anti-aging toner thanks to its antioxidant effects. This is because the extract of the horse chestnut promotes circulation and aids in toning and strengthening fragile veins &capillaries. In fact, it is one of the ingredients in many high-quality creams and lotions to reduce the appearance of fine line, wrinkles, and cellulite. Moreover, it is also added in many slimming, firming, and toning skin products
6. Useful Against Leg Ulcers and Frostbite
The anti inflammatory properties of horse chestnut come handy in treating leg ulcers and
frostbite. In these cases they can be used as an ointment for external application.
7. Useful In Reducing Edema
Horse chestnut can be used to reduce fluid retention that is edema particularly the one that is
caused due to trauma or sports injury.
8. Gives Relief from Leg Cramps
Horse chestnut is found to improve blood circulation and elasticity of blood vessels and thus helps in giving relief from leg cramping.
9. Useful Against Phlebitis
Since horse chestnut is useful in improving circulation it is also used in giving relief from phlebitis that is the problem of swollen veins.