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Phytotherapy
Teas or tinctures can be taken internally
three to four times a day to help heal
varicose veins from the inside. The
actions of the medicinal plants listed
here can increase vein elasticity, reduce
blood-vessel fragility, stimulate
circulation and reduce water retention.
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
strengthens blood vessels and is an
effective astringent that tones and
tightens tissues.2 The herb reduces
capillary fragility and swelling by
regulating capillary permeability, and it
helps strengthen and repair blood vessels
that have lost their elasticity.3
The shiny brown fruits of this ornamental
shade tree have a long history of treating
varicose veins. As is the case with many
herbs, horse chestnut's historical uses
are being affirmed by modern research, and
now some animal, clinical and in vitro
studies give evidence of the herb's
benefit.4
At least two classes of compounds in horse
chestnut, aesculin and aescin, may affect
circulation. Both are coumarin glycosides;
coumarins slow the onset of blood
coagulation and are found in more than 150
species of medicinal plants.
Aesculin thins blood and improves blood
viscosity, so is thought to be endowed
with vascular-protective properties.5
Aescin is a complex mixture of saponins,
which are soaplike agents found in plants
such as potatoes and beans that foam when
cooked. Saponin compounds reduce the
surface tension of liquids, and aescin
itself increases the permeability of the
inner vascular walls, making it easier for
tissue fluids to drain into capillaries.
Aescin, present at up to 13 percent in
horse chestnut, is reported to have anti-
inflammatory, anti-swelling and anti-
exudative (oozing of fluids)
properties.5 Rutin, the key flavonoid in
buckwheat, and other flavonoids have long
been used to treat weak capillaries and
veins—and aescin is 300 times more potent
than rutin.6
Commercial extracts of aescin from horse
chestnut seeds also have been shown to
reduce excessive clotting. Researchers at
Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash.,
conducted a double-blind, randomized,
single-dose trial on 71 healthy
individuals to assess the effects of a
topical 2 percent aescin gel on
experimentally induced bruises (broken
blood vessels). The aescin gel reduced
inflammation and tenderness in all cases
over the recorded 10-hour period.