Hawthorn Fruit – 1 lb (454 g)

Hawthorn Fruit, known in Chinese as 山楂 (Shānzhā) and scientifically as Fructus Crataegi, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Hawthorn Fruit carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Hawthorn Fruit helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Hawthorn Fruit provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Hawthorn Fruit has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Hawthorn Fruit, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Suanzao, Chigua Shi, Tangli Zi, and Shanli Hong Guo. It is the mature fruit of plants in the Rosaceae family: Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N.E.Br. (Shanli Hong) or Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. (Shanzha). The former is distributed in North China and provinces such as Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui; the latter is found in Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, and other areas. The fruit is harvested promptly when ripe in autumn, sliced while fresh, and sun-dried.

[Properties] Taste: sour and sweet; nature: slightly warm. Channels entered: Spleen, Stomach, Liver.

[Actions] Promotes digestion and strengthens the stomach; regulates Qi and disperses blood stasis.

[Applications]
1. Used for food retention with indigestion, diarrhea, dysentery, and pediatric malnutrition. Hawthorn is commonly used to treat indigestion, especially for accumulation of greasy meat foods and poor digestion in children. It is often combined with malt (Mai Ya) and six-processed grains (Liu Qu). If food retention causes heat, epigastric and abdominal distension and pain, with thick yellow greasy tongue coating, additional herbs such as Forsythia (Lian Qiao), Radish Seed (Lai Fu Zi), and Poria (Fu Ling) are added, as in Bao He Wan formula. For pediatric malnutrition with poor appetite, diarrhea, and abdominal distension and pain, it is combined with Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), Dolichos Bean (Bai Bian Dou), Aucklandia (Mu Xiang), and Nutmeg (Rou Dou Kou). For diarrhea caused by food retention, it can be combined with Aucklandia and Areca (Bing Lang). If damp-heat with food retention is present, symptoms include dysentery with abdominal pain and tenesmus; it is often combined with Coptis (Huang Lian) and Sophora (Ku Shen).
2. Used for blood stasis causing amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and postpartum abdominal pain with retained lochia; often combined with Motherwort (Yi Mu Cao), Angelica (Dang Gui), Ligusticum (Chuan Xiong), and Typha (Pu Huang).
3. Used for heart blood stasis causing chest obstruction and heart pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, and anxiety; combined with Salvia (Dan Shen), Codonopsis (Dang Shen), and Aquilaria (Jiang Xiang).
Currently widely used clinically for coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and angina pectoris.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 9–12 g; or incorporated into pills or powders. Raw hawthorn disperses blood stasis; stir-fried hawthorn promotes digestion; charred hawthorn treats diarrhea, dysentery, and blood accumulation.

[Cautions] Use with caution in cases of spleen and stomach deficiency and in pregnant women.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents include (-)-epicatechin, quercetin, hyperoside, chlorogenic acid, methyl citrate, flavonoid polymers, ursolic acid, sucrose, and others.
2. Pharmacological effects: Hawthorn increases secretion of gastric digestive enzymes and promotes digestion; it has significant inhibitory effects on various dysentery bacilli, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, beta-hemolytic streptococcus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and Salmonella typhi. Extracts show significant lipid-lowering effects and reduce atherosclerosis; ethanol extracts or total flavonoids have sustained antihypertensive effects; aqueous ethanol precipitate injection enhances serum hemolysin activity, serum hemagglutination antibody titers, T lymphocyte rose ring formation rate, and T lymphocyte transformation rate in rabbits, indicating immune enhancement.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Hyperlipidemia: Using Jiangzhile (a tablet containing 0.5 g hawthorn per tablet), 4–6 tablets taken orally 3 times daily for 45 days. Among 83 middle-aged and elderly patients, cholesterol reduction effective rate was 69.49%, triglyceride reduction effective rate was 80.28%. [Henan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1990,(4):23]
2) Acute bacterial dysentery: 15 g each of raw and cooked hawthorn decocted and drunk as tea; white dysentery treated with added brown sugar, red dysentery with white sugar, mixed dysentery with both sugars in appropriate amounts. Among 65 cases, all were effective after 1–3 doses. [Shandong Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1984,(1):31]
3) Simple chyluria: 90 g raw hawthorn decocted daily for 15 days per course. Among 32 cases, 19 cured, 8 improved, 5 ineffective; total effective rate 84.4%. [Chinese Folk Therapy, 2003,(7):56]
4) Chilblains: thick slices of hawthorn roasted or stir-fried until charred, then powdered. Soak affected area with warm water, then evenly apply powder 2–3 times daily. Among 78 cases, 71 cured, 5 markedly effective, 2 improved. [Hebei Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2001,(3):17]
5) Impotence: hawthorn 20–30 g, chive seed 20 g, loach 2 pieces, plus appropriate salt, boiled and consumed daily morning and evening. Among 32 cases, 19 markedly effective, 9 improved, 4 ineffective; total effective rate 87.5%. [New Chinese Medicine, 2001,(11):59]