Crataegus pinnatifida, C. cuneata  山 楂 Shān zhā   Chinese hawthorn  Family: Rosaceae    
PART USED: Fruit
Nature: Slightly warm    FLAVOR: Sweet, sour, pleasant.    CHANNEL: Spleen, Stomach, Liver.
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Digestives and Evacuants
1. Corrects digestion. Promotes digestion.[1,5,6] Strengthen the Stomach and improve digestion, relieve diarrhea and dysentery.  Corrects digestion and transform accumulation. Aids digestion. Stops diarrhea.[1]
2. Promote Blood circulation.[1] Disperse blood stasis.[5,6] Lower blood pressure and the level of blood lipids. Disperse blood clots.
INDICATIONS
1.  Indigestion,[1,2,3,4] especially over feeding in infants, and overconsumption of meats.[2,6] Acid reflux. Infantile marasmus (wasting due to malnutrition).[1] Adominal swelling.[5,6]
2. Diarrhea and dysentery,[1] especially for those caused by over eating and drinking. Hemafecia.[5,6]
3. Blood stasis manifested as anemia, postpartum abdominal pain with lochiostasis, angina pectoris, polyp of vocal cord. Inguinal hernia.[1,5,6] Swelling of testis with bearing down pain, hepatosplenomegaly, and cyst of the breast. Menstrual cramps.[1] Hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
4. Resolve sputum, anorexia. Lumbago.[5,6] Mucous discharge.[5,6] Neck pain after childbirth.[5,6]
5. Expel tape worms.[5,6]
PATENT COMBINATIONS
CONTRAINDICATIONS- Weak Spleen/Stomach.[3] Avoid if suffering from constipation.[2] Constipation due to internal Heat or those who have excessive gastric acid.[6]
PREPARATIONS: Decoction.  Fruits and roots 6-12 g.[1,4] Dried fruit.[3] Dried fruit is prepared by soaking hawthorn fruit in boiling wate for less than 1 minute; slice the fruits and lay them in the sun to dry.[6]
Decoction of 30-60 g for anemia, angina pectoris, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.[4]
Decoction of 30-60 g for gargling for polyp of vocal cord.[4]
Standardized extract 18.75% oligomeric proyanidins 60 mg 3 X/day or 80 mg 2 X/day.[2]
Standardized 2.2% flavonoids 100-300 mg 3 X/day.[2]
Hawthorn Charcoal - Heat the dried flakes over a hot plate until they turn to charcoal.[2] Good for diarrhea due to acute gastroenteritis or dysentery, or in small children.[2]
      
- Hawthorn fruit wine- Mix together the following ingredients and marinate for 10 days; 250 g hawthorn slices, 250 g fresh longans, 30 g red dates, 30 g brown sugar, and 4.5 cups rice wine.[6]
- Pain caused by excessive fatigue, muacular pain, and arthritis pain, flying spots in front of the eyes, lumbago, and pain in thigh in the elderly- Drink 30-60 g hawthorn fruit wine at every bedtime.[6]
- Fry Hawthorn slices until they look like charcoal to make hawthorn fruit charcoal.[6]
- Cure scurvy- Boil in water 60 g Hawthorn fruit slices with an equal amount fresh or dried chestnuts until very soft; add 30 g sugar and stir thoroughly. Drink the juice once a day, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.[6]
- Hernia of the small intestine- Boil 31 g Hawthorn slices with water; stir in 1.5 g Fennel powder. Drink the juice in the morning and evening.[6]
- Hypertension, high level of blood fat, and corinary heart disease- Boil 15 g Hawthorn fruit slices in water and drink as tea on a long-tern basis.[6]
- Relieve abdominal lpain caused by acute and chronic gastritis, and dysentery- Grind 6 to 9 g hawthorn fruit charcoal into powder. Take the powder with warm water, once a day.[6]
- Oral administration to stop diarrhea in children- Boil 3 g hawthorn carcoal with 6 g hawthorn fruit slices; drink the juice. Or crush 5 hawthorn fruits and squeeze out the juice to mix with a pinch of hawthorn fruit carcoal.[6]
- Correct indigestion, abdominal swelling, and abdominal pain- Crush 2 to 3 fresh hawthorn fruits and squeeze out the juice to drink; or boil 2 to 3 hawthorn fruits with 6 g dry orange peels; drink the juice.[6]

NOTES: Hawthorn fruits can effectively digest fat and prevent it from entering into the blood vessels by removing it through the bowel movements. Indeed, the fruits are so s effective in softening hard substances, the Chinese people use it to cook tough olden chickens. when hawthorn fruits are used in the cooking water, the gouh chickens become soft and tender- an indication of the tenderizing power of this fruit. Another example, when hawthorn fruits are used to cook fish, even the fish bones will become tender.[6]
HABITAT: Found growing on sunny spots of upland wilds.
DESCRIPTION: Chinese Hawthorn is a deciduous shrub 1.5 m in height. Stem; with multiple branches, stiff thorns sparsely found on branches. Leaves; alternate, obovate or obovate-elliptical, apexes acute, bases cuneate, margins irregularly serrated or shallowly parted, stipules almost ovate. Flowers: in summer, white flowers appearing at terminal branches to form corymb inflorescences. Fruit: orange colored, globose, edible, tart and sweet when ripe.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research

An experiment on rabbits shows the effect of hawthorn fruit in lowering blood pressure.[1]
References
[1] Chinese System of Food Cures Prevention and Remedies. 1986 Lu, Henry. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York. USA. Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Book Co. Pty Ltd. Lane Cove, NSW. ISBN 0-8069-6308-5.

Comparative effects of hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge) pectin and pectin hydrolyzates on the cholesterol homeostasis of hamsters fed high-cholesterol diets.
Zhu RG, Sun YD, Li TP, Chen G, Peng X, Duan WB, Zheng ZZ, Shi SL, Xu JG, Liu YH, Jin XY.
Abstract
This study aims to compare the effects of feeding haw pectin (HP), haw pectin hydrolyzates (HPH), and haw pectin pentasaccharide (HPPS) on the cholesterol metabolism of hypercholesterolemic hamsters induced by high-cholesterol diets. The animals were fed a standard diet (SD), high-cholesterol diet (HCD), or HCD plus HP, HPH, or HPPS at a dose of 300mg/kg body weight for 4weeks. Results showed that HPPS was more effective than HP and HPH in decreasing the body weight gain (by 38.2%), liver weight (by 16.4%), and plasma and hepatic total cholesterol (TC; by 23.6% and 27.3%, respectively) of hamsters. In addition, the bile acid levels in the feces were significantly higher by 39.8% and 132.8% in the HPH and HPPS groups than in the HCD group. Such changes were not noted in the HP group. However, the HP group had higher cholesterol excretion capacities than the HPH and HPPS groups by inhibiting cholesterol absorption in the diet, with a 21.7% increase in TC excretion and a 31.1% decrease in TC absorption. Thus, HPPS could be a promising anti-atherogenic dietary ingredient for the development of functional food to improve cholesterol metabolism.
PMID: 26070415 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2015.06.006  Chem Biol Interact. 2015 Aug 5;238:42-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2015.06.006. Epub 2015 Jun 10. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of an aqueous extract of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N.E.Br. fruit on experimental atherosclerosis in rats.
Zhang J1, Liang R, Wang L, Yan R, Hou R, Gao S, Yang B.
Author information
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Atherosclerosis (AS) can result in severe cardiovascular diseases. Early indications of AS include disorders in lipid metabolism, inflammatory responses, and endothelial dysfunction. Statins are the preferred drugs for stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques because of their lipid-lowering, anti-inflammation and endothelial-protection activities. However, they can exhibit side effects and are effective in only one-third of patients. Many natural products (especially traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs)) possessing similar lipid-lowering, anti-inflammation and antioxidant activities are of interest in many studies exploring new AS drug therapy. The widely distributed hawthorn is used to prevent and cure heart disease not only in China but also in the United States and several European countries. For example, the fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. and Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N.E.Br. (a commonly used hawthorn fruit in China) is used in combination with other TCMs to treat AS. Studies have also shown that the water extracts of these two hawthorn fruits are effective against hyperlipidemia by lowering lipid levels, reducing endothelial dysfunction, and inhibiting inflammation. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect and possible mechanisms of the aqueous extract of Crataegus pinnatifida var. major on AS rats.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida var. major was extracted with 70% ethanol; the ethanol extract was chromatographed on a D101 macroporous resin to obtain a sugar-free aqueous extract (AECP). Atherosclerotic rats were fed a high-fat diet and injected with vitamin D3 and ovalbumin. Rats were divided into five groups: normal, model, model plus simvastatin, model plus low-dose AECP, and model plus high-dose AECP. AECP and simvastatin were administered (via the intragastric route) to AECP groups and the simvastatin group. For normal and model groups, water was given for 4 weeks. After 12 weeks, levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in blood were measured by an automatic biochemistry analyzer. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, nitric oxide (NO), endothelin (ET), 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-18 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pathological changes in arteries were observed using an optical microscope and the intima-media thickness (IMT) calculated. Cholesterol deposition was evaluated by filipin staining. Chemical ingredients in AECP were analyzed by qualitative and quantitative means by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
RESULTS:
AECP significantly reduced the levels of TC, TG and LDL-C but increased HDL-C levels. It also decreased the concentrations of CRP, IL-1β, IL-8 and IL-18. AECP increased levels of ET and TXB2 but increased 6-keto-PGF1α levels. Histopathological examination showed that AECP inhibited pathological changes in the arteries of AS rats and reduced IMT. Chemical analysis suggested that the main components of AECP were chlorogenic acid, procyanidin B2, (-)-epicatechin, rutin and isoquercitrin.
CONCLUSIONS:
These data suggest that AECP can inhibit AS progression in high-fat-diet-fed rats. Possible mechanisms of action include improvement of lipid metabolism, decrease in inflammatory cytokine responses, and protection of the endothelium.
PMID: 23685195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.053  J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Jul 9;148(2):563-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.053. Epub 2013 May 16. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

In vitro antidiabetic potential of the fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida.
Chowdhury SS, Islam MN, Jung HA, Choi JS.
Abstract
In an attempt to develop alternative medicine for the treatment of diabetes and related complications, the antidiabetic potential of the fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida was evaluated. The antidiabetic potential of the methanol (MeOH) extract as well as different solvent soluble fractions of the fruits of C. pinnatifida was evaluated via α-glucosidase, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), rat lens aldose reductase (RLAR), and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation inhibitory assays. The MeOH extract showed potent inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, PTP1B, and AGEs formation with IC50 values of 122.11, 3.66 and 65.83 μg/ml respectively, while it showed moderate inhibitory activity against RLAR with the IC50 value of 160.54 μg/ml. Among different fractions, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and the dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) fractions were found as active fractions exhibiting potential α-glucosidase, PTP1B, RLAR inhibitory, and AGEs formation inhibitory activities. Seven compounds including hyperoside, chlorogenic acid, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, 3-epicorosolic acid, β-sitosterol, β-sitosterol glucoside were isolated from these two fractions. 3-Epicorosolic acid showed both potent α-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 30.18 and 4.08 μg/ml respectively. Moreover, kinetic study revealed that 3-epicorosolic acid showed mixed type inhibition against PTP1B, while it showed uncompetitive inhibition against α-glucosidase. Therefore, these results suggest that the fruits of C. pinnatifida and its constituents have potential antidiabetic activity which might be used as a functional food for the treatment of diabetes and associated complications.
PMID: 25598795 PMCID: PMC4292177  Res Pharm Sci. 2014 Jan-Feb;9(1):11-22. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov