tuneTypical Dose
250-500 mg twice daily (500-1,000 mg/day total)
Supplement
Chinese Hawthorn
Chinese Hawthorn
Evidence TierCWADA NOT PROHIBITED
watchEffect Window
Start with 2-12 weeks for most practical outcomes.
check_circleCompliance
WADA NOT PROHIBITED
Overview
Clinical Summary
Chinese hawthorn is a Crataegus berry extract used for digestive comfort and adjunct cardiovascular support, but most human data come from mixed hawthorn preparations rather than species-specific trials.
Some extracts show modest reductions in LDL cholesterol or blood pressure in small trials, often alongside improved endothelial function markers. Results are heterogeneous and depend on baseline cardiometabolic risk and dosing. Minority evidence includes antiplatelet activity and improved exercise tolerance, mostly low quality. Interactions with anticoagulants and antihypertensives are plausible for several botanicals.
Traditional digestive use and indirect hawthorn-class cardiovascular evidence support cautious adjunct use, but Chinese hawthorn-specific trial data remain sparse.
Outcomes
What This Is Expected To Influence
Primary Outcomes
- adjunct symptom support
- tolerability improvement
Secondary Outcomes
- function score trend
- subjective wellbeing
Safety
Contraindications and Interactions
Contraindications
- Pregnancy/lactation
- Severe liver or kidney disease
- Medication interactions
Side effects
- GI discomfort
- Drowsiness/sedation (agent-dependent)
- Headache
Interactions
- Drug absorption interactions
- Sedatives/CNS-active agents
- Anticoagulants
Avoid if
- Unknown source quality
- Unstable medical conditions
- Complex medication stack
Evidence
Study-level References
chinese-hawthorn-SRC-001Meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials
Sourceopen_in_newHawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Clinically Significantly Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertension. Meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials. Nutrients. 2025. PMID:40732315.
Population: Adults with hypertension across six randomized placebo-controlled hawthorn trials.
Dose protocol: Meta-analysis of hawthorn preparations used across six placebo-controlled hypertension RCTs
Key findings: Modest systolic blood-pressure reduction, with less certain diastolic effects
Notes: Best current hawthorn-class anchor, but not Chinese hawthorn-specific
Paper content
The current best hawthorn-class human synthesis found a modest systolic blood-pressure reduction, but it pooled mixed hawthorn species and products. It supports cautious adjunct cardiovascular framing, not Chinese hawthorn-specific efficacy claims.
chinese-hawthorn-SRC-002Meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials
Sourceopen_in_newHawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Clinically Significantly Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertension. Meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials. Nutrients. 2025. PMID:40732315.
Population: Adults with hypertension across six randomized placebo-controlled hawthorn trials.
Dose protocol: Mixed hawthorn extracts and doses across hypertension populations
Key findings: Supports only cautious adjunct cardiovascular framing, not confident species-specific claims
Notes: Retained because it captures the formulation heterogeneity that limits Chinese hawthorn claims
Paper content
The current best hawthorn-class human synthesis found a modest systolic blood-pressure reduction, but it pooled mixed hawthorn species and products. It supports cautious adjunct cardiovascular framing, not Chinese hawthorn-specific efficacy claims.