Many are familiar with the leaves of butcher's broom from flower arrangements. The name butcher's broom is due to the fact that in earlier times food was often stored in baskets woven from twigs of butcher's broom. The prickly "leaves" were supposed to keep away mice, bats and rats. However, the shrub is not only attractive and suitable to keep away mice, but also has a wide range of healing properties.
Butcher's broom for veins, hemorrhoids, kidneys and bladder
In particular, the healing power of butcher's broom is used to relieve discomfort caused by vein weakness or hemorrhoids. The rootstock of butcher's broom contains steroid saponins, phytosterols and triterpenes as well as essential oil. Together, these ingredients increase vascular tone and seal the delicate walls of the capillaries. In addition to this vasoprotective function, the plant has anti-inflammatory, mild diuretic and protects against water retention.
The medicinal plant is therefore already recognized for many years as a traditional herbal medicine for the adjunctive treatment of chronic venous insufficiency with pain and heaviness of the legs, night cramps in the calves, itching and swelling due to water retention in the tissues, as well as hemorrhoid complaints such as itching and burning at the anus. According to recent studies, the active ingredients of the shrub also protect the vein support fiber elastin, which keeps the veins elastic. In folk medicine, the medicinal plant is also used as a diuretic and diaphoretic, such as for kidney pain and bladder stones.
Application of butcher's broom
It is recommended to take butcher's broom root in the form of finished medicines or tinctures, as they ensure the right dose of effective ingredients. Extracts should be taken in daily doses of up to 450 mg for adults and used over several months. However, a large study published in 2007 showed that by using butcher's broom as a finished drug, severe symptoms began to subside by the second week of treatment. Ultimately, patients had no symptoms at the end of therapy. If one wants to avoid vein complaints in the warm summer months, one should start taking it already in spring.
Side effects during treatment with butcher's broom occur only rarely in the form of stomach pain, nausea or diarrhea. Butcher's broom should not be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
