Butchers Broom constrict Veins, Strengthening and Lessen
Inflammation.
Butchers
Broom:
Butchers
Broom is also known by the names Box Holly, Kneeholm,
Kneeholy, Sweet Broom, Pettigree, and Jews Myrtle. Butchers
Broom is so named because the mature branches were bundled
and used as brooms by butchers to clean their cutting blocks.
The young shoots were sometimes eaten as food. Ancient
physicians used the roots as a diuretic in the treatment of
urinary problems. Mediterranean healers had used the rhizome for
the treatment of a variety of inflammatory disorders. Butchers
Broom has been used for centuries to improve circulation and
to relieve discomfort caused by constipation and water
retention. Rich in flavonoids such as rutin, Butchers
Broom strengthens the capillary walls and tightens veins
supporting the circulatory system. It also promotes blood flow
to the brain, hands and legs. Today, Butchers
Broom is also used to alleviate inflammation brought on by
carpal tunnel, arthritis, rheumatism, and varicose veins. Butchers
Broom can also be taken to enhance the health of the kidney
and bladder. Butchers
Broom contains saponin glycosides called ruscogenins.
Research has shown that these ruscogenins possess
vasoconstrictive and anti-inflammatory properties. These active
ingredients reduce the fragility and permeability of capillaries
and constrict the veins. These plant saponin glycosides are the
starter compounds for important steroid compounds in the human
body. Butchers
Broom has also been taken for weight loss because it
contains glycolic acid, a constituent which produces diuretic
action.
What Is Butchers
Broom? The stiff spines of butcher broom, an evergreen bush
(Ruscus aculeatus) native to the Mediterranean region, were once
popular for making brooms (hence the herb name). For centuries,
people also consumed this herb, which is closely related to
asparagus, as a vegetable.
Long famed as a folk medicine, butcher broom was also used for
years in Europe for treating constipation, kidney stones,
urinary tract infections, and various gastrointestinal problems.
Typically, the fleshy root of the plant was boiled and drunk as
a tea.
During the twentieth century the plant use as a folk remedy
began to fade until reports from France in the 1950s changed the
thinking about this ancient herb. Investigators there found that
dogs and hamsters treated with an extract of the plant
underground stem experienced a narrowing of their blood vessels.
Because this kind of action in the body has important
implications for treating vessel diseases, butcher broom is
today used to treat such conditions as varicose veins and
hemorrhoids.
Also known as box holly, knee holly, and pettigree, Butchers
Broom now grows in many parts of the world, including the
southern United States. The dried root and rootstock are used in
medicinal preparations.
Health Benefits Butchers
Broom: The narrowing of vessels observed in small animal
studies of Butchers
Broom was eventually attributed to steroidlike compounds
called ruscogenins and neuroscogenins in the plant rootstock.
These compounds not only constrict veins, strengthening and
toning them, but also lessen inflammation.
Today, over-the-counter Butchers
Broom formulas for hemorrhoids and varicose veins sell quite
well in Europe and are becoming better known in the United
States.
Specifically, Butchers
Broom may help to:
Treat varicose veins. The vein-narrowing qualities of Butchers
Broom have been found to actually relieve the discomforts of
varicose veins and other circulatory conditions (such as chronic
venous insufficiency). Not only does leg pain resulting from
insufficient circulation in lower limb veins often respond to
treatment with Butchers
Broom, but related symptoms (swelling, itching, numbness,
cramping, and a sensation of heaviness) may subside as well.
Sveral studies have demonstrated the herb ability to do this.
One study looked at 40 patients with chronic venous
insufficiency in their lower limbs (a condition closely related
to varicose veins). Researchers reported that those who took Butchers
Broom for two months (along with vitamin C in the form of
ascorbic acid, as well as hesperidin, a flavonoid) had an
improvement in their symptoms; those who took a placebo (dummy
pill) reported no improvement at all.