As you know, the horse chestnut tree was so named because people used to give the chestnuts to their horses to cure them of a cough, shortness of breath, and similar diseases. Horse chestnut has been found to have many medicinal properties. However, the seeds (nuts), along with the leaves, bark, and flowers, of the tree contain esculin, a poison that can be fatal when ingested. The most common medicinal use of the horse chestnut is the extract from the seed, which contains aescin. Aescin, or escin, has three primary benefits that we know of today: anti-oedematous properties, anti-inflammatory properties, and venotonic properties. Now I will tell you what each of the benefits means in non-scientific language.

Basically, anti-oedematous properties means that aescin has been found, in some cases, to prevent oedema. Oedema, also known as dropsy, is the medical term for the build up of fluid in the body. It ranges in severity, can occur all over the body, and can be caused by numerous factors: everything from kidney disease or heart failure to sitting still for a long period of time or exposure to high altitudes.

Anti-inflammatory is a word you’ve probably heard before; it means to reduce inflammation. Inflammation can be caused by a wide variety of things: inflections, burns, frostbite, etc. It’s often characterized by redness, swelling, heat, and pain at the site. Aescin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Finally, horse chestnut is most commonly used because of this last benefit: venotonic properties. Essentially, aescin acts as a blood thinner, and increases the circulation. It is primarily used to treat chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which the veins have trouble circulating blood from the legs to the heart. It was used as a folk remedy historically, but has been found beneficial in clinical tests.