Horse Chestnut

Aesculus Hippocastanum, also known as conker tree or horse chestnut, is an adaptogenic herb with a long history of use as a traditional medicine. This herb is often used as a supplement for reducing the symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency but can also have various other beneficial effects. This article is about the main benefits of horse chestnut, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogenic herbs, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Major benefits

    Reduced symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency – Horse chestnut can significantly and reliably reduce symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), such as leg swelling, pain, tiredness, itching, and varicose veins.

Minor benefits

    Reduced hemorrhoids – Oral supplementation can reduce hemorrhoids. More studies are needed to determine the potency of this benefit.

The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking horse chestnut, things can get worse before they get better. This herb can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick for a few days after you start taking it. That can be unpleasant, but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.

Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to this herb and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t disappear until one stops taking the herb.

Nausea – This side effect is most common when people take the herb on an empty stomach.

Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this herb with a meal.

Toxicity – As an adaptogen, horse chestnut acts as a mild stressor on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking high amounts of this herb could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 600 mg of horse chestnut extract or 100 mg of total triterpene glycosides in a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.

Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, horse chestnuts can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Some growers also use pesticides and herbicides that can be unsafe. Another issue is that herbal supplements can get contaminated with other supplements and chemicals during the manufacturing process. Choose the brand you get herbs and herbal supplements from wisely. It is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.

You should probably avoid taking horse chestnut if you:

are allergic to this herb

experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the herb (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the supplement is working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)

are pregnant or breastfeeding (while it can be safe to take this adaptogen during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it acts as a mild stressor and can put some unnecessary risk to the child)

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

experience leg swelling or other symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency

have hemorrhoids

have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (assuming you don’t fall into any of the categories that should avoid this herb, horse chestnut appears safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)

Because horse chestnut is an adaptogenic herb, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient to certain kinds of stressors in the long term.

A higher dose does not necessarily lead to more pronounced benefits. Instead, there appears to be an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern. In other words, you want to find a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get the benefits of horse chestnut without putting too much pressure on the body or quickly causing the body to develop tolerance to the herb.

The sweet-spot dose typically ranges anywhere between 300-600 mg of an average horse chestnut extract. If you purchase an extract standardized for triterpene glycosides (saponins), the sweet spot dose of total saponins is about 50-100 mg.

The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this herb for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.

Additionally, very high doses can put too much pressure on your system and cause health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

While this herb could theoretically cause acute toxicity, you’d need to take an extremely high dose that would be way beyond what even the most potent supplements contain.

Like most other adaptogens, it is best to cycle horse chestnut and take about two days off weekly to reset your tolerance. That will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

Keep in mind that the effects of this herb are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the herb and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.

You can take this herb with or without food. Each of these options has its benefits. The main bioactive compounds in the herb should absorb well either way.

If you experience nausea or stomach discomfort when you take this herb, taking it with food should prevent these unpleasant effects or at least make them less intense.

If you take this herb on an empty stomach, the short-term effects will kick in faster, and they will be more pronounced but will not last as long.

Whether you take this herb in the morning or the evening typically does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.

Corticosteroids
Horse chestnut can increase the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids.