Hawthorn HAWTHORN, A PROMISING PLANT WITH DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Hawthorn (Crataegus species) is distributed widely in Asia, North America and Europe. The fruits and leaves of hawthorn have been used to treat many health conditions. Many in vivo and in vitro studies have been carried out for its biomedical applications. Hawthorn extract possesses a range of different activities including, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticataract, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, and anticancer activities. The present review aims to give a detailed understanding of the morphology, chemical composition, pharmacological and biomedical activities of Hawthorn. Phytochemicals like flavonoids, procyanidins, catecholamines, polysaccharides, triterpenes, have been identified evaluated for biological activities. In addition, this review discusses the clinical trials of various Crataegus plants along with the scope for future research in this aspect.