{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"horse-chestnut","kind":"supplement","name":"horse chestnut","aliases":["Aesculus hippocastanum","aescin","escin"],"brands_sg":["Nature's Way","Swanson Vitamins","BodyGold","Nutricost","NOW Foods"],"class":"botanical","tags":["heart"],"use_for":"leg pain and swelling in chronic venous insufficiency","use_after":null,"use_duration":"safety data cover short courses — about 12 weeks","take_with":null,"pros":["cochrane: efficacious and safe short-term for cvi","6 of 7 placebo trials cut leg pain; leg volume fell","one trial: as effective as compression stockings"],"cons":["cochrane wants larger definitive trials to confirm","raw seed, bark, flower and leaf are unsafe orally","dizziness, gut upset, headache and itching reported"],"dose_note":"the 2025 venoactive-compounds review tabulates horse chestnut seed extract (escin) at initially 120 mg a day, then 60 mg a day; the cochrane review pooled standardised oral seed-extract mono-preparations, and nccih notes the extracts have been used safely in research studies for up to 12 weeks","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["raw or unprocessed seed, bark, flower and leaf — nccih calls them unsafe by mouth","pregnancy or breastfeeding — nccih says little is known","on any medicine — nccih advises talking to a health care provider before herbal products","sg: a health supplement cannot be sold to treat circulatory disease (hsa table 6)"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"nccih_horse_chestnut","url":"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/horse-chestnut","label":"NCCIH — Horse Chestnut: Usefulness and Safety (last updated April 2025)","quote":"The raw seeds, bark, flowers, and leaves of horse chestnut are unsafe when used orally … Standardized … seed extracts are likely safe for short-term use and have been used safely in research studies for up to 12 weeks","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"pittler2012","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7144685","label":"Horse chestnut seed extract for chronic venous insufficiency (Pittler MH, Ernst E; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, CD003230.pub4)","quote":"The evidence presented suggests that HCSE is an efficacious and safe short-term treatment for CVI. However, several caveats exist and larger, definitive RCTs are required to confirm the efficacy of this treatment option.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"gloviczki2025","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12219339","label":"The role of venoactive compounds in the treatment of chronic venous disease (Gloviczki, Kakkos, Urbanek, Chuback, Nicolaides; J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 2025) — Table I dosages and Table IV evidence grades","quote":"Micronized purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF) and Ruscus extract combined with hesperidin methyl chalcone and ascorbic acid had the highest, mostly level A, quality of evidence.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_annex","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. No. 001 (Oct 2025), Annex A (105 rows) and Annex B (4 rows) — read from the cached PDF text on disk","quote":"The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_tables","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines, GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), section 4.8 with Tables 4 and 5 (vitamins and minerals limits) — read from the cached PDF text on disk","quote":"HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_table6","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines, GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), section 6.6 and Table 6: diseases/conditions not allowed for health supplements — read from the cached PDF text on disk","quote":"HS must not be labelled, advertised or promoted for any specific medicinal purpose … Blood and circulatory system: Hypertension, stroke, cholesterol disorders, reduces cholesterol, regulates platelet aggregation, coagulation defects, arteriosclerosis","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/horse-chestnut","label":"iHerb Singapore — 'Horse Chestnut: Seed Extract & Aescin for Veins' category page, default (best-selling) order, read 27 Aug 2026 via WebFetch","quote":"Horse Chestnut: Seed Extract & Aescin for Veins … Nature's Way … Swanson Vitamins … BodyGold … Nutricost … NOW Foods … Life Extension … 21st Century","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:21.812539+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}