To eat or not to eat?
(above) Sweet Chestnut (edible)
(above) Horse Chestnut, aka Buckeye (not so edible)
Public Service announcement for something you’ll never look up…but I will!
Walking recently with a friend, I noticed a chestnut tree and decided once and for all to figure out how to eat these spiny yet appealing nuts….on NOT!!What I discovered is that the chestnut most of us are seeing is likely not the “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” we’ve heard about in Christmas songs…
Horse chestnuts are medicinal when used in small doses. But in large quantities and without proper processing, horse chestnuts contain Aesculin, a bitter, poisonous glycoside which breaks down blood proteins. This property has led to the development of the common rat poison, warfarin, extracted from clovers, which contain a similar toxin. YIKES!!!
Last year, I met a woman who was gathering horse chestnuts because she was trying to make medicine for her mother who had circulation problems. She was poor and this was a free natural source of what seemed curative. Whether or not this is a good idea to try on your own seems debatable, but sources I’ve come across in books and online, do seem to agree that the medicinal value is legitimate.
Active constituents and Benefits of the Horse Chestnut:
Horse chestnut seeds are the most commonly used plant part for making medicinal remedies and herbal preparations. The seeds of the horse chestnut contain a chemical saponin known as aescin, which in clinical studies has been reported to promote increased blood circulation. Aescin purportedly is able too promote blood circulation through the veins by increasing the tone in the walls of the veins, whereby enabling blood to flow unrestricted.
Its ability to promote blood circulation has made horse chestnut a popular treatment, both topically and internally, for both chronic venous insufficiency and varicose veins.More recent studies indicate that aescin (extracted from horse chestnut seeds) may also possess anti-inflammatory effects useful in reducing edema, swelling caused by excess fluid, as result of injuries. As a topical application, aescin is also popular in Europe for treating sprains. Additionally, poultices of the seed have been used in connection with skin ulcers and skin cancer, although there are no studies to confirm the effectiveness of this application.
So what is up with the Christmas song? Well one species of Chestnut is edible, and that’s the Sweet chestnut. I guess I’ve actually only seen it “in the flesh” once and that was last year when I picked up a nut from a very small and scraggly tree in Bloomfield, a section of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s spiky, porcupine like shell attracted me. See images above..the super spiky shell is the Sweet Chestnut, ..and the less spiky, probably more familiar nut is the Horse chestnut or Buckeye. Too bad the Horse Chestnuts are a no-go- they’re everywhere right now if you haven’t tripped on one yet…
Nice descriptive sketches and further distinguishing traits of Chestnut varieties are available at:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h401chestnuts.html
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