Botanical Basic Data of Horse chestnut:Aesculus hippocastanum Family: Horse chestnuts are classified in the division Magnoliophyta,class Magnoliopsida,order Sapindales, family Hippocastanallae. Names Differentiation: Do not confuse with its North American relative Aesculusglabra, Buckeye. Habitat: Native to Northern Asia but widely cultivated, common in Britain. Collection: The ripe chestnuts should be gathered as they fall from the trees in September Part Used: The fruit, that is the Horse Chestnut itself. Active constituents and mechanism of aescin from horsechestnut.: Constituents of Horse chestnut(Aesculus hippocastanum): Analysis has shown that the nuts contain 3.04 per cent. water; 2.66 per cent. ash; 10.99 crude protein; oil, 5.34 per cent.; and 73 97 per cent. carbohydrates. Experiments conducted at Wye College proved that the most satisfactory way to prepare the Horse Chestnuts as food for animals was to soak partly crushed nuts in cold water overnight, then boil them for half an hour or so and strain off the water. The nuts were then dried, partially husked and reduced to a meal, which, though slightly bitter, had a pleasant taste and appearance. The meal was fed to a calf, a sheep and two pigs. The calf received up to 5 lb. of the meal per day and made good increase in live weight, and the sheep suffered no ill effects, but the pig refused to eat the food containing the meal. It is concluded that Horse Chestnuts are not poisonous to any of the farm animals experimented with, within the limits of what they can be induced to eat, and that they form a highly nutritious food. Chestnut meal is a fairly concentrated food, and contains about 14 per cent of starch, it being calculated that 1 Ib. of Horse Chestnut meal would be equivalent to 1 Ib. 1 OZ. of feeding barley, 1 lb. 4 OZ. of oats, 1 lb. 8 oz. of bran, and 3 lb. 5 OZ. of good meadow hay. Effective Constituents of Horse chestnut(Aesculus hippocastanum): Saponins,a complex mixture known as "aescin", composed of acylated glycosides of protoaesigenin and barringtogenol-C and including hippocaesculin and many others. Mechanism of aescin from horsechestnut: The seeds are the source of a saponin known as aescin, which has been shown to promote circulation through the veins.2 Aescin fosters normal tone in the walls of the veins, thereby promoting return of blood to the heart. This has made both topical and internal horse chestnut extracts popular in Europe for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency and, to a lesser extent, varicose veins. Aescin also possesses anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to reduce edema (swelling with fluid) following trauma, particularly following sports injury, surgery, and head injury.3 4 A topical aescin preparation is very popular in Europe for the treatment of acute sprains during sporting events. Horse chestnuts also contain flavonoids, sterols, and tannins. Specification:20% Aescin