Witch hazel is an astringent compound produced from the leaves and bark of the North American witch-hazel shrub (Hamamelis virginiana). It is a component of many commercial healthcare products. Witch hazel water can be produced by maceration or distillation.
Video Witch hazel (astringent)
Composition and use
The main constituents of witch hazel extract include calcium oxalate, gallotannins, safrole, as well as chemicals found in the essential oil (carvacrol, eugenol). Witch hazel is mainly used externally on hemorrhoids, minor bleeding, and skin irritation. It may be used as a supposed remedy for psoriasis and eczema; in aftershave and ingrown nail applications, to prevent dehydration of skin, and for insect bites and poison ivy. However, clinical studies supporting its effectiveness for these skin conditions are absent. Despite this lack of evidence, it may be used in folk medicine to "ease discomfort" involving vaginal soreness and hemorrhoids while they heal following childbirth. There is no good clinical evidence for its other purported traditional uses, including gastrointestinal illnesses (diarrhea), common colds, tuberculosis, and inflammation. Distilled witch hazel water does not contain the tannic acid found in Hamamelis bark, and does not possess the therapeutic attributes often claimed for it.
Maps Witch hazel (astringent)
History
Native Americans used extract of witch-hazel extensively for medicinal purposes. Many people produced witch hazel extract by boiling the stems of the shrub and producing a decoction, which was used to treat swellings, inflammations, and tumors. Early Puritan settlers in New England adopted this remedy from the natives, and its use became widely established in the United States.
A missionary, Dr. Charles Hawes, learned of the preparation's therapeutic properties, and then determined through extensive study that the product of distillation (likely steam distillation) of the plant's twigs was even more efficacious. "Hawes Extract" was first produced and sold in Essex, Connecticut, in 1846, by druggist and chemist Alvan Whittemore.
Hawes' process was further refined by Thomas Newton Dickinson, Sr., who is credited with starting the commercial production of witch hazel extract, also in Essex, Connecticut, in 1866, and eventually establishing nine production sites in eastern Connecticut. Following his death, his two sons, Thomas N. Dickinson, Jr., of Mystic, Connecticut, and Everett E. Dickinson of Essex, each inherited parts of the family business and continued the manufacture of witch hazel extract, operating competing "Dickinson's" businesses that were continued by their descendants.
References
Further reading
- Erdelmeier, C. A. J. et al. Antiviral and Antiphlogistic Activities of Hamamelis virginiana Bark. Planta Medica, 62(1996) (3):241-245
- Foster, S. The Wiley Witch Hazel. The Herb Companion.(January 1989).
- Korting, H. C., et al. "Comparative Efficacy of Hamamelis Distillate and Hydrocortisone. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 48(1995)(6):461-465.
- Lloyd, J. U. and J. T. Lloyd. History of Hamamelis (Witch Hazel), Extract and Distillate. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 24(1935) (3):220-24.
- Tyler, V. E. Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals, Binghamton, New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press, 1994.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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