The horse chestnut extract escin may reduce inflammation in blood vessels - and consequently, water retention and cellulite

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Escin may reduce inflammation and oedema / water retention by acting as a steroid
Practical significance
Glucocorticoid-Like Activity of Escin: A New Mechanism for an Old Drug
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Escin reduces inflammation and oedema / water retention by acting as a steroid

Horse chestnut extract has been proven again and again to help control water retention / edema and inflammation that typically results in the feeling of heavy legs and puffiness on the legs.

Horse chestnut extract, and its active ingredients esculin and escin, has been used for decades both orally (supplements) and topically (creams, gels) for heavy legs and puffiness.

Now a new paper has found that “The anti-inflammatory effects of escin on blood vessels were related to down-regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators (ie, PGE2, TNF-α, and IL-1β), through the increased expression of the glucocorticoid receptor”.

In plain English this means that the horse chestnut extract escin acts on blood vessels via the same receptor that the steroid hormone cortisol acts.

However, in contrast to body-secreted cortisol or steroid medication, escin does not cause the problems steroids cause, possibly due to “antagonist activity on the glucocorticoid receptor, which attenuate the side effects of glucocorticoid at high level, secreted by the body itself or administered”.

Again, in plain English this means that escin has a balanced steroid-like effect, not too strong and not too light - unlike cortisone medication which can be excessive.

Practical significance

Escin and esculin have proven again and again to inhibit blood vessel inflammation and damage and consequent oedema/water retention
A concentrated cream rich in the horse chestnut extracts escin and esculin could help improve skin microcirculation and especially cellulite, where inflammation and water retention play an important role

Glucocorticoid-Like Activity of Escin: A New Mechanism for an Old Drug

Research paper link: https://www.dovepress.com/glucocorticoid-like-activity-of-escin-a-new-mechanism-for-an-old-drug-peer-reviewed-article-DDDT
Abstract: “Saponins are a group of compounds used in clinical practice in the management of several diseases. Escin is a natural mixture of triterpene saponins which mainly consist of several isoforms, in which the α- and β-escin are predominant. β-escin is the major active compound that exerts a therapeutic effect by relieving tissue edema, promoting venous drainage, and reducing inflammation. In this review, we describe the features of its glucocorticoid-like activity that could explain its clinical effects. Using PubMed, Embase Cochrane library and reference lists for articles published until October 01, 2020, we documented that escin is likely able to exert its anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects through a glucocorticoid-like activity, but without the development of glucocorticoid-like adverse drug reactions.”

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