We use only 100% Gluten-free, Vegetable Cellulose "00" capsules for all of our encapsulated products. We offer both bulk powder and capsules. Obviously our bulk bottles are bulk powder, not capsules, but the capsule weight is included to give you a way of judging the recommended dosage.

Black Haw - Botanical Powder -- Approximately 600 mg. each capsule. 1/2 teaspoon of powder is about equal to one capsule. Powder can be consumed by sprinkling it over your food or mixing it with a syrup such as maple or chocolate. You could also mix it with orange juice. The citric acid in the orange juice will help to mask any unpleasant powder tastes.

Other common names: American Sloe, Cramp Bark, Stag Brush, High Bush Cranberry, Snowball Bush, High Cranberry, Rose Elder, Nannybush, Silver Bells

"What is sweeter, after all, than Black Haws, in early fall?"
- James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

Black Haw Bark is an old and reliable uterine tonic! The herb has been used to relieve cramps of all kinds, including menstrual pains, and relaxes muscles and eases spasms and pains of the lower back and legs. Black Haw Bark is also said to support uterine function, help regulate excessive blood flow during menstruation and menopause and ease postpartum, uterine and ovarian pain. Black Haw Bark is also mildly sedative and helps to relieve many nervous conditions.

History:
Black Haw is one of about 150 species of evergreen and deciduous viburnums, including shrubs and bushy trees, and it is said to be native to North America, particularly southern Canada and northeastern United States, where it may be found on rocky hillsides, in thickets, woods and on shores and borders of streams. The tree may also be found growing in the thickets and hedgerows of England and northern Europe. Black Haw is a hardy, deciduous ornamental that resembles the elder tree, growing to a height of thirty feet and producing shiny, green leaves, topped with heads of snow-white flowers and drooping clusters of blue-black berries. The prunifolium species produces a larger-fruited berry than its relative, Vibernum opulus (also called Cramp Bark), and it was used in colonial days as a delicious preserve (always cooked, as the berries can be poisonous). Although its applications are similar in nature, the prunifolium species (Black Haw) is considered slightly weaker in its antispasmodic actions on the uterus than its V. opulus cousin. Black Haw thrives in deep, moist soil in sun or partial shade, and the bark is stripped before the leaves change color in autumn or before the leaf buds open in the springtime and dried for use in herbal medicine.

It is sometimes also called Cramp Bark and shares many of its cousin's common names because it is so closely related to it and has similar medicinal properties. Black Haw Bark was a remedy among the Native Americans (although its use has not been well documented), who employed it for venereal disease. However, early settlers, by contrast, amply recorded its uses.

Although the plant was used in the early 1800s in American home medicine, the first published mention of it appeared in 1857, in the American Family Physician, by Dr. John King, who described it as a "uterine tonic." Doctors largely prescribed it to prevent miscarriage or threatened abortion and also recommended it for the relief of painful menstruation and the after-pains of childbirth. The plant was officially listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1882 to 1926, now omitted, but introduced into the National Formulary as a sedative and antispasmodic.

While the early applications of Black Haw Bark included its use during pregnancy to diminish miscarriage, this use is no longer recommended. Some of the constituents included in Black Haw Bark are esculetin, scopoletin, valerianic acid, oleanic and ursolic acid, essential oil, coumarins, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, tannin, resin and the bitter glycoside, viburnine. Initially, researchers thought Viburnum prunifolium contained salicin, which was proven later to be arbutin, and it also contains beta-sitosterol, which is a phytoestrogenic sterol.

Beneficial Uses:
Black Haw Bark is said to be an effective antispasmodic that helps to relieve muscle cramps and spasms, menstrual cramps, lower back and leg spasms, and ease convulsions, lockjaw and fits. Its antispasmodic qualities were also noted in the National Formulary as a sedative and antispasmodic.

The arbutin content in Black Haw Bark is thought to be effective as an analgesic and painkiller.

As a sedative, Black Haw Bark is believed to alleviate nervous constipation, hypertension, palpitations, hysteria, debility and other nervous complaints. Its effectiveness in easing cases of hypertension is said to be caused by relaxing peripheral blood vessels, thus lowering high blood pressure.

Black Haw Bark is thought to have an influence upon the reproductive organs and give tone and energy to the uterus and regulate uterine function. The scopoletin and esculetin content in the herb are considered a uterine sedative and antispasmodic and have been known to relax the uterus, helping to ease painful menstruation, regulate blood flow and alleviate postpartum and ovarian pain. Interestingly, it has been shown to have both uterine-stimulant and uterine-relaxant properties, and although it was used at one time to diminish miscarriage, that application is not now recommended.

As a bitter astringent, the tannins in Black Haw Bark are thought to be effective in treating excessive blood loss during menstruation and menopause.

Recent studies have shown that Black Haw Bark is active as a smooth muscle relaxant and may be useful as a cardiotonic.