Circulation Herbs and the Brain: Horse Chestnut, Butcher’s Broom, Hawthorn and More

The theory: blood flow feeds the brain

The brain is small but demanding: it takes a large share of the body’s oxygen and needs a steady supply of blood. Over time, conditions that harm blood vessels, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are tied to poorer brain health.

Supplement makers take the next step and argue that herbs which help circulation might help the brain as well. The idea is neat, but most of these herbs were tested on leg veins or on the heart rather than on memory.

Horse chestnut

Of this group, horse chestnut seed extract has been studied the most. NCCIH reports that a 2012 systematic review found it can ease the symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, where the leg veins struggle to send blood back to the heart, and one study suggested it may do about as well as compression stockings (NCCIH fact sheet: Horse Chestnut).

Its main active compound is aescin, and the MemoFlow label lists a horse chestnut extract standardized to more than 20% aescin.

Butcher’s broom

Butcher’s broom is a second leg-vein herb. Memorial Sloan Kettering notes benefit in chronic venous insufficiency of the legs, mostly from small trials, and says its long-term safety and effectiveness are unknown (MSK About Herbs: Butcher's Broom).

MSK is also direct about one risk: people with diabetes should not use it, because diabetic ketoacidosis has been reported.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn has a long history as a heart herb. NCCIH finds little or no good evidence for most of its uses and mixed evidence in heart failure; its side effects include dizziness, nausea and an upset stomach, and it may interact with heart medicines such as digoxin (NCCIH fact sheet: Hawthorn).

Grape seed extract

Grape seed extract is high in proanthocyanidins. NCCIH reports that a 2022 review linked it to lower diastolic blood pressure and that a 2020 analysis hinted at a benefit for LDL cholesterol (NCCIH fact sheet: Grape Seed Extract). Most people tolerate it well.

So do they help memory?

Not as far as this desk can show. None of the sources we checked reports these herbs improving memory or focus in people; the connection is a theory resting on their effects on circulation.

They are not useless for that. It simply means that a “memory” label on a circulation formula is a stretch, and on that point buyers should expect little.

Safety when herbs are combined

Several herbs that act on the blood vessels and the heart can add to one another. That counts most for people on blood-pressure, heart or blood-thinning medicine, and for people with diabetes.

The MemoFlow label tells anyone on medication or with a medical condition to check with a doctor before use, which is sound advice for any product of this kind.

• Give your doctor and pharmacist the full list of supplements you take.
• Do not combine several circulation products.
• If you faint, feel your heart racing or get badly dizzy, stop and get help.

What supports brain blood flow reliably

The best-supported ways to look after blood flow to the brain are habits, not herbs: regular exercise, blood-pressure control, not smoking, steady blood sugar, good sleep and a diet with plenty of plants and fish.

Those habits look after the heart and the brain at once, and their evidence is far stronger than that of any one herb.

MemoFlow combines circulation herbs with gotu kola. Read the label first.

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Reading a circulation-heavy label

If a brain product lists mainly vein and heart herbs, ask what its front-label claim really rests on. “Memory, focus, clarity” on the front with horse chestnut, butcher’s broom and hawthorn on the back tells you the formula relies on the blood-flow theory.

That alone is not dishonest, but the site selling it owes you plain words about it, and this article is our attempt at them.

Who should take most care

• People with diabetes (butcher’s broom).
• Anyone on a heart drug such as digoxin, because of the hawthorn.
• People on blood thinners or blood-pressure medicine.
• Anyone with a liver problem, because gotu kola is in the same blend.
• Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding.

For anyone in these groups, speaking with a doctor or pharmacist first is the safe starting point, not an optional extra.

Motherwort: the unknown one

The MemoFlow label names motherwort as Leonurus japonicus, a traditional East Asian herb used in the past for the heart and for women’s health. We found no reviewed summary from a government body or cancer center that we could open, so we make no claim about its effects or its safety.

If a product contains an herb with little reviewed information behind it, the safest course is to ask a pharmacist first, above all in pregnancy or alongside heart medicine.

How long these herbs were studied

Because the studies were short, less is known about taking these herbs every day for a long time, which is one more reason to go over any supplement with your doctor every few months.

Why “natural” is not the same as “safe”

All of these herbs are natural, and several come with real cautions: raw horse chestnut is poisonous, butcher’s broom is advised against with diabetes, hawthorn may clash with heart drugs and gotu kola has rare liver reports. Natural products can help, but with a health condition they deserve the care you would give a medicine.

A simple plan for testing a blend

1. Check with your doctor first

   Especially if you have diabetes or take heart medicine.

2. Keep notes

   Each week, score focus, memory slips and sleep from 1 to 5.

3. Watch for side effects

   Look out for dizziness, an upset stomach or a rash.

4. Review after a month

   Carry on only if the change is clear.

The bottom line

The MemoFlow formula rests mainly on circulation and heart herbs. Horse chestnut and butcher’s broom have real evidence for the leg veins, and grape seed for blood pressure, but none is proven for memory. If you want to try a blend like this, see your doctor first, especially if you have diabetes or take heart medicine.

Sources used for this article

1. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Horse Chestnut: Usefulness and Safety. NCCIH, updated April 2025. Checked September 22, 2026.
2. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Butcher's Broom (About Herbs). MSK integrative medicine database. Checked September 22, 2026.
3. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Hawthorn: Usefulness and Safety. NCCIH, current page. Checked September 22, 2026.
4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Grape Seed Extract: Usefulness and Safety. NCCIH, updated February 2025. Checked September 22, 2026.