The Leaves That Heal Hemorrhoids

The medical treatment of hemorrhoids is sometimes considered even worse than the pain itself (and that says a lot).

This leaves many people to tough it out or seek natural methods (that often are actually more effective).

To help with this quest, a study has just appeared in the Pharmacognosy Journal that reveals simple leaves that significantly reduce hemorrhoid swelling and pain.

Most people know soursop is the fruit of the Annona muricata tree that grows in tropical and subtropical regions, but researchers have also become interested in the leaves of this tree, called soursop leaves or Annona muricata L.

When scientists from the Universitas Indonesia in Depok and Jakarta learned that these leaves had anti-inflammatory properties, they decided to test it on hemorrhoids, the inflamed, swollen, painful veins that sometimes occur in the rectum or around the anus.

They first induced hemorrhoids in mice by applying six percent croton oil through the anus.

They then divided the mice into groups that variously received 100, 200, or 400 milligrams per kilogram of body weight of soursop leaves ethanol extract (SLEE), and another group that received aspirin as a control.

They then examined the rectal tissue of the mice to check the amount of cell death, collection of watery fluid, swelling, and inflammatory chemicals in the tissue.

They found that all three doses of SLEE reduced inflammation of the hemorrhoidal tissue, with the larger doses being the most effective.

It also seemed to help by reducing fluid collection and swelling, but these findings were not strong enough to draw definitive conclusions.

Therefore, soursop leaves in an ethanol extract can help to treat the painful inflammation of hemorrhoids and can possibly help with some of the other symptoms too.

These leaves contain phytochemicals like acetogenins, alkaloids, megastigmanes, and phenolic compounds like quercetin and gallic acid. Most of these are understood to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, based on previous studies.

If this soursop-ethanol extract sounds too difficult to obtain, you can always make your own tea from the dried leaves. These leaves are sometimes available from herbalists or natural health stores.

If you are lucky, you may even find soursop tea bags to buy, especially in specialist online stores.

You either want to apply the tea directly to your hemorrhoids with cotton wool, or you can make enough to sit in.

But while Soursop leaves may reduce the hemorrhoids pain and irritation, they’re not enough to completely eliminate hemorrhoids. For that you need to make the two simple changes explained here…