Hamamelidaceae Hamamelis; snapping hazel; winterbloom Hamamelidis folium; Hamamelidis cortex; Hamamelidis ramunculus (twigs); Hamamelidis destillatum/ Aquae Hamamelidis (distillate) Leaf; bark; twigs; steam distillate obtained from twigs Tannins (10% bark, 3–10% leaf). Leaf tannins are a mixture of gallic acid (10%), hydrolysable hamamelitannin (1.5%) and condensed proanthocyanidins (88.5%). Bark tannins have a much higher hamamelitannin level (up to 65% of a hydroalcoholic extract). Witch hazel water (the steam distillate) does not contain tannins (Gardner and McGuffin 2013; WHO 2004). Hamamelis leaf should have minimum 3% tannin, expressed as pyrogallol, according to European and British Pharmacopoeias (BP 2012). Other constituents include small amounts of volatile oils (about 0.5%, e.g. hexenol, α- and β-ionones, eugenol, safrole and sesquiterpenes). The leaf contains flavonols (e.g. kaempferol, quercetin) and their glycosides (e.g. astragalin, quercitrin, afzelin and myricitrin). Resin, wax, saponins, choline and free hamamelose are also found in witch hazel (Pharmaceutical Press Editorial Team 2013). Clinical studies supporting therapeutic uses of witch hazel are limited. A few studies investigating topical uses of witch hazel are highlighted here. In one study involving 24 healthy volunteers, effectiveness in suppressing UV-induced skin erythema was found to be greater when low dose hamamelis distillate was administered using a vehicle of oil in water emulsion with phosphatidylcholine (PC), compared with hamamelis cream without PC. Although the study demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity of hamamelis distillate in a PC-containing vehicle, hydrocortisone 1% cream appeared to be superior in suppressing UV-induced erythema than the hamamelis preparations (Korting et al. 1993). In a 2-week randomised, double-blind trial in 72 patients with atopic eczema, hamamelis distillate cream, reduced itching, scaling and erythema after 1 week. However, it was found to be no more effective than the base preparation (Korting et al. 1995). An after-sun lotion containing 10% hamamelis distillate was assessed in 30 healthy volunteers, and found to suppress UVB-induced erythema between 20% and 27% within 48 h (Hughes-Formella et al. 1998). The same group compared the anti-inflammatory effectiveness (using a modified UV-erythema test) of different topical preparations, including three different lotions containing 10% hamamelis distillate, two vehicles, an antihistamine (dimethindene maleate) 0.1% gel, hydrocortisone 1% cream and hydrocortisone 0.25% lotion. All preparations exhibited anti-inflammatory effects, but the hydrocortisone preparations were most effective. One hamamelis lotion suppressed erythema significantly more than the vehicles at the UV dosage of 1.4 minimal erythema dose (MED) (Hughes-Formella et al. 2002). In an observational study in 309 children aged 27 days to 11 years with minor skin injuries, ‘nappy rash’ or localised skin inflammation, treatment was either hamamelis ointment (n = 231) or dexpanthenol ointment (n = 78). Hamamelis ointment was found to be effective and well tolerated, with observed effects similar to dexpanthenol (Wolff and Kaiser 2007). In a pilot study with healthy volunteers, a semi-solid formulation containing 1% H. virginiana
Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginiana L.
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