Poor leg health can range from a minor complaint that is suffered occasionally through to debilitating symptoms that affect the quality of life, when professional help should be sought.

In its most severe form, leg ulcers may develop due to chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).

Many people suffer from fluid retention in the legs which cannot be linked to any existing medical condition. They may be swollen, tired and feel heavy, with sensations of tension, tingling and pain. These symptoms can be part of an inflammatory process triggered by poor oxygen supply to the tissues of the leg and slightly raised blood pressure in the veins. The symptoms may follow longhaul flights, hot weather, too much standing, or can even be a regular feature of the pre-menstrual syndrome.

Flavonoids, fluid retention & leg health

Over the last two decades, following the publication of several positive studies¹, doctors in Germany have prescribed flavonoids, isolated and purified from plants, for the treatment of leg ulcers. Unfortunately, this approach has scarcely impinged on medical practice in the United Kingdom. However, nutritionists are beginning to realise that a person can benefit from a high consumption of flavonoids in all stages of CVI.

Flavonoids are a very large group of plant antioxidants found abundantly in fruit and vegetables and which can account for up to 50% of the medicinal properties of herbs. Various members of the group are widely acknowledged as having health benefits, including positive effects on heart and arteries. Flavonoids also work with the essential antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamins C and E. Indeed, synergy between flavonoids and vitamin C was discovered as early as 1928 by the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, Dr Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who first isolated the vitamin.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that flavonoid-rich herbs are used by herbal practitioners to tackle fluid retention; among others, they include yarrow, butcher’s broom, cleavers and bilberries. Grapeseed extract, a rich source of flavonoids, is also effective, as shown by our study at the University of Reading, published in 2004². Its use improved leg-health scores in women suffering from premenstrual fluid retention.

Red vine leaves

The grapevine has been known since ancient times for its health-giving properties and now it is the leaf (not the fruit) that has been resurrected from the pages of the ancient herbals. As food, green vine leaves are best known from our holidays in Greece as dolmades - the delicate parcels made from the leaves stuffed with delicious fillings.

Red varieties of vine leaves, higher in flavonoids than the green, have provided us with a useful dietary supplement to maintain leg health. Over the last few years, at least four human studies have been published on the effects of red vine leaf extracts on leg symptoms^3-6. Significant improvements in tension, fatigue, tingling and pain were recorded, in as short a time as two weeks in one study. All the studies reported a decrease in measurements of leg circumference, as well as showing significant reductions in all symptoms of poor leg health.

¹. Simka M, & Majewski E. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2003;4:573.
². Christie S, Walker AF et al. Phytomedicine 2004;11:11.
³. Kalus U et al. Drugs R D. 2004;5:63.
⁴. Schaefer E, et al. Arzneimittelforschung. 2003;53:243.
⁵. Monsieur R & Van Snick G. Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2006;95:187.
⁶. Kiesewetter H, et al. Arzneimittelforschung. 2000;50:109.

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