Ingredients
Cardio Shield Ingredients: All 13 Named, Explained One by One
Eight botanicals in a 620 mg proprietary blend plus five vitamins. Here is what each one is, where it comes from, and what the published research actually says about it.
What is on the Cardio Shield label
Cardio Shield uses a 620 mg proprietary herbal blend containing eight botanicals, supported by five separately listed vitamins. Every ingredient is named on the label, which is more transparency than a good deal of this category offers. What the label does not do — because it is a proprietary blend — is break out the individual milligram split between the eight botanicals.
On proprietary blends, honestly. A proprietary blend tells you what is in the bottle but not how much of each. Manufacturers use them to protect formulation work from competitors, which is a real commercial concern, but it does mean you cannot verify that any single botanical is present at the dose used in the research you read about. This is worth knowing before you buy, and it applies to a large share of the supplement market rather than being unique to this product. What you can verify is the total blend weight and the full ingredient list, both of which are printed on the label.
The eight botanicals and five vitamins
Hawthorn Leaf & Flower
The anchor of the blend and the most heavily researched botanical in it. Hawthorn has been used in traditional European and Asian herbal practice for centuries and is sometimes called the “vascular rose” for its long association with circulation. It carries oligomeric procyanidins and the flavonoid quercetin, two antioxidant compound families that have been studied for their role in neutralising free radicals such as superoxide anion. In Germany, standardised hawthorn extracts are regulated as a medicine rather than a supplement, which gives you a sense of how seriously the botanical is taken in Europe.
Hibiscus Flower
Hibiscus is rich in anthocyanins — the same class of pigment compounds that give blueberries and red cabbage their colour — along with quercetin. Hibiscus tea has been the subject of a number of human trials looking at cardiovascular measurements, including work presented through the American Heart Association. The manufacturer includes it as a partner to hawthorn because the two work on overlapping antioxidant pathways rather than duplicating each other.
Olive Leaf Extract
Olive leaves have been used for their health properties since ancient Egypt, and modern interest centres on oleuropein, the polyphenol that gives the leaf its bitter edge. Researchers in Germany and Switzerland ran a well-known trial on pairs of twins with borderline readings, which is a clever design because it controls for genetics. Olive leaf also appears in the research literature alongside cholesterol markers, which is part of why the manufacturer treats it as a whole-cardiovascular ingredient rather than a single-purpose one.
Green Tea Leaf Extract
Green tea is one of the most studied plants on earth, largely because of its polyphenol content and in particular EGCG. A meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports pooled thirteen separate clinical trials covering more than 1,300 human subjects. Green tea is included here for two reasons: its antioxidant activity against superoxide anion, and its association in the literature with nitric oxide, the signalling molecule your body uses to tell blood vessels to relax and widen.
Garlic Bulb
Garlic is the folk remedy that turned out to have real chemistry behind it. Australian researchers have looked at garlic preparations alongside arterial stiffness measures, and garlic appears in the cardiovascular literature more often than almost any other kitchen ingredient. Its active sulphur compounds are studied for their effect on the production of rogue oxidative molecules. It is included in bulb form in the 620 mg blend.
Juniper Berry
Juniper berry is one of the three traditional supporting botanicals in the formula, used historically in European herbalism for fluid balance. Because fluid balance and vascular pressure are related, juniper has a long association with cardiovascular tonics. It contributes flavonoids and volatile oils to the overall antioxidant profile of the blend.
Uva Ursi Leaf
Also known as bearberry, uva ursi is a small evergreen shrub used in traditional herbal practice across northern Europe and North America. It carries arbutin and a range of tannins and flavonoids. In the Cardio Shield blend it sits alongside juniper and buchu as part of the supporting trio the manufacturer's formulation team added to the original five ingredients.
Buchu Leaf
Buchu is a South African botanical with a long history in traditional Khoisan and later Cape Dutch herbal practice. It contributes diosmin and other flavonoids. Like juniper and uva ursi, it is present in a supporting rather than headline role, rounding out the botanical side of the 620 mg blend.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the most familiar water-soluble antioxidant there is, and it is included partly for its own activity and partly because it helps regenerate other antioxidants after they have done their work. It is also a required cofactor for collagen synthesis, and collagen is a structural component of blood vessel walls.
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Niacin has one of the longest histories of any B vitamin in cardiovascular nutrition. It participates in hundreds of enzymatic reactions as part of NAD and NADP, the coenzymes that drive cellular energy production. It is included at a supportive nutritional level rather than the high doses used in clinical settings.
Vitamin B6, Folate & Vitamin B12
These three are grouped together because they work as a unit. All three are required for homocysteine metabolism — the pathway that converts homocysteine into harmless compounds your body can use. Homocysteine is a marker that appears frequently in cardiovascular research, and B6, folate and B12 are the nutritional cofactors that pathway depends on. This is the least glamorous part of the formula and arguably one of the most sensible.
Full label listing
Proprietary Herbal Blend (620 mg): Hawthorn (leaf and flower), Hibiscus (flower), Olive (leaf), Green Tea (leaf), Garlic (bulb), Juniper (berry), Uva Ursi (leaf), Buchu (leaf).
Vitamins: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Niacin (vitamin B3), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine HCl), Folate (as folic acid), Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin).
Other ingredients: vegetable capsule and standard excipients. Non-GMO. No added stimulants. No artificial colours.
Serving: 1 capsule twice daily. 60 capsules per bottle — a 30-day supply.
Always read the physical label on the bottle you receive. Formulations and label details can change and the printed label is the authoritative source.
How the ingredients group together
| Group | Ingredients | Role in the formula |
|---|---|---|
| Core five | Hawthorn, hibiscus, olive leaf, green tea, garlic | The research-backed heart of the blend — five different antioxidant chemistries studied in connection with superoxide anion and cardiovascular measures |
| Supporting botanicals | Juniper berry, uva ursi, buchu leaf | Traditional herbal additions with long histories in fluid-balance preparations; contribute additional flavonoids |
| Antioxidant vitamins | Vitamin C | Water-soluble antioxidant that also regenerates spent antioxidants and supports collagen synthesis in vessel walls |
| Metabolic B vitamins | Niacin, B6, folate, B12 | B6, folate and B12 are required cofactors for homocysteine metabolism; niacin drives energy metabolism via NAD and NADP |
What is not in it
- No added caffeine or stimulants — the only caffeine present is the small amount naturally occurring in green tea leaf
- No artificial colours
- Non-GMO ingredients
- No prescription pharmaceutical compounds of any kind
- No auto-ship enrolment attached to any package
Interactions worth raising with your doctor
Several of these ingredients are pharmacologically active, which is the whole point of including them and also the reason to be careful. Hawthorn has documented interactions with cardiovascular medications including digoxin and blood pressure drugs. Garlic can affect clotting and is relevant if you take warfarin or another anticoagulant. Green tea contains vitamin K and can interact with the same category. Uva ursi is not intended for extended continuous use.
None of that makes the formula dangerous. It makes it a real formula rather than an inert one, and it means the conversation with your doctor or pharmacist is a genuinely useful five minutes rather than a box-ticking exercise. Print this page or bring the bottle to your next appointment.
For more on how these ingredients fit together mechanically, see how Cardio Shield works, or read our guide to the research behind hawthorn, hibiscus and olive leaf.
See the full 620 mg blend for yourself
Every bottle carries a printed lot number and expiry date, and every order is covered for 180 days.
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