Matricaria chamomilla Health Dictionary

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Matricaria Chamomilla: From 1 Different Sources

Linn.

Family: Compositae; Asteraceae.

Habitat: Native of Europe; grown in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

English: German Chamomile, Chamomile. German chamomile flower is equated with Matricaria recutita L. (synonym Chamomilla recutita L.) and Roman Chamomile flower with Anthemis nobilis L. (synonym Chamamaelum nobilis L.)

Unani: Baabunaa.

Action: Sedative, anticonvulsant, carminative, antispasmodic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic. See also Anthemis nobilis.

Key application (German Chamomile) ? In inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and gastrointestinal spasm. Externally, in skin, mucous membrane and ano-genital inflammation and bacterial skin diseases. (German Commission E, The British Herbal Compendium.) As anti-inflammatory and anti- spasmodic. (The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia.)

The flowers of German chamomile gave volatile oil up to about 2%, containing alpha-bisabolol up to 50%, azu- lenes including chamazulene, guiazu- line and matricine; flavonoids including apigenin and luteolin and their glycosides, patuletin and quercetin; spiroethers; coumarins; polysaccha- rides.

The flowers are used as herbal tea for cough and cold and for promoting the flow of gastric secretion and bile. In chamomlile extracts, chamazulene has been found responsible for anti- inflammatory activity. Matricine and (-)-alpha-bisabolol also show anti- inflammatory and analgesic activity. Bisabolol exhibits ulceroprotective effect. Natural (-)-alpha-bisabolol has been shown to be significantly effective in healing burns; (-)-alpha-bisabolol, spiroethers and apigenin exhibit spasmolytic effect comparable with that of papaverine.

The polysaccharides are immunos- timulating and activate macrophages and B lymphocytes; play an important role in wound healing.

Crude aqueous extract of the plant has been reported to significantly delay the onset of convulsions and reduce mortality rate produced by picrotoxin experimentally.
Health Source: Indian Medicinal Plants
Author: Health Dictionary

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is made from the well known chamomile flowers. The best quality chamomile flowers come from the Nile River Valley, Egypt and were considered by ancient Egyptians a remedy for all diseases. There basically are two main types of chamomile: Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile) and Matricaria Chamomilia (German chamomile).  German chamomile is known for many years for its positive results in treating anxiety, sleeping disorders, gingivitis and skin aliments, being most commonly used in teas. How to make Chamomile Tea To brew Chamomile tea, you will need:
  • Water
  • Chamomile flowers
  • Honey (Optional)
  • Mint (Optional)
The first step is boiling the water into a kettle.  Meanwhile, rinse and clean the chamomile flowers in cold running water. When the water reaches the boiling point, put in 2-3 teaspoons of chamomile flowers and let it boil for about 3-5 minutes.  When the time is up, pour the Chamomile tea into your cup while using a strainer to catch the chamomile flowers. To really enhance the flavor, you can add honey and crushed mint leaves. Benefits of Chamomile Tea
  • Chamomile tea is most known for its relaxing properties and it is often taken before bed by people with sleeping problems for a restful sleep. Use it with discretion if you are already taking medications that have a sedative effect!
  • Chamomile tea soothes stomach aches and helps overall digestion.
  • Some studies have found that Chamomile tea has a compound that calms muscle spasm, researchers believing that due to this fact, the tea helps soothe menstrual cramps.
  • Due to its antibacterial properties, Chamomile tea has resulted efficient in fighting colds, straightening the immune system.
  • Chamomile tea has also resulted beneficial in healing wounds and other skin problems such as burns, allergies, bites or acne. In case of treating a wound, put a cold compress of Chamomile tea on it and let it action for a few minutes.
Chamomile Tea side effects Although Chamomile tea is considered a safe tea, high concentrations may lead to nausea.  Also, if you are experiencing or have experienced allergic reactions to other plants in the same family as chamomile such as daisy, ragweed, aster, chrysanthemum or marigold, do not drink Chamomile tea since it might cause allergic reactions. Pregnant women should avoid drinking Chamomile tea, since it may act as a uterine stimulant and can increase the chance of abortion. If you have bleeding disorders, you should avoid Chamomile tea because it contains coumarin that can increase the chance of bleeding. All in all, if you had a stressful day, Chamomile tea is exactly what you need if you just want to relax. Just be sure you won’t drink too much, because over consumption can lead to any of those side effects that we all want to stay away from!... chamomile tea

Manzanilla

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita & Chamaemelum nobile).

Plant Part Used: Flower.

Dominican Medicinal Uses: Flowers: decoction/infusion, orally, for anxiety, nervousness, stress, insomnia (adults and children), menstrual cramps, post-partum recovery, childbirth and regulating blood pressure.

Safety: Considered safe for internal use; slight potential for hypersensitivity, especially in patients with a history of allergic reaction to Aster species.

Contraindications: Pregnancy: oral administration of whole plant extract at high doses may have emmenagogue effects; however, flower extracts have not shown this effect.

Clinical Data: Clinical case report: mouthwash for oral mucositis (plant extract).

Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: antipruritic, antiulcerogenic (plant extract); anxiolytic (constituents); hypoglycemic (aerial parts of Chamaemelum nobile).

In vitro: antifungal (plant extracts).

* See entry for Manzanilla in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... manzanilla

Chamomile Flowers (german)

Wild Chamomile. Matricaria recutita L. German: Hundskamille. French: Camomille. Italian: Camomilla. Spanish: Camomile. Part used: flowerheads. Contains chamazulene which is active against staphylococcus aureus.

Constituents: volatile oil, flavonoids, tannic acid.

Action. Anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic (mild), anti-peptic ulcer, anodyne (mild), antispasmodic, bitter, carminative, vulnerary. Mild nerve sedative but tonic to the alimentary canal.

Uses: Internal use. Nervous excitability, convulsions, restlessness, hyperactivity in children, insomnia, early stages of fever, measles (warm tea), travel sickness, pin and thread worms, peptic ulcer, gastro- intestinal spasm – calms down digestive system, pre-menstrual tension, hysteria from womb irritation, Candida albicans, inflammation of respiratory and gastro-intestinal tracts, sore throat and mouth. Psychosomatic illness: see CHAMOMILE ROMAN. May be used in pregnancy.

External use. “Inflammation and irritation of skin and mucosa, including the oral cavity and gums, respiratory tract and anal and genital area.” (EM) Conjunctivitis (cold tea). Gangrene (poultice with few drops Tincture Myrrh).

Combinations. With Valerian, Passion flower and Hops (equal parts) for nervous excitability. With Liquorice 1 and Chamomile 4 for gastric ulcer and chronic dyspepsia. Chamomile works well with Peppermint and Balm; equal parts.

Preparations: One teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 5-10 minutes; one cup freely. Powder. Quarter to half a teaspoon; tablets/capsules.

Liquid extract BHC Vol 1. 1:1 in 45 per cent ethanol. Dose: 1-4ml (15-60 drops). Tincture. 1 part to 5 parts 45 per cent alcohol. Dose: 5-10ml (1-2 teaspoons).

Oil of Chamomile. Prepare as for OILS – IMPREGNATED.

Essential oil (Aromatherapy). Externally for neuralgia.

Compress: See: CHAMOMILE FLOWERS, ROMAN. Rinses. Gargles.

Chamomile bath. Add strong infusion to bath water for irritable skin rash, eczema.

Chamomile enema. 1 tablespoon flowers in 2 litres (3 and a half pints) boiling water; infuse, strain and inject warm.

Side-effects: rare contact skin allergy. ... chamomile flowers (german)

Chamomile, German

Matricaria recutica

FAMILY: Asteraceae (Compositae)

SYNONYMS: M. chamomilla, camomile, blue chamomile, matricaria, Hungarian chamomile, sweet false chamomile, single chamomile, chamomile blue (oil).

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: An annual, strongly aromatic herb, up to 60 cms tall with a hairless, erect, branching stem. It has delicate feathery leaves and simple daisy-like white flowers on single stems. In appearance it is very similar to the corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis) but can be distinguished from it because the latter is scentless.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to Europe and north and west Asia; naturalized in North America and Australia. It is cultivated extensively, especially in Hungary and eastern Europe, where the oil is produced. It is no longer grown in Germany, despite the herbal name.

OTHER SPECIES: There are many varieties of chamomile, such as the pineapple weed (Chamaemelium suaveolens) and the Roman chamomile (C. nobile), both of which are used to produce an essential oil.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: This herb has a long-standing medicinal tradition, especially in Europe for ‘all states of tension and the visceral symptoms that can arise therefrom, such as nervous dyspepsia and nervous bowel, tension headaches, and sleeplessness; especially useful for all children’s conditions, calming without depressing …’.

An excellent skin care remedy, it has many of the same qualities as Roman chamomile, except that its anti-inflammatory properties are greater due to the higher percentage of azulene.

ACTIONS: Analgesic, anti-allergenic, anti inflammatory, antiphlogistic, antispasmodic, bactericidal, carlminative, cicatrisant, cholagogue, digestive, emmenagogue, febrifuge, fungicidal, hepatic, nerve sedative, stimulant of leucocyte production, stomachic, sudorific, vermifuge, vulnerary.

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the flower heads (up to 1.9 per cent yield). An absolute is also produced in small quantities, which is a deeper blue colour and has greater tenacity and fixative properties.

CHARACTERISTICS: An inky-blue viscous liquid with a strong, sweetish warm-herbaceous odour. It blends well with geranium, lavender, patchouli, rose, benzoin, neroli, bergamot, marjoram, lemon, ylang ylang, jasmine, clary sage and labdanum.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Chamazulene, farnesene, bisabolol oxide, en-yndicycloether, among others. (NB The chamazulene is not present in the fresh flower but is only produced during the process of distillation.)

SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant; causes dermatitis in some individuals.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE

Skin Care: Acne, allergies, boils, burns, cuts, chilblains, dermatitis, earache, eczema, hair care, inflammations, insect bites, rashes, sensitive skin, teething pain, toothache, wounds.

Circulation Muscles And Joints: Arthritis, inflamed joints, muscular pain, neuralgia, rheumatism, sprains.

Digestive System: Dyspepsia, colic, indigestion, nausea.

Genito-Urinary System: Dysmenorrhoea, menopausal problems, menorrhagia.

Nervous System: Headache, insomnia, nervous tension, migraine and stress-related complaints.

OTHER USES: Used in pharmaceutical antiseptic ointments and in carminative, antispasmodic and tonic preparations. Extensively used in cosmetics, soaps, detergents, high-class perfumes and hair and bath products. Used as a flavour ingredient in most major food categories, including alcoholic and soft drinks.... chamomile, german


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