Nomenclature:
· Scientific name (binomial): Matricaria recutita
· Family name: Asteraceae
· Common name: German chamomile, chamomile
Part(s) Used: The whole herb is of value but the main part is the flower head (Hoffman, 2003; NCCIH, 2016)
Taste/odor: Aromatic, bitter, sweet (Grieve, 1931)
Energetics: cooling, drying (Grieve, 1931)
Actions: Nervine, sedative, antispasmodic, carminative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory vulnerary, anticatarrhal, diaphoretic, emmenagogue (Hoffman, 2003)
Traditional uses: Chamomile has a long history of traditional use in various parts of the world and has been mentioned and described in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome medical writings. (NCCIH, 2016). In Slovakia, chamomile was even considered sacred and a person would bow down when coming across the plant. In India, chamomile was used for various ailments including headache, dyspepsia, gonorrhea, conjunctivitis, chest pain, and kidney & bladder stones. German settlers introduced chamomile to the United States, and it was used for insomnia, indigestion, dysmenorrhea, asthma, malaria, chicken pox, diaper rash, eye diseases, ear infections, and gum bleeding. Chamomile is very popular in Germany, and since 1984 it has been acknowledged and approved as an over the counter medicine for gastrointestinal disorders, and for inflammation/irritation of skin, mucosa membrane, and respiratory tracts. Currently, Egypt and Argentina are the major chamomile cultivators (Engels & Brinckmann, 2015). Chamomile is one of the most popular nervine herb in the Western World used to comfort both physical and psychological symptoms.
Therapeutic uses (indications): Chamomile has a wide range of therapeutic uses that include anxiety, insomnia, gastritis, enteritis, colitis, dyspepsia, gastric ulcers, diarrhea, gas, loss of appetite, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, motion sickness, morning sickness, menopausal depression, muscle cramps, neuralgia, vertigo, aches and pains of flu, colds, bilious fever, migraine, restlessness of infants, colic, teething, and topically for rashes, bruises, mouth sores, and conjunctivitis (NCCIH, 2016; Hoffman, 2003)
Preparations and Dose: Chamomile can be prepared fresh or dried and can be used for medicine in various ways including teas, liquid extract, capsules, tablets, ointment, or mouth rinse (NCCIH, 2016).
Infusion: 2 to 4 g herb as required (Hoffman, 2003)
Tincture: 3 to 10 ml, (1:5 in 45%), 3 times a day (Hoffman, 2003)
Liquid extract: 1 to 4 ml, (1:1 in 45%), 3 times a day (Hoffman, 2003)
Infused oil
Essential oil
Scientific section: Chamomiles therapeutic use for digestive system issues is well documented. According to Hoffman chamomile is especially suited for digestive disturbances including nausea, vomiting and anorexia, due to its potent constituents. Chamomiles volatile oil includes various sesquiterpenes, flavonoid glycosides, and much more, each playing their part in creating a digestive remedy as a whole. Chamomiles relaxing effect soothes the central nervous system and the muscles, including abdomen muscles, thus relaxing the whole body. Also, chamomiles anti-inflammatory effect upon the lining of the gut makes it an ideal remedy for digestive problems (Hoffman, 2003). Another therapeutic use of chamomile is relieving physical and psychological premenstrual symptoms. A randomized, double-blind study conducted on 90 female students compared chamomile extract to mefenamic acid (MA). The participants were divided into two groups, one group was given 100 mg chamomile capsules and the other group was given 250mg MA, taken 3 times a day for 2 consecutive months. The results indicated that both chamomile and MA were effective at relieving physical symptoms, however the chamomile extract was more effective at reducing psychological symptoms in comparison to MA (Sharifi et al., 2014).
Safety: FDA identifies chamomile as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). However, it is advised that young children, pregnant or nursing women, and individuals with liver or kidney disease avoid using it as its safety is not well established (Srivastava, 2010). Also, people sensitive to plants in the Asteraceae family may experience an allergic reaction to chamomile (Hoffman, 2003). It is important to note that drug interactions have been reported with cyclosporine which is an immunosuppressant and warfarin which is a commonly used blood thinner (NCCIH, 2016).
References
Engels, G. & Brinckmann, J. (2015). Chamomile: Matricaria chamomilla (syn. M. recutita, Chamomilla recutita). American Botanical Council (Issue 108). Retrieved from http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/issue108/hg108-herbpro-chamomile.html?ts=1459867112&signature=b776c45600a8ce0b85dc65f564a7c94d&ts=1480945794&signature=f0f475a6b986344778f6cee3d17f882b&ts=1554587036&signature=68b934234e92adbe0f8092f843855eb2
Hoffman, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: The science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.
Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal. Retrieved from https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/chammo49.html
Sharifi, F., Simbar, M., Mojab, F., Majd, H.A. (2014). Comparison of the effects of Matricaria chamomile (chamomile) extract and mefenamic acid on the intensity of mastalgia associated with premenstrual syndrome. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 20, 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.002
Shrivastava, J.K., Shankar, E. & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Mol Med Report, 3, 895-901. Doi:10.3892/mmr.2010.377.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2016). Chamomile. Retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/chamomile/ataglance.htm
Note: Information found on this website is meant for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose medical conditions, to treat any medical conditions or to prescribe medicine.
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