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Common name Chamomile
Plant family Compositae/Asteraceae
Parts used Flower
Energetic Qualities
Cool, neutral (Holmes, 2007)
Constituents
Flavonoids (6-8%) including apigenin, quercetin; mucilage (up to 10%);
volatile oil 0.4-2.0% composed of sesquiterpines, chamazulene, sesquiterpine lactones, and choline (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003).
Pharmacological ActionsAnti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, spasmolytic, carminative, mild sedative, anti-ulcer, vulnerary, daiphoretic (Bone, 2003). Muscle relaxant, antispasmodic, promotes wound-healing, deodorant, antibacterial and bacteriostatic, stimulates skin metabolism (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003). Nerve sedative, tonic (Grieve, 1971).
Indications
Per Grieve, the herb is tonic upon the gastrointestinal tract, can be used with children who are teething or experiencing earache, stomach disorders or convulsions. (Grieve, 1971).
Per Blumenthal, Brinckmann and Wollschlaeger, the herb may be used for gastrointestinal spasm and inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, indigestion, flatulence and excess gas production, bloating, infantile diarrhea, common cold symptoms, alleviation of mucositis induced by radiation and chemotherapy, inflammatory dematosis, neurodermatosis, ano-genital inflammation (external bath and irrigation) and wound treatment after dermabrasion for tattoo removal (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003).
The anxiolytic effect of an extract of chamomile was the subject of a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of patients with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); the authors' conclusion was that though the extract was observed to have modest anxiolytic activity in the patients, future study was needed (Amsterdam et al., 2009).
A 2014 investigation into the ability of chamomile extract's beneficial effects in treating induced colonic injury in rats found favorable results and the authors posit that this is due to the extracts ability to reduce inflammation in the injured colon (Masoudi-Ardakani, Abbasnejad, Esmaeilpour, Tahami & Ahmadi, 2014).
The use of chamomile as a traditional remedy for diarrhea led Tunisian researchers to conduct a rat study in 2014; their results with an extract of the herb led them to conclude that chamomile has potent antidiarrheal and antioxidant properties (Sebai et al., 2014).
Researchers who conducted a 2011 rat study looking at the anti-allergic properties of a methanol extract of chamomile found that it showed potent anti-allergic activity by inhibition of histamine release from mast cells (Chandrashekhar et al., 2011).
Cautions
Potential interactions with Warfarin (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003).
Infusions of chamomile should not be used in the eye area (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003); the presence of pollens can induce allergic conjunctivitis so ethanolic extracts that denature possible allergens are preferred (Bone, 2003).
Contraindications
Known allergy (Bone, 2003). No restriction on long-term use (Bone & Mills, 2013).
Use in pregnancy and lactation
No adverse results expected (Bone, 2003). A 2000 study on aromatherapy showed that use of chamomile essential oil to be was effective in alleviating pain during labour, and the study's authors recommended its use as an effective and low-cost method for reducing maternal anxiety, fear and/or pain during labour (Burns, Blamey, Ersser, Lloyd & Barnetson, 2000).
Dosage
3-6 ml of 1:2 high-grade liquid extract per day, or 20-40 ml of same per 7 days (Bone, 2003).
Infusion of dried flower heads: Blumenthal et al also cite the German Commission E Monograph recommended dosage as 150 ml boiling water poured over 3 g dried flower and steeped, covered, for 5–10 minutes, 3–4 times daily between meals for gastro-intestinal complaints. (Blumenthal, Brinckmann & Wollschlaeger, 2003).
References
Amsterdam, J., Li, Y., Soeller, I., Rockwell, K., Mao, J., & Shults, J. (2009). A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) Extract Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal Of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(4), 378-382.
Blumenthal, M., Brinckmann, J., & Wollschlaeger, B. (2003). The ABC clinical guide to herbs. Austin, Tex.: American Botanical Council.
Burns, E., Blamey, C., Ersser, S., Lloyd, A., & Barnetson, L. (2000). The use of aromatherapy in intrapartum midwifery practice an observational study. Complementary Therapies In Nursing And Midwifery, 6(1), 33-34.
Bone, K. (2003). A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs. Edinburgh [u.a.]: Churchill Livingstone.
Bone, K., & Mills, S. (2013). Principles and practice of phytotherapy. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Chandrashekhar, V., Halagali, K., Nidavani, R., Shalavadi, M., Biradar, B., Biswas, D., & Muchchandi, I. (2011). Anti-allergic activity of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) in mast cell mediated allergy model. Journal Of Ethnopharmacology, 137(1), 336-340.
Grieve, M. (1971). A modern herbal. New York: Dover Publications.
Holmes, P. (2007). The energetics of Western herbs. Cotati, Calif.: Snow Lotus Press.
Masoudi-Ardakani, Y., Abbasnejad, M., Esmaeilpour, K., Tahami, A., & Ahmadi, M. (2014). Significant reduction in colonic damage by Chamomilla recutita L. aqueous extract in acetic acid-induced colitis in rats. Journal Of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Research, 6(12), 437-445.
Sebai, H., Jabri, M., Souli, A., Rtibi, K., Selmi, S., & Tebourbi, O. et al. (2014). Antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) decoction extract in rats. Journal Of Ethnopharmacology, 152(2), 327-332.