FUN FACTS

BN: Matricaria chamomilla. AKA  Baboonig, Babuna, Babuna camornile, Babunj, German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile, Roman chamomile, English chamomile, Camomilla, Flos chamomile, Single chamomile, sweet false chamomile, pinheads, and scented mayweed¹, 洋甘菊, 黄春菊(Huáng chūnjú). Chamomile tea can lighten hair.  It is the national flower of Russia.  There's a chamomile lawn at Buckingham Palace. It's a mild tranquilizer.

CONSTITUENTS

flavonoids, mucilage, phenyl carboxylic acids, amino acids, and choline, essential oil, coumarins, methoxylated flavone aglyca, phytosterols.  Essential Oils contains chamazulene, cis-β-farnesene, eucalyptol, coumarin, galaxolide, and camphor.³  Apigenin, quercetin and luteolin are the major flavonoids that produces the anti-inflammatory effects.4

USES/BENEFITS

(Disclaimer) Alleviates insomnia, anxiety, sore throat, cough, cold, flu, fever, menstrual cramps, inflammation pain, stress, and skin rashes.  Lowers blood sugar.  Helps with nausea and indigestion.  Anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, carminative, sedative, emmenagogue, laxative, antispasmodic, anodyne, and diaphoretic.  Rheumatoid Arthritis.

CAUTION

Chamomile may interact with anticoagulant (Warfarin), antiplatelet, and sedative drugs (ie benzodiazepine and cytochrome P-450 enzymes)³.  In vitro, chamomile extracts inhibits the activities of major human drug metabolizing enzymes and results in the grapefruit effect.  Consult your physician before ingesting highly concentrated tea.  It also stimulates menstruation, therefore women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant should consult their doctors before using this herb.

TYPES

German chamomile(Matricaria chamomilia) is an annual that is propagated by seed.  The stems are hairless.

german chamo
  •  Improve digestion, remove toxins and infections.
  • Good for enriching dry skin. eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis
  • Reduces anxiety and stress
  • Stimulates menstrual cycle and moderates menopausal issues
  • Anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, carminative, sedative, emmenagogue, laxative, antispasmodic, anodyne, and diaphoretic.

Roman chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) is a low growing, carpeting perennial plant often used as a ground cover.  It’s propagated division of the plants.  Its has hairy stems and large flowers.

Roman-Chamomile
  • Reduces anxiety and stress
  • Promotes deeper sleep
  • Reduces muscle pain, arthritis, headaches and migraines.
  • Moderates irritation and mood swings. .
  • Anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, carminative, sedative, emmenagogue, laxative, antispasmodic, anodyne, and diaphoretic.

PRODUCTS 

Below are product samples.  You can find most of them at Walmart.com or Amazon.  Search the web for the product name and you should find multiple options.  Both the leaves and flowers are edible and can be used in salads.

GROWING

 You can grow chamomile from a tea bag!

TCM NOTES

This information is for education purposes only.  Seek the advice of your physician before taking any home remedies, herbs, or supplements.

PropertiesTreatmentsUsageCautionsFormulas
Temp Taste Ent. Meridians Photo
Cool
 

Name

黄春菊

Huáng chūnjú

Roman – Bitter

German – Sweet

Lung

Heart

Stomach

Indications/Issues Description / Symptoms Usefulness(1-10)
Insomnia ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Anxiety ♦♦♦♦♦♦
 PMS ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Menopausal symptoms ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

 

Actions Actions Actions
Remove Qi Stagnation
Tonifies Liver
Release to Exterior
Clears Heat
 Stops Cough
 Tonifies blood

DOSAGE information found online

Always consult your doctor before taking any herbal supplements.

PARTS USED

• Fruit

***Always consult your doctor before taking any herbal supplements.***

Contraindications

 

Drugs Interactions

 

Herb Interactions

Xiang Fan/ Incompatibility:

Xiang Wei/ Counteraction:

Xiang Sha/ Suppression:

Xiang Wu / Antagonism:

Xiang Xu/ Accentuation:

Xiang Shi/ Enhancement:

The roots of this herb is an ingredient in the following formulas:

 

EDITOR NOTES

Do not drink chamomile tea if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.  When I read the many articles on how chamomile is an emmenagogue, which means it can induce menstrual activity, I recommended to a friend to stop drinking it immediately.  There should be warnings on tea labels detailing these types of side effects.

I regret that I didn't know this when we were struggling with conceiving a child.  I'm a big tea drinker and chamomile was one of my favorite teas before bed.

REFERENCES

  1. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. softschools.com
  3. sciencedirect.com
  4. Australian International Academy Center  3/26/2018

 

This information in this post came from many sources, including class notes, practitioners, websites, webinars, books, magazines, and editor's personal experience.   Always consult a doctor prior to using herbal medicine.  The information here is strictly for educational purposes.