You might have heard about chamomile's amazing ability as a calming tea for bedtime, but do you know what else it is renowned for? Find out this week in The Nomad's Apothecary, Herb of the Week series. German chamomile (Chamomilla recuita or Chamomile matricaria) is a wonderfully soothing herb. The flowers are used to achieve the therapeutic actions. The active constituents in German Chamomile are volatile oil, flavonoids, tannins, cyanogenic, and glycosides. The therapeutic actions associated with German Chamomile are anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, anti-ulcer, bitter, carminative, digestive, anxiolytic, nervine, sedative, vulnerary, diaphoretic, and antimicrobial. As most of you know, Chamomile tea is one often recommended for people wanting to help with insomnia or calm children. Chamomile is also found frequently in natural diaper rash creams and also in gripe water for babies/children. But why is that? What action listed above can do all those things? Well, for the helping with insomnia thing, the sedative and nervine actions are the ones responsible for that. A sedative does just what it sounds like, it sedates. The nervine action, helps calm an over active nervous system and calm a racing brain so one can sleep. Now, it also helps children in gripe water. That would be the carminative and digestive action. Carminative means it helps dispel trapped and built up gas in the intestines. Colic is theorized that it is caused from trapped gas in the intestines. So you can see why this would be so helpful for soothing a colicky newborn. But, it is also used in diaper rash cream. How does it work there? The anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and vulnerary actions are seen at work here. It will soothe inflamed skin, keep infection at bay, and help heal any open areas. WOW! German chamomile is like the one size fits all herb, huh? In adults and children alike, Chamomile is a soothing, cooling, anti-spasmodic herb that has an affinity for conditions of the digestive system that are triggered by stress. These can include IBS, crohn's, and colitis. It has been used for digestive upsets, infections of the digestive system, IBS, trapped gas, colic, indigestion and heartburn, nausea and vomiting (including for morning sickness!), and for soothing stomach ulcers. Chamomile is a very good herb for the GI tract and one I reach for quite often. But it can also be used for assisting the nervous system when its overwhelmed and feeling weak. Chamomile can help with stress, anxiety, and tension, because it is very calming to the nervous system. It has also been used to successfully treat headaches, migraines, and insomnia. It can also be used to soothe an inflamed or infected urinary system and its antimicrobial properties are also known to soothe respiratory infections. Its a great herb to take if one has painful menstrual cycles as its antispasmodic actions are very effective on menstrual cramps. When made into an external preparation, it can help deal with inflammation, ulcers, burns, and skin infections. Wow. Chamomile is so fucking useful! I use it very often in my practice and find myself reaching for it often for my own health issues as well as my family's. I absolutely adore the versatility of this herb. Now, how to dose this herb? The best way is always through a water based or alcohol based extraction (infusion/tea or tincture). Infusion dosing: 2 teaspoons of the dried flowers per 8 ounces (240 ml) of boiling water. Pour water over dried herbs in a mug and let steep for 20 minutes, covered. Strain and drink up to 3 times a day. Tincture dosing: 1-4 ml/cc of the 1:5 tincture up to three times a day. Remember that all tinctures purchased should have the strength of herbs to alcohol on the bottle (the 1:5 number), any number lower than 5, please consult myself or another Master Herbalist, on how to dose that tincture as it is stronger and needs special dosing.
And as always, please consult with myself, another Master Herbalist, or your medical doctor before taking any herb to make sure it doesn't interfere with any prescription medications you might be taking. The only contraindication (reason it can't be taken) is anyone with allergies to plants in the asteraceae family may react to this herb. That family includes, ragweed, thistle, dandelions, goldenrod, sagebrush, yarrow and more. What have you used German Chamomile for successfully? Share your stores in the comments below. I love hearing how the power of herbs has helped you, my readers. Blessed Be, Shannon
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AuthorShannon, master herbalist, shares her thoughts, educational information, and more. Archives
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