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Chamomile


moonstar

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Has anyone tried chamomile tea? We have been using it for years

for stomach aches, indigestion and gas. Costs less than over-the-counter products and it works great. Word of caution: If you are allergic to the daisy family, including

ragweed, you should not use it.

 

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http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/chammo49.html

Chamomiles

Botanical: N.O. Compositae

Chamomile, Common- found at site above.

Chamomile, German -German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Chamomile, Stinking - found at site above

---Habitat---There are a number of species of Chamomile spread over Europe, North Africa and the temperate region of Asia, but in Great Britain we have four growing wild: the sweet-scented, true Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis); the Fcetid Chamomile or Stinking Mayweed (A. cotula), which has what Gerard calls 'a naughty smell'; the Corn Chamomile (A. arvensis), which flowers rather earlier and is noticeable because its ray florets are empty and wholly for show and possess no sort of ovary or style, and fourthly, the Yellow Chamomile, with yellow instead of white rays, which is found sometimes on ballast heaps, but is not a true native.

 

Chamomile, German

Botanical: Matricaria chamomilla (LINN.)

Family: N.O. Compositae

Constituents

Medicinal Action and Uses

Preparations

---Synonym---Wild Chamomile.

---Part Used---Flowers.

The German Chamomile, sometimes called the Wild Chamomile, has flower-heads about 3/4 inch broad, with about fifteen white, strap shaped, reflexed ray florets and numeroustubular yellow, perfect florets. It is frequent in cornfields and so remarkably like the Corn Chamomile (Anthemis arvensis) that it is often difficult to distinguish it from that plant, but it is not ranked among the true Chamomiles by botanists because it does not possess the little chaffy scales or bracts between its florets; also the conical receptacle, or disk, on which the florets are arranged is hollow, not solid, like that of the Corn Chamomile. It may also be distinguished from A. cotula and Matricaria inodora, the Mayweeds, by the lapping-over scales of its involucre surrounding the base of the flower-head not being chaffy at the margin, as in those species. It has a strong smell, somewhat like that of the official Common Chamomile (A. nobilis), but less aromatic, whereas the Corn Chamomile which it so closely resembles is scentless.

---Constituents---The flowers of the German Chamomile, though aromatic, have a very bitter taste. They contain a volatile oil, a bitter extractive and little tannic acid.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Carminative, sedative and tonic. The infusion of 1/2 oz. of the dried flowers to 1 pint of boiling water may be given freely in teaspoonful doses to children, for whose ailments it is an excellent remedy. It acts as a nerve sedative and also as a tonic upon the gastro-intestinal canal. It proves useful during dentition in cases of earache, neuralgic pain, stomach disorders and infantile convulsions. The flowers may also be used externally as a fomentation.

---Preparations---Fluid extract: dose, 1/4 to 1 drachm.

 

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Yes, chamomile is easy to grow. Grows in full sun and it likes to spread. Pretty little flowers that look like daisies. If you don't want to grow it, you can purchase the

tea. I buy mine at Walmart. It's near the regular boxes of

tea. I buy Lipton Quietly Chamomile and sometimes the one

that has honey in it. It's $1.99 here. A lot less than the

$5 to $7 they charge for indigestion products on the market.

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  • 3 years later...

This is a recent post (June 11, 2009) by Mommadogs in reply to Mammwright's question of "Is there a difference in German Chamomile and Roman Chamomile?" I felt it should go here.

 

****Little hint, for those of you that don't know it. Whenever I want something to come up with an accurate, scientific, or well researched answer, I use www.searchedu.com

This search will return the results of educational sites. In this case, I used Purdue University's information, because they are well known in the horticultural arena. If this doesn't answer all of your questions, do another search on this search engine and you'll come up with much more. I thought this was good information, though.

 

Here's what they say:

 

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/med-aro.../chamomile.html

 

CHAMOMILE

 

Family: Asteraceae (Compositae)

 

ROMAN CHAMOMILE (Chamaemelum nobile [L ] All.)

 

GERMAN CHAMOMILE (Matricaria recutita L.)

 

Source: Simon, J.E., A.F. Chadwick and L.E. Craker. 1984. Herbs: An Indexed Bibliography. 1971-1980. The Scientific Literature on Selected Herbs, and Aromatic and Medicinal Plants of the Temperate Zone. Archon Books, 770 pp., Hamden, CT.

 

Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All., and German chamomile, Matricaria recutita, are two different species of plant commonly known as the same herb.

 

Formerly classified as Anthemis nobilis L. and called English or Russian chamomile, Roman chamomile is a creeping, herbaceous perennial native to western Europe and North Africa. Reaching a height of about 0.3 meters, the aromatic plant is characterized by downy stems and yellow-disc, white-ray flowers that appear in late spring or early July. Roman chamomile is cultivated in Europe, especially in Belgium, France, and England.

 

German chamomile, Matricaria recutita L., is also known as matricaria, wild chamomile, Hungarian chamomile, and sweet false chamomile. This many-branched, erect-growing annual, formerly classified as Matricaria chamomilla L., reaches a height of about 0.3 meter and has yellow disc white ray flowers. Cultivated in Germany, Hungary, Russia, and several other European countries, German chamomile is native to Europe and western Asia and naturalized in North America.

 

The reported life zone for the chamomiles is 7 to 26 degrees centigrade with an annual precipitation of 0.4 to 1.4 meters and a soil pH of 6.5 to 8.0 (Roman) or 4.8 to 8.3 (German) (4.1-31). Seeded or transplanted into the field for cultivation, Roman chamomile requires full sun but will grow in most soils having good drainage. Cultivated from seed, German chamomile grows in poor, clay soils. With Roman chamomile, the flower heads are hand picked and dried at the height of bloom about five times each growing season. The short, two-month growing season of German chamonile allows it to be interplanted with other biennial herbs or planted as an early or late crop.

 

The essential oil of Roman chamomile consists chiefly of chamazulene, angelic acid, tiglic acid, and several sesquiterpene lactones (1.4-34, 14.1-10). Other constituents of Roman chamomile include anthemic acid, athesterol, anthemene, resin and tannin (14.1-35). The essential oil of German chamomile contains chamazulene, -bisabolol, -bisabololaxides A and B, spathulenol cis-En-yn-dicycloether and farnesene (1.7-121, 2.3-74). Other constituents of German chamomile include a volatile oil, anthemic acid, antheminidine, tannin, matricarin, and apigenin (11.1-136, 14.1-35).

 

Dried flowers from Roman and German chamomile are employed in herbal teas. Flower heads of Roman chamomile have been used in the manufacture of herb beers (11.1-49). The essential oils are used as agents in alcoholic beverages, confections, desserts, perfumes, and cosmetics. Roman chamomile is often grown as a ground cover or as an ornamental in flower gardens.

 

As medicinal plants, the chamomiles have been traditionally considered to be antispasmodics, carminatives, diaphoretics, emmenagogues, sedatives, and stomachics. The plants have been used as bitters, tonics, insect repellents, and as a folk remedies against asthma, colic, fevers, inflammations, and cancer (14.1-13). German chamomile has been used to induce sleep and as an anthelmintic. Roman chamomile is a pharmaceutical aromatic bitter, and chamazulene, obtained from German chamomile, is a pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory and antipyretic agent (14.1-35). Extracts of Roman chamomile have shown antitumor activity and extracts of German chamomile are reported to have antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties (1.4-34, 1.8-13, 7.2-19). Chamomile in tea may cause toxic reactions in individuals sensitive to ragweed or allergens (11.1-96). The chamomiles can also cause contact dermititis (11.1-96).

 

Roman and German chamomile are generally recognized as safe for human consumption as natural seasonings/flavorings and as plant extracts/essential oils from the flowers (21 CFR sections 182.10, 182.20 [1982]).

 

For further information, see:

 

Mann, C. and E.J. Staba. 1986. The Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Commercial Formulations of Chamomile. In: L.E. Craker and J.E. Simon (eds). Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants. Recent Advances in Botany, Horticulture, and Pharmacology. Food Products Press Vol. 1: 235-280.

 

[Note: References listed above in parentheses can be found in full in the original reference]. ***

 

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Please visit our family "farm" at http://waggingtailsfarm.blogspot.com/

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  • 2 months later...

In answer to the original question, I just wanted to add my experience of this evening:

 

I was sick over the weekend and although I'm better now, I've been feeling icky all day. Just blah and leaden. I'm not sure it's it's from the shift in horomones (I'm at that part of my cycle), or leftover from the illness. Either way, it wasn't pleasant.

 

After dinner, I got out my teapot, and brew up a teapot with 1 tea bag chamomile and 1 teabag peppermint with a little honey drizzled in to satisfy my sweettooth.

 

Once the water was boiling, I let it steep for twenty minutes. Just finished the cup, and am already feeling refreshed, and lighter. It was just the thing to shake off the malaise-- I heartily recommend!

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