My watch list
my.chemeurope.com  
Login  

Calendula officinalis



Calendula

Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Calenduleae
Genus: Calendula
Species: C. officinalis
Binomial name
Calendula officinalis
L.
Perhaps one of the best things about this attractive plant is that it is not fussy about soil conditions and can be grown from seed in almost any sunny area.

—Carrie Mayes , Herb Information Greenpaper[1]

Pot Marigold or English Marigold (Calendula officinalis) is a plant in the Calendula genus. It was used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics.

The leaves and petals of the Pot Marigold are edible, with the petals added to dishes as a garnish and in lieu of saffron. The leaves can be sweet but are more commonly bitter, and may be used as or as part of salad.

It is also used in tandem with homeopathic medicine (as a salve) as a way to promote the healing of minor burns, scrapes and skin irritations that does not interfer with the diluted homeopathic doses.

Contents

Description

Medical Uses


Flowers harvested between June and September are most potent.

Hot calendula tea helps soothe ulcers. Gargle with cool tea for inflamed tonsils or canker sores.

To make the tea:

-Pour 10 oz of boiling water over 2/3 cup of dried flowers and let steep for 15 minutes.

Or

-Add 5-10 drops of calendula tincture to a cup of hot water.

Ointment is used on scabs, eczema and psoriasis.

To make the ointment:

-Melt 1/2 cup of petroleum jelly over low heat in a double boiler

-Add a handful of dried calendula flowers

-Heat on low for an hour

-Strain out herb and pour into glass jar

Tincture or spray can be applied to rashes, cuts, scrapes, or acne with a cotton ball. Spraying is good for sunburns, vaginitis and pinworms.

To dry the flowers themselves, put it on a mesh in direct sun for 1-2 weeks. Afterwards, store in an air tight container.

Pharmacology

Plants are used for the treatment of skin disorders and pain, and as a bactericide, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. The petals and pollen contain triterpenoid esters (an anti-inflammatory) and the carotenoids flavoxanthin and auroxanthin (antioxidants, and the source of the yellow-orange coloration). The leaves and stems contain other carotenoids, mostly lutein (80%) and zeaxanthan (5%), and beta-carotene. Plant extracts are also widely used by cosmetics, presumably due to presence of compounds such as saponins, resins and essential oils. Organic extracts have even been tentatively shown to inhibit HIV-1.[2]

References

  1. ^ Carrie Mayes (2001). Calendula officinalis (HTML). Herb Information Greenpaper. The Herb Research Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. “Perhaps one of the best things about this attractive plant is that it is not fussy about soil conditions and can be grown from seed in almost any sunny area.”
  2. ^ Marigold extract by Ray Sahelian, M.D. (HTML). Index of Hundreds of Health Topics. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Calendula_officinalis". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 does not support some functions on Chemie.DE