Chamomile

(Matricaria chamomilla)
(syn: Matricaria recutita)

Other Names:

German chamomile, manzanilla, wild chamomile, synonym Matricaria recutita

Range: Non-Native

Family:

Asteraceae - the daisy family

Growth Type:

Annual herbaceous plant

Height:

can reach up to 60 cm in height

Leaves:

Bipinnate to ripinnate leaves that are arranged alternate and finely divided

Stem/Trunk:

Erect, branched, and hairy stems

Root:

Fibrous root system

Flower Season:

Blooms from late spring to early autumn

Flower Appearance:

Small, daisy-like flowers with white petals and yellow centers

Seed/Fruit:

Produces small, dry, one-seeded fruits called achenes

Miscellaneous characteristics:

Aromatic with a pleasant scent

Habitat:

Prefers well-drained soils in full sun, commonly found in fields and gardens

Parts Used:

Flowers and aerial parts

Culinary Uses:

Used to make herbal teas and flavoring in various dishes

Energetics

Taste: Bitter
Thermal: Cooling
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

Cancer, Colic, Common Cold, Diarrhea, Ear Ache Eczema, Fever, Gastritis, Infantile convulsions, Measles, Restlessness, Sclerosis, Spasms, Stomach Pain, Tumor (Intestinal)

Indigenous Usage:

Belgium, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Europe, France, Hungary, Iraq, Kurdistan, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Turkey, U.S., Venezuela

Usage Indictions:

Colitis, Conjunctivitis, Constipation, Diabetic Neuropathy, Diarrhea, Digestive Tension, Diverticular Disease, Duodenal Ulcers, Dysmenorrhea, nervous Dyspepsia, Dysesthesia, Eczema, Earache, Gastric Ulcers, Gingivitis, Headache, Hemorrhoids, Hyperactivity, Indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Insomnia, Mastalgia, Menopause tension and related problems, Migraine, Morning sickness, Mucosal Inflammation, Nappy Rash, Nausea due to nerves travel or infection, Nervous Tension, Otalgia (earache), knee Osteoarthritis, Sexual Dysfunction, Sinusitis, Ulcerative Colitis, Varicose Veins, Vertigo

Indications Citations

The fact that studies concerning all indications listed above have not yet been completed, does not mean said uses are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopeia prior to the advent of allopathic medicine.

Clinical Trials:

Anxiety (Common): Mao JJ, Xie SX, Keefe JR, Soeller I, Li QS, Amsterdam JD. Long-term chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Phytomedicine. 2016 Dec 15;23(14):1735-1742. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2016.10.012. Epub 2016 Oct 24. PMID: 27912875; PMCID: PMC5646235.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Hashempur MH, Lari ZN, Ghoreishi PS, Daneshfard B, Ghasemi MS, Homayouni K, Zargaran A. A pilot randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial on topical chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) oil for severe carpal tunnel syndrome. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2015 Nov;21(4):223-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.08.001. Epub 2015 Aug 12. PMID: 26573447.

Depression (Common): Amsterdam JD, Li QS, Xie SX, Mao JJ. Putative Antidepressant Effect of Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) Oral Extract in Subjects with Comorbid Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression. J Altern Complement Med. 2020 Sep;26(9):813-819. doi: 10.1089/acm.2019.0252. Epub 2019 Dec 5. PMID: 31808709; PMCID: PMC7488203.

Diabetic Neuropathy (Nerve pain): Amiri M, Imani MH, Imani AH, Bazrafshan H, Bazrafshan M, Vardanjani HM, Zohalinezhad ME. Topical chamomile oil as a novel therapeutic intervention for diabetic neuropathy: A randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. Explore (NY). 2025 Jul-Aug;21(4):103189. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2025.103189. Epub 2025 May 16. PMID: 40440968.

Dysmenorrhea (Menstrual Pain): Soh Z, Tan SC, Wong TH, Tan ST, Tan SS, Tan CX. Effects of chamomile and -theanine beverage on menstrual pain, menstrual symptoms, mood, and sleep quality in young women experiencing primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Food Drug Anal. 2025 Dec 15;33(4):381-390. doi: 10.38212/2224-6614.3565. PMID: 41525193; PMCID: PMC12795334.

Insomnia (among elderly people): Adib-Hajbaghery M, Mousavi SN. The effects of chamomile extract on sleep quality among elderly people: A clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2017 Dec;35:109-114. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2017.09.010. Epub 2017 Oct 13. PMID: 29154054.

Mastalgia (Breast Pain): Saghafi N, Rhkhshandeh H, Pourmoghadam N, Pourali L, Ghazanfarpour M, Behrooznia A, Vafisani F. Effectiveness of Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile) extract on pain control of cyclic mastalgia: a double-blind randomised controlled trial. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2018 Jan;38(1):81-84. doi: 10.1080/01443615.2017.1322045. Epub 2017 Oct 26. PMID: 29072514.

Migraine (Without aura): Zargaran A, Borhani-Haghighi A, Salehi-Marzijarani M, Faridi P, Daneshamouz S, Azadi A, Sadeghpour H, Sakhteman A, Mohagheghzadeh A. Evaluation of the effect of topical chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) oleogel as pain relief in migraine without aura: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Neurol Sci. 2018 Aug;39(8):1345-1353. doi: 10.1007/s10072-018-3415-1. Epub 2018 May 28. PMID: 29808331.

Osteoarthritis (Knee): Shoara R, Hashempur MH, Ashraf A, Salehi A, Dehshahri S, Habibagahi Z. Efficacy and safety of topical Matricaria chamomilla L. (chamomile) oil for knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2015 Aug;21(3):181-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.06.003. Epub 2015 Jun 9. PMID: 26256137.

Mucositis (Mouth inflammation): Elhadad MA, El-Negoumy E, Taalab MR, Ibrahim RS, Elsaka RO. The effect of topical chamomile in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: A randomized clinical trial. Oral Dis. 2022 Jan;28(1):164-172. doi: 10.1111/odi.13749. Epub 2020 Dec 19. PMID: 33290635.

Sexual Dysfunction (in post menopausal women): Bosak Z, Iravani M, Moghimipour E, Haghighizadeh MH, Jelodarian P. Effect of Chamomile Vaginal Gel on the Sexual Function in Postmenopausal Women: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. J Sex Med. 2022 Jun;19(6):983-994. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.03.536. Epub 2022 Apr 7. PMID: 35400624.

Sinusitis: Nemati S, Yousefbeyk F, Ebrahimi SM, FaghihHabibi AF, Shakiba M, Ramezani H. Effects of chamomile extract nasal drop on chronic rhinosinusitis treatment: A randomized double blind study. Am J Otolaryngol. 2021 Jan-Feb;42(1):102743. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102743. Epub 2020 Sep 28. PMID: 33038782.

Medicinal Actions:

Anticonvulsant, Antihistamine, Anti-Inflammatory, Antimicrobial, Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Bitter, Carminative, Diaphoretic, Discutient, Emmenagogue, Emollient, Expectorant, Nervine, Relaxant, Sedative, Stimulant, Stomachic, Styptic, Tonic: Digestive, Tonic: Nerve, Vermifuge, Vulnerary

Constituents:

Flower: Alpha-Bisabolol, Apigenin, Apigenin-7-Acetylglucoside, Apigenin-7-O-Neohesperoside, Apigenin-7-O-Rutinoside, Apigetrin, Apiin, Beta-Sitosterol-Glucoside, Bisabolol, Chamaviolin, Chamazulene, Chrysoeriol-7-Rutinoside, D-Glucosamine, Desacetylmatricarin, Galacturonic-Acid, Guaiazulene, Herniarin, Levonenol, Luteolin, Luteolin-7-O-Glucoside, Matricarin, Mucilage, Oleanolic-Acid, Quercimeritrin, Rutin, Salicylates, Umbelliferone

Plant: 2,4-Dihydroxybenzoic-Acid, 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic-Acid, 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic-Acid, 3-Carene, 3-Hydroxy-2-Methylidene-Butyric-Acid-Angelate, 4-Hydroxy-3-Methoxy-Benzoic-Acid, 4-Methoxybenzoic-Acid, 6,3-Dimethoxyquercetin, 6,7-Dimethoxyquercetin, 6-Hydroxy-Luteolin-7-Glucoside, 6-Methoxykaempferol, Alpha-Bisabolol-Oxide-A, Alpha-Bisabolol-Oxide-B, Alpha-Bisabololoxide-C, Alpha-Bisaboloneoxide-A, Alpha-Cubebene, Alpha-Muurolene, Anthecotulide, Anthemic-Acid, Apigenin, Apigenin-7-(6'O-Acetyl)-Glucoside, Apigenin-7-Apiosylglucoside, Apigenin-7-Glucoside, Apigenin-7-Glucoside-(2',3')-Diacetate, Apigenin-7-Glucoside-(3',4')-Diacetate, Axillarin, Azulene, Beta-Caryophyllene, Beta-Damascenone, Bisabolene, Borneol, Bornyl-Acetate, Caffeic-Acid, Calamene, Capric-Acid, Caprylic-Acid, Caryophyllenepoxide, Catechin-Tannins, Chamazulene, Chamomilla-Ester-I, Chamomilla-Ester-Ii, Chamomillol, Chlorogenic-Acid, Chrysoeriol, Chrysoeriol-7-Glucoside, Chrysosplenetin, Chrysosplenol, Chrysosplentin, Cis-Caryophyllene, Cis-En-Yn-Dicycloether, Cis-Spiroether, Epsilon-1-(2,6-Dimethylphenyl)-2-Buten-1-One, Ethyl-Benzoate, Ethyl-Decanoate, Ethyl-Palmitate, Ethyl-Phenylacetate, Eupaletin, Eupatoletin, Farnesene, Farnesol, Furfural, Gallic-Acid-Tannin, Gentisic-Acid, Geraniol, Herniarin, Hyperoside, Isoferulic-Acid, Isorhamnetin, Isorhamnetin-7-Glucoside, Jaceidin, Kaempferol, Luteolin, Luteolin-4'-Glucoside, Luteolin-7-Glucoside, Luteolin-7-Rhamnoglucoside, Malic-Acid, Matricarin, Matricin, O-Coumaric-Acid, P-Coumaric-Acid, Patuletin, Patuletin-7-Glucoside, Pectic-Acid, Perillyl-Alcohol, Polyacetylene, Proazulenes, Quercetagetin-3,5,6,7,3',4'-Hexamethylether, Quercetagetin-3,6,7,3',4'-Pentamethylether, Quercetagetin-3,6,7,3'-Tetramethylether, Quercetagetin-33,6,7,3'-Tetramethylether, Quercetin, Quercetin-3-0-Galactoside, Quercetin-7-Glucoside, Quercetrin, Quercimeritrin, Rutin, Salicylic-Acid, Sinapic-Acid, Spathulenol, Spinacetin, Thujone, Trans-Alpha-Farnesene, Trans-Beta-Farnesene, Trans-En-Yn-Dicycloether, Triacontane, Umbelliferone, Xanthoxylin

Shoot: Axillarin

Search Google Scholar
For Scientific Papers