Anthemis nobilis L. or Chamaemelum nobile or Camomile Romana is a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family from which the classic drink Camomile is distilled.

In botany, the genus Camomile comprises several species.

• Camomile Matricaria recutita or German Camomile, is the most widespread and best-known medicinal plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, the classic camomile.
• Anthemis nobilis or Roman Chamomile is the second medicinal plant that is less common, but has similar ingredients to Matricaria recutita.

Both provide an essential oil (whose main components are alpha bisabolol and its oxides A, B and C, matricin, which is converted to chamazulene by distillation and en-yn-dicycloethers) and flavonic derivatives: apigenin, luteolin and apigenin-7-glucoside (3). It is produced by steam distillation.

It appears as a clear, yellowish liquid.

What it is used for and where

Medical and Pharmaceuticals

In clinical trials, the anti-inflammatory activity of ointment containing Matricaria recutita flower extract (treatment of patients with inflammatory dermatoses on the hands, forearms and lower legs) was comparable to that of Hydrocortisone 0.25 per cent and superior to 0.75 per cent fluocortin butyl ester and 5 per cent bufexamac (synthetic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) (1).

Chamomile essential oil and the alpha bisabolol it contains have demonstrated bactericidal and fungicidal activity in vitro (mainly against Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans fungi) (2).

The flower is used for herbal teas, tablets, mouthwashes (3).

Despite being the most commonly used herb for sleep disorders, the efficacy and safety of chamomile (Matricaria recutita) for the treatment of chronic primary insomnia is still uncertain. This study found a modest benefit of chamomile over placebo on other sleep diary measures including sleep latency. The data from this study point to the possibility that chamomile extract may provide modest, mixed clinical benefits, at the doses evaluated, to patients with chronic primary insomnia. It is possible, however, that the improvements in the chamomile group are due to non-treatment-related events such as the natural course of the disease and regression to the mean (4).

Cosmetics

The oil used by Anthemis nobilis is derived from three components of this plant, the flower water, the flowers themselves, the flower extract and the flower powder. These four ingredients function as both fragrance and skin conditioning agents. Concentrations are generally around 10% in cosmetic formulations and no cases of toxicity, irritation or sensitisation have been reported so far.

Anthemis nobilis studies

References______________________________________________________________________

(1) Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckann J. Herbal medicine. Expanded Commission E Monographs. German. Newton: Chamomile flower, American Botanical Council; 2000. pp. 57–61.

(2) Schulz V, Hänsel R, Blumenthal M, Tyler VE. Rational phytotherapy. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 2004. pp. 335–47.

(3) ESCOP Monographs. Matricariae flos. 2nd ed. New York: Thieme; 2003. European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy; pp. 312

(4) Zick SM, Wright BD, Sen A, Arnedt JT. Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Sep 22;11:78. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-11-78.