Chamomile is considered as an imperative medicinal herb belongs to Asteraceae family and its oil (chamomile oil), is an essential oil of great health potentials. Basically, chamomile oil is represented by two forms, which include German chamomile oil and Roman chamomile oil and both oils are widely used for various therapeutic purposes and for aromatherapy.

Characteristics

• It is liquid in room temperature

• German chamomile oil is blue to bluish green in color. It has seen that the color of the oil often turns into pale green or yellow or brown due to light exposure or prolong storage
• Whereas Roman chamomile oil is yellow in color
• It has a sweet and fruity aroma
• It is less viscous

Nutritive value

• It contains crude fat but totally free from trans-fat and contains very low amount of saturated fat and cholesterol
• It contains fewer amounts of carbohydrates as well as proteins
• It does not provide enough calories on its oxidation
• It contains numerous Vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1, B2, B5, B9 and B12
• It is also rich in several important trace elements like calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, selenium, sodium, iron and magnesium
• It contains various biologically active compounds like terpenoids, apigenin, glycosides, matricin, patuletin, luteolin and quercetin

Extraction of chamomile oil

• Chamomile oil is extracted from the flower through steam distillation method in laboratory
• It can also be extracted very easily at home

Health benefits

Role on skin

• It helps to improve skin health as it has skin regenerating, repairing and strengthening properties
• It has seen that application of Roman chamomile oil along with coconut oil plays important role in reducing skin irritation by exerting strong calming effect on skin
• It also helps to hydrate and moisturize the skin
• It helps to prevent various skin disorders like acne and eczema
• It plays significant role in healing sun burns
• It helps to improve skin tone
• It helps to prevent blemishes

Role on hair

• It helps to stimulate hair growth
• It has seen that rinsing of hair with this oil helps to improve the brightness as well as shining of hair
• It helps to soothes and hydrates the scalp and thus helps to reduce scalp irritation and itching
• It also helps to reduce dandruff
• Its usage is closely related with reducing the prevalence of brittle hair

Role on nervous system

• It is associated with maintain the health of the central nervous system
• It helps to promote the functionality of both central as well as peripheral nervous system and helps to prevent neurological disorders

Role on mental health

• The aroma of the oil is closely related with exerting a calming effect that helps to reduce the stress level and helps to relax the body
• It helps to improve the mood as well
• Its nerve shooting activity is very effective for decreasing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• It is also beneficial for reducing the symptoms of depression
• It is related with reducing generalized anxiety disorder by regulating cortisol level

Role on reducing pain

• It has immense analgesic effect, which is associated with reducing pain and helps to replace the use of pain relief medicines
• It shows significant effect on reducing arthritis pain
• It has seen that application of chamomile oil on affected area is allied with enhancing blood circulation, which helps to reduce inflammation as well as pain
• It helps to provide quick relief from headache due to sinusitis or cold or migraine

Role on improving sleeping

• It has strong sedative effects that help to prevent insomnia
• It has seen that Roman chamomile oil is more effective for inducing healthy sleep
• It helps to reduce nightmare as well
• It also helps to promote sleep in infants. It is better to massage babies with chamomile oil before bath as it helps to calm them down, which facilitates good sleeping

Anti-carcinogenic effects

• Apigenin component of chamomile oil is accountable for exerting strong anti-carcinogenic activity
• It helps to suppress the growth of malignant cells by inducing apoptosis and also helps to inhibit their metastasis
• It also helps to prevent tumor cell (both malignant and benign) growth and reduces the risk of developing cancers
• German chamomile oil comparatively shows higher anti-carcinogenic potentials than Roman chamomile oil

Role on women health

• It has emmenagogue activity, which is associated with increasing the menstrual flow and helps to reduce the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome
• It also helps to reduce menstrual pain
• It is related with decreasing menopausal troubles
• It helps to ease the tenderness of breast

Therapeutic application

Role on digestive system

• It is very beneficial for reducing the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders like diarrhea, constipation, hepatic disorders and gallbladder disease (especially formation of gall stone)

• It also helps in digestion
• It helps to reduce unnecessary accumulation of gas in abdomen hence prevents flatulence
• It is also associated with improving the gut health by inhibiting the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria
• It helps to prevent fluid accumulation in intestine
• It has seen that application of chamomile oil on abdomen is associated with improving appetite

Role on renal system

• It is well utilized for improving renal functionality as it has diuretic effects
• It helps to stimulate the excretion of waste products as well as toxin from the body by increasing urination hence helps in detoxification process
• It is also associated with purifying the blood

Role on cardiac health

• It acts as an effective preventive measure for cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction and strokes by inhibiting blood vessel constriction
• German chamomile oil plays significant role in regulating blood pressure as it acts as a vasoconstrictior

Inhalation of this oil also helps to decongest chest and helps to unclog stuffy nose

It is also used to lessen the consequences of fever as it has febrifuge activities

Recent findings

• According to recent research, it is better to consume herbal medicine during pregnancy as it helps to inhibit various maternal complications such as nausea, preeclampsia, PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension), urinary tract infection and common colds and flu. This type of medications is prepared by using several herbs among which chamomile can be used as one of the most important ingredients for preparing these medicines (Laelago T, 2018)

• Several researches have shown that chamomile acts as galactagogue and helps to increase milk production hence it is beneficial for those lactating women who are not able to produce enough milk (Silva et al., 2018)
• Current researches have shown that chamomile oil can be well utilized as an active ingredient of herbal tea, which is very essential for preventing obesity, diabetes and cardio vascular diseases (Poswal et al., 2019)

Risk factors

• It is better to use the oil in diluted form combined with another carrier oil
• It often causes allergic reactions or hypersensitivity reactions
• In large amount it can cause vomiting
• It may cause eye irritation if applied (undiluted form) near the eyes

Aglawe, S., Gayke, A., Sharma, K., Jadhav, S., Gore, S., Pandit, B., Valate, S. and Wagh, M., 2020. Chamomile: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, 12(1), pp.12-14.

Chauhan, E.S. and Jaya, A., 2017. Chamomile an Ancient Aromatic Plant-A Review. Journal of Ayurveda Medical Sciences, 2(4).

Dąbrowska, J.A., Essential oil from German chamomile (MatricariachamomillaL.) andRoman chamomile (Chamaemelumnobile L.). Nauka, Badania i Doniesienia Naukowe 2018, p.71.

Khalesi, Z.B., Beiranvand, S.P. and Bokaie, M., 2019. Efficacy of Chamomile in the Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome: A Systematic Review. Journal of Pharmacopuncture, 22(4), p.204.

Laelago, T., 2018. Herbal medicine use during pregnancy: Benefits and untoward effects. In Herbal Medicine. IntechOpen.

Poswal, F.S., Russell, G., Mackonochie, M., MacLennan, E., Adukwu, E.C. and Rolfe, V., 2019. Herbal teas and their health benefits: a scoping review. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, pp.1-11.

Silva, F.V., Dias, F., Costa, G. and Campos, M.D.G., 2018. Chamomile reveals to be a potent galactogogue: the unexpected effect. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 31(1), pp.116-118.

Vukmirovic, S., Kusturica, M., Milijasevic, B., Trifunovic, J., Tthomas, A. and Mikov, M., 2017. Fermentation Potentiates Antimotility Properties of Chamomile Ligulate Flower Extracts. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 78(5), pp.691-694.