Matricaria chamomilla (syn. M. recutita, Chamomilla recutita)

A cross-sectional study (N = 9905) found chamomile being used by 33.1% of Mexican parents reporting self-medication of their children. Alonso-Castro 2022

An ethnopharmacological study documented the use of Matricaria chamomilla, among other plant species, in southwestern Lithuania. Karpavičienė 2022

A review of 128 ethnobotanical studies conducted in the South Balkan and East Mediterranean regions reports on the use of Matricaria chamomilla among the plant species most commonly used for skin related problems, also comparing the findings with the species mentioned in Dioscorides' "De Materia Medica." Tsioutsiou 2022

A review of medicinal plant use for the treatment of psychological symptoms in the context of global pandemic lists chamomile among the notable treatments for mental health problems, as well as one of the most common medicinal plants used in Iran for the treatment of stress and anxiety. Shahrajabian 2022

A web-based cross-sectional study conducted in Cusco, Peru, during the COVID-19 pandemic found chamomile among the medicinal plants used by most of the respondents for treatment of respiratory symptoms. Villena-Tejada 2021

An archival search unearthed a document revealing the use of chamomile (M. recutita) in the 18th-19th centuries in the New Kingdom of Granada for the treatment of kidney stone pain. Tuta-Quintero 2021

An ethnobotanical survey conducted in the Fez-Meknes region of Morocco identified Matricaria chamomilla among the plants commonly used for the treatment of insomnia, asthenia, and oral-gum infections (diseases prevalent in the region). Beniaich 2021

A historical document from the 18th century listed chamomile (Matricaria recutita) for the treatment of bladder or kidney stone pain. Tuta-Quintero 2021

A cross-sectional study conducted in Saudi Arabia found that 19.6% of the patients reporting the use of complementary and alternative medicine for treatment of eye complaints used chamomile. AlSalman 2021

A survey reported on chamomile use as a complementary and alternative therapy among Jordanians with urinary tract illnesses. Akour 2021

A cross-sectional study of 227 student athletes in Pakistan found chamomile being used by 4.0% of the subjects with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Qasrawi 2020

In a survey of 543 residents of Madrid (Spain), Matricaria recutita, along with Valeriana officinalis, Tilia spp., and Aloe vera, were the most common currently used medicinal plant species, primarily used for digestive problems. Sánchez 2020

A study of the traditional use of medicinal plants in the Pcinja district of South-Eastern Serbia listed Matricaria chamomilla along with Mentha piperita and Hypericum perforatum as the species with the highest number of use reports. Živkovic 2020

An ethnobotanical survey found Matricaria chamomilla to be one of the 5 most commonly used medicinal plants in a region of Serbia. Matejic 2020

A study reports on the use of chamomile as an edible flower in Portugal and Costa Rica. Guiné 2020

A review identified Matricaria chamomilla among the Persian medicinal plants with direct scientific support for their use in the management of osteoarthritis. Karami 2020

An investigation into pediatric uses of 153 medicinal plants in Romania between the 1860s-1970s identified Matricaria chamomilla among the species with the highest ethnopediatric relative therapeutic versatility. Petran 2020

Analysis of ethnobotanical records in the Archives of Latvian Folklore identified Matricaria chamomilla as one of the most frequently mentioned plant taxa. Sile 2019

A review of Avicenna's Canon of Medicine identified chamomile among the fourteen medicinal plants used in traditional Persian medicine for the treatment of asthma. Amini 2019

Matricaria chamomilla was among the most frequently mentioned remedies for the use against gastrointestinal diseases in animals by farmers in Western Switzerland. Mertenat 2019

An ethnobotanical study identified Matricaria recutita as one of the most popular plants used in a unique ethnographic district of Lithuania. Pranskuniene 2019

An ethnobotanical study conducted in the Macedonia region of Northern Greece identified Matricaria chamomilla as one of only seven species commonly reported by all the population groups. Tsioutsiou 2019

Chamomile was one of the most commonly used herbal remedies by pregnant women in rural Ghana. Peprah 2019

An ethnoveterinary study listed Matricaria recutita among the most frequently documented species used by farmers for the treatment of animals in the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne. Stucki 2019

An ethnobotanical study found chamomile (Matricaria recutita) to be one of the most commonly used medicinal plants in Lithuania. Pranskuniene 2018

An ethnobotanical study of traditional dermatological practices in Eastern Europe identified Matricaria chamomilla among the species with the highest importance. Gilca 2018

A cross-sectional study of psychiatric outpatients in Serbia reported the use of Matricaria chamomilla and/or Melissa officinalis in a form of infusion for the relief of anxiety and psychotic symptoms by single, middle-aged males with a secondary education degree. Nikolic 2018

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants collected from traditional healers in Bangladesh identified Matricaria chamomilla as one of the top five most commonly used ethnomedicinal plant species. Faruque 2018

Lemon balm, chamomile, peppermint and lime are the remedies most frequently used in the Santa Catarina state of Brazil, according to a survey of Primary Health Care center patients. [Article in Portuguese] Zeni 2017

Chamomile was found to be one of the top herbs used by the Latinos population in Southern California. Malika 2017

An ethnobotanical study conducted in two remote regions of Slovenia found Matricaria chamomilla to be used primarily for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Lumpert 2017

Use of chamomile for sexual headache, as recommended by Avicenna in the "Canon of Medicine," has seen some confirmation by modern scientific studies. Mosavat 2016

Matricaria recutita use for digestive complaints was determined to have fidelity level of 100% among traditional market vendors in Equador. Tinitana 2016

Knowledge, use, and perceptions on barriers, benefits, and risks related to the use of several medicinal plants, including Matricaria chamomilla, were assessed among young Iranian women. Ghanbari 2016

Matricaria chamomilla was one of the plants with the highest ethnopharmacological use value (second only to ginger, Zingiber officinale), according to the results of the ethnobotanical survey in southern Kurdistan, Iraq. Ahmed 2016

Matricaria chamomilla was found to be one of the plants used in Greco-Arabic traditional medicine (Unani) potentially beneficial for the treatment of menstrual pain, with scientific data support of its relevant activities. Sultana 2015

Matricaria chamomilla is reported as one of the 'most popular' medicinal plants in the Suva planina region (south-eastern Serbia). Jarić 2015

Chamomile was one of the most commonly used herbs during pregnancy in the Middle East. John 2015

Matricaria chamomilla was among the plants most frequently offered to pets in veterinary clinics in São Paulo. Antonio 2015

Chamomile was one of the most common complementary/alternative medicinal products used by visitors to the pediatric emergency department in Australia. Taylor 2015

Chamomilla recutita was named the most highly valued medicinal plant of all those used by the Albanians, Bosniaks, Gorani, and Turks, living in south Kosovo, according to the results of the survey of 139 elderly rural dwellers. Mustafa 2015

According to a systematic review of ethno-biomedicinal data on phytotherapeutic management of organic livestock diseases, chamomile uses reported by farmers are supported by recent scientific findings. Mayer 2014

Chamomile was among the most commonly used herbs by the elderly, according to the review of the relevant studies (9 of which were conducted in the US), with implications for possible drug interactions discussed. de Souza Silva 2014

Traditional use of Matricaria chamomilla used for infantile colic in Mauritius is reported. Mahomoodally 2014

Chamomile tea was found to be one of the few home remedies most frequently used in Germany. Parisius 2014

Matricaria chamomilla was identified as one of the key ingredients in a polyherbal traditional beverage of Lebanon and Syria "Zhourat" with digestive, sedative, and respiratory health benefits ascribed to it. Obón 2014

Matricaria recutita was one of the medicinal plants most frequently used by Swiss farmers in single-species preparations to treat livestock diseases. Disler 2014

Matricaria recutita was found to be one of the most commonly used herbs in patients on hemodyalisis. Roozbeh 2013

Chamomile use was one of the most commonly used herbs by pregnant women in Australia, according to the results of the survey. Sim 2013

Matricaria chamomilla is reported as one of the most commonly used traditional medicinal plants in an area of Turkey. Sargın 2013

Use of chamomile tea by children in the Newfoundland and Labrador regions of Canada, as reported by their parents, as well as the perceived benefits and adverse effects, were surveyed. Godwin 2013

Matricaria recutita was one of the most commonly used herbs (53.3% of the 40% that used any herbs) by Palestinian women during pregnancy. Al-Ramahi 2013

Matricaria chamomilla had the highest use value, along with Mentha piperita, Hypericum perforatum, and Achillea millefolium, in the survey of traditional herb use in Serbia. Savikin 2013

Matricaria recutita was one of the four most applied species, out of the 43 total, used by Swiss farmers for the treatment of various livestock diseases. Schmid 2012

Traditional medicinal uses of Matricaria recutita were recorded in the municipality of Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, México. It was reported to be "the most used plant for combinations" (occurring in 5 herbal mixtures out of 19 reported). Josabad Alonso-Castro 2012

Matricaria recutita was found to be one of the most preferred herb species for herbal product preparation, used by 10.7% of the respondents, in Czech Republic. Knotek 2012

Matricaria recutita is listed as one of the key elements of herbal wreaths used in Poland for religious as well as medicinal (fumigation) purposes. Łuczaj 2012

Chamomile use by Scottish women with breast cancer is reported. McLay 2012

Of the 74% of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients who reported use of complementary and alternative medicine, chamomile use was reported by 3.5% (one of the most common), although the use may not have been IBD-specific. Rawsthorne 2012

Chamomile was the most common herbal product used by pregnant women in the UK, with 14.6% of the 14,115 women reporting its use. Bishop 2011

Traditional use of Matricaria chamomilla for colic is reported among rural communities in Colombia. Gómez-Estrada 2011

An interview conducted with 60 organic livestock farmers or holistic medicinal/veterinary practitioners on the usage of ethnoveterinary medicines revealed the medicinal plants used for fleas in cats and dogs and for ear problems including Matricaria recutita. Lans 2008

The ethnopharmacological knowledge of women in a Mexican migrant community in Athens, GA, USA was studied and chamomile is one of the 5 herbs most commonly used by them. Waldstein 2006

Administration of extract or essential oil of German chamomile showed antipruritic effects in compound 48/80-induced itch-scratching test in ddY mice. The antipruritic effects of H1 antagonists, oxatomide & fexofenadine were enhanced when combined with extract of chamomile. Kobayashi 2005

Elucidation of the main botanical components of the Unani herbal tea known as "Zahraa" in Damascus, which contains between 6 and 14 species including Matricaria recutita. Carmona 2005

Depression or "melotan" is fairly common in a Tzeltal Maya community of the Altos Chiapas and is treated with camomile tea containing an orange and a lime leaf [Article in Spanish] Carod 1996

The Caribs of Guatemala make use of Matricaria chamomilla Giron 1991

Ethnobotanical survey of 130 informants in Israel revealed16 species used for hypoglycaemia: Achillea, Ammi, Atriplex, Capparis, Ceratonia, Cleome, Eryngium, Inula, Matricaria, Origanum, Paronychia, Prosopis, Salvia., Sarcopoterium and Teucrium Yaniv 1987

Matricaria chamomilla (manzanilla) is popular among Hispanic families in the San Luis Valley of Colorado Appelt 1985

Matricaria chamomilla--an old and new medicinal plant [Article in German] Luppold 1984

Old and new methods of chamomile therapy. Chamomile as example for modern research of medicinal plants [Article in German] Isaac 1980

Old and new knowledge in camomile research [Article in German] Isaac 1965

Monograph in "A Modern Herbal" by Mrs. M. Grieve at botanical.com

Search for ethnobotanical uses of Matricaria in Dr. Duke's Phytochem and Ethnobot DB

History of Record

ORIGINAL RESEARCH BY: Soaring Bear, Ph. D.

1998

MAJOR REVISION BY: Michael C. Tims

June 2001

LATEST UPDATES BY: Pavel Axentiev, MS

March 2023