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Arnica (leopard's bane)
Arnica montana
This page contains information on arnica and how it is used as a herb in alternative herbal treatments, to treat ailments and problems such as bruising, swelling, muscles, heart failure, coronary and artery health, as well as boosting the immune system and as a throat gargle.
On this page
Please note that we are not advocating that people stop using their normal medication, but would like to make people aware that some alternative therapies can be very effective to help treat problems and create a healthier, younger and more vital you. For more information on our range of products, please click here.
Although we believe in the therapeutic and healing properties of herbs, care must be taken in the use thereof, as they are powerful compounds.
Family |
Asteraceae |
Genus and specie |
Arnica montana |
Leopard's bane and Mountain tobacco.
Aromatic, rhizomatous perennial with basal hairy leaves with golden yellow daisy-like flowers.
The flowering heads are normally used, while the rhizomes are very rarely used.
Arnica is a fragrant, bitter, and astringent herb that stimulates the immune system and heart, relieves pain and inflammation and clears fungal and bacterial infections.
It contains the anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene lactone helanalin, as well as flavones, flavonols, triterpenoids, phenolic acid, polysaccharides and an essential oil containing thymol, thymolmethylether and azulene.
- Internal use
- Arnica should only be used internally by licensed medical practitioners, and a tincture made from the plant materialcan be used in the treatment of heart failure and coronary artery disease.
- It can be used as a mouth wash and gargle when fighting inflammation of the mucus membranes.
- External use
- Arnica is an anti-inflammatory, pain reliever and a local antibiotic, that is used in liniments and creams for dislocations, sprains, bruises, chilblains, and varicose ulcers.
- It helps to prevent bruising and swelling after traumatic skin injuries and prevents the blood platelets from gathering to the site of injury.
- Furthermore, it reverses the effect of pain causing prostaglandins and thereby has a pain relieving effect, which is further enhanced by the sesquiterpene lactones, helanalin and dihydrohelanalin contained, which also reduces inflammation and fights bacteria.
- It is particularly useful for joint, muscle and rheumatic pain and it has also been found to prevent muscle stiffness and reduce pain when applied before athletic events.
- When an arnica compress is applied to any injury - including broken bones, it can have a most amazing healing result.
- It can also be used successfully for burns, including sunburn.
- Aromatherapy and essential oil use
- A macerated oil (where the plant material is infused into a base oil) is useful for treating bruises, strained muscles and swelling.
- PLEASE NOTE - the pure essential distilled oil of Arnica is poisonous, and MUST be used in a carrier oil at a low dilution rate.
Arnica is an extremely potent herb, which must be used judiciously and may cause dermatitis when used externally and collapse as well as death when taken internally.
It contains a compound that acts in the same way as oxytocin, which is used to induce labor and for this reason pregnant mothers should not use arnica in any form or way.
The use of arnica is subject to legal restriction in some countries, and the pure essential oil extracted from this herb is classified as toxic - although the macerated oil is not classed as such.
To promote the interest and use of herbs and natural complementary health alternatives, we have included information on the following herbs.
Please note - although we discuss a wide variety of herbs, not all of them are used or sold by us.
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