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Carrot
Daucus carota

This page contains information on carrot and how it is used as a herb in alternative herbal treatments to treat ailments and problems, such as wrinkles, eye sight and as a skin conditioning agent.

On this page

Botanical classification of carrot
Description of carrot
Parts used
Properties of carrot
Internal use
External use
Use of essential oil
Safety precautions and warnings
Used in the following products
Herbal Index

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.

Botanical Classification

Family	Apiaceae
Genus and specie	Daucus carota. Sub specie: sativus

Other names

Wild carrot (D. carota subspecies carota) and common carrot (D. carota sativa).

Description of the herb carrot

The genus Daucus has 22 differing species of hairy annuals and biennials that are found all over the world. These plants prefer to grow in temperate coastal regions.

The specie carota and sub specie sativa look very similar, with feathery divided leaves, which resemble fern leaves. The plant produces small white flowers in flat topped and rounded clusters in summer. The fruit is oval with spiky ridges.

The large succulent taproot of the carrot (sativa) distinguishes it from the wild carrot which has a thin white inedible root.

The carrot root is known in the west for its distinctive orange color, but Asian varieties come in various colors: orange to yellow, white, purple, and dark red.

Parts used

The whole plant, aerial parts, roots, seeds, and oil extracted from the (fruit) seeds.

Properties

It is an aromatic herb with diuretic and digestive properties, useful to stimulates the uterus. It has anti-cancer properties and improves eyesight and skin health, due to it being a rich source of beta-carotene.

The leaves contain flavonoids and furanocoumarins (5-mthoxypsoralen and 8-methosporalen) while the fruits (the seeds) have high levels of flavones (apigenin, luteolin and chrysin), as well as flavonols (quercetin and kaempferol) and a complex essential oil. The essential oil contains monoterpenoids (a-pinene, b-pinene, geraniol, limonene, a-terpinen and terpinen-4-ol), phenylpropanoid (asarone) as well as sesquiterpenoids (b-bisabolene, caryophyllene, b-elemene, carotol and daucol).

Therapeutic uses

Internal use
- Wild carrot is traditionally used to treat kidney and bladder problems, especially for bladder gravel.
- It is also used to treat flatulence, indigestion, cystitis, gout, edema, and menstrual problems.
- Carrot (sativa) juice is included in diets for cancer patients. Carrots are reported to rid the body of threadworms, if eaten raw. The carotene in the juice is converted to vitamin A in the liver.
- Including carrots (sativa) in a daily diet is reported to improve eyesight, especially night vision, as the functioning of the eye requires some of the nutritional components found in carrots.
- Carotene is extracted from carrots (sativa) for commercial food supplements.
External use
- Carrot seed oil is used in cosmetic preparations that fight wrinkles and to rejuvenate the skin.
- It is also used in perfumes for its orris-like scent.
Aromatherapy and essential oil use
- The essential oil made from carrot seeds is an excellent body purifier. It boosts the liver and has a positive effect on the digestive system and bowels.
- It assists in the formation of red blood corpuscles (cells) and has a strengthening effect on the skin.
- It also helps to reduce age spots and gives the skin a more youthful complexion, due to its formative action on epidermal cells.
- The essential oil should not be confused with a macerated oil made by infusing carrots into a base oil - and although this macerated oil is helpful for a variety of things, it does NOT have the therapeutic properties of the essential oil.
- Also used successfully on ulcers, eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo and boils.
- It has carminative, diuretic, emmenagogue, stimulant, and tonic properties.

Safety precautions and warnings

Carrot seeds and carrot seed oil should not be used excessively during pregnancy and some susceptible individuals may also have a slight skin reaction to the oil.

Used in the following of our products

None.

Herbal index

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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You are as young as your faith, as old as your fear and as long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur, and power - from the earth, from man and from the Infinite - so long will you stay Ageless.

Information contained on this website is for general information purposes only and must not be used to treat or diagnose medical conditions, and all health problems must be referred to a health care professional. Statements made regarding the products, ingredients and general information have not been evaluated by the FDA, or any other health authority, and should not be seen as health claims.
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Our site was last updated on 3 March 2010.

Carrot Daucus carota

Please note - although we discuss a wide variety of herbs, not all of them are used or sold by us.

Carrot
Daucus carota