Surprise! Its Christmas! How did we get here? If you are feeling like this (as we are) you may be thinking about some herbs to help calm the farm.

Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a brief look at the evidence for some of the common herbs you may already use or have heard of, this week, let’s get to know of the most likely herb to be found in your cupboard, Chamomile.

Chamomile has been used as an herbal remedy for thousands of years and is one of the most commonly consumed single-ingredient herbal teas.(1)  For example, a randomised placebo controlled study, found Chamomile to significantly reduced anxiety symptoms (both statistically and clinically).(2)  As well as being safer than the placebo where twice as many adverse events were reported in the placebo group than the Chamomile group.(2) Another study found significant improvement across all anxiety and wellbeing measures, with improvements maintained over the full 26 weeks of the study.(3,4) A further review of six placebo-controlled trials found that after only four weeks of treatment, Chamomile provided a significant improvement in sleep quality.(5)

References

1.             Gupta V, Mittal P, Bansal P, Khokra SL, Kaushik D. Pharmacological Potential of Matricaria Recutita-a Review. Int J Pharm Sci Drug Res. 2010;2(1):12-6.

2.             Amsterdam JD, Li Y, Soeller I, Rockwell K, Mao JJ, Shults J. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Matricaria Recutita (Chamomile) Extract Therapy of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal of clinical psychopharmacology. 2009;29(4):378.

3.             Keefe JR, Mao JJ, Soeller I, Li QS, Amsterdam JD. Short-Term Open-Label Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla L.) Therapy of Moderate to Severe Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Phytomedicine. 2016;23(14):1699-705.

4.             Mao JJ, Xie SX, Keefe JR, Soeller I, Li QS, Amsterdam JD. Long-Term Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla L.) Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Phytomedicine. 2016;23(14):1735-42.

5.             Hieu TH, Dibas M, Surya Dila KA, Sherif NA, Hashmi MU, Mahmoud M, et al. Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety of Chamomile for State Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Insomnia, and Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Trials and Quasi‐Randomized Trials. Phytotherapy Research. 2019;33(6):1604-15.