Arnica Arnica montana


Arnica montana
alpine meadow
  • Common Names
  • Arnica , leopard's bane,mountain tobacco
  • Botanical Name
  • Arnica montana
  • Family
  • ASTERACEAE
Share

mountain rose
Buy Arnica Bulk Organic


Medicinal Uses & Benefits of Arnica

remedyHow to Use| Side Effects | Plant & Garden| Folklore

How to Use: Arnica


Arnica is an alpine herb with a long history of use in the folk medicine of Russia and the Swiss Alps. Arnica is approved for use by the Commission E for external use in injury and for consequences of accidents, e.g., hematoma, dislocations, contusions, edema due to fracture, rheumatic muscle and joint pain. Arnica is available both as a herbal oil or homeopathic cream, however herbal preparations have shown much better results than homeopathic products when tested in lab studies.1 Arnica oils and creams are one of the best known herbal sports medicines, arnica has dramatic results if used immediately after an injury. Arnica helps speed the healing process by moving waste-bound fluids out and moving cleansing fluids and platelets into the affected area. The anti-inflamatory properties of arnica are primarily due to its sesquiterpene lactones. These chemicals cause a reduction of inflammation by blocking the actions of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Arnica is a great addition to your first aid kit, however it's use is limited to short durations because of allergic skin reactions when overused. 1

Preparation Methods & Dosage :Arnicated oil, (Arnica flowers infused in oil), or extracts. Arnica is often used in homeopathy and should only be taken internally in the extremely diluted form common to homeopathic remedies.

see remedies

Arnica Remedies

Arnica Side Effects: Repeated applications can cause skin irritation, which makes it unsuitable for longer term use. Not for use on open and bleeding wounds

^ Top^

Plant Description


Arnica is a classic sunflower with bright yellow daisylike flowers. In the North America variety, Arnica chamissonis, the flowers are used in preference to the rhizome.

Regional Traditions :European *

Related Species A.chamissonis, Chamisso arnica North America sp


History and Traditions & Folklore

This alpine herb is has a long history of use in Russian folk medicine and the Swiss Alps. Goethe claimed this remedy saved his life when he was struck down with an otherwise uncontrollable high fever

Arnica was strewn in the wheat fields at midsummer to protect the crops from the Norse demon Bilwis. He placed the "wolfwort" around the fields to protect the grains vital energy, the "grain-wolf" from escaping. This herb of Freya, one of the nine sacred midsummer herbs, was also used in weather magic as an incense. 2


References:
books citedWorks Cited
  1. Adkison JD, Bauer DW, Chang T. The effect of topical arnica on muscle pain. Ann Pharmacother. October 2010;44(10):1579-1584. American Botanical Council
    Herbal arnica preparations have a much higher extract concentration than homeopathic preparations. Homeopathic remedies are produced by multiple dilutions of a plant extract. Strength is determined by the amount of dilution in the extract that is expressed with letters that correspond to the factored dilution as "X" or "D" (factor of 10), "L" (factor of 50), or "C" (factor of 100). Arnica 30X is arnica tincture diluted to 1·1030 in solvent. In several studies using oral homeopathic arnica to treat post-exercise delayed-onset muscular soreness, a tendency toward relief was noted in some data, but preparations and results were inconsistent.
  2. Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Wolf-Deieter Storl Witchcraft Medicine(1998)