Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.): A Review of Ethnomedicinal Use, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Uses

Amina El Mihyaoui; Joaquim C G Esteves da Silva; Saoulajan Charfi; María Emilia Candela Castillo; Ahmed Lamarti; Marino B Arnao

doi:10.3390/life12040479

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.): A Review of Ethnomedicinal Use, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Uses

Life (Basel). 2022 Mar 25;12(4):479. doi: 10.3390/life12040479.

Authors

Amina El Mihyaoui^{1

2

3}, Joaquim C G Esteves da Silva³, Saoulajan Charfi⁴, María Emilia Candela Castillo¹, Ahmed Lamarti², Marino B Arnao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plant Biology (Plant Physiology), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
² Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan 93000, Morocco.
³ CIQ(UP)-Research Center in Chemistry, DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
⁴ Biology and Health Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan 93000, Morocco.

Abstract

Matricaria chamomilla L. is a famous medicinal plant distributed worldwide. It is widely used in traditional medicine to treat all kinds of diseases, including infections, neuropsychiatric, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and liver disorders. It is also used as a sedative, antispasmodic, antiseptic, and antiemetic. In this review, reports on M. chamomilla taxonomy, botanical and ecology description, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, biological and pharmacological properties, possible application in different industries, and encapsulation were critically gathered and summarized. Scientific search engines such as Web of Science, PubMed, Wiley Online, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar were used to gather data on M. chamomilla. The phytochemistry composition of essential oils and extracts of M. chamomilla has been widely analyzed, showing that the plant contains over 120 constituents. Essential oils are generally composed of terpenoids, such as α-bisabolol and its oxides A and B, bisabolone oxide A, chamazulene, and β-farnesene, among other compounds. On the other hand, M. chamomilla extracts were dominated by phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and coumarins. In addition, M. chamomilla demonstrated several biological properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-parasitic, insecticidal, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. These activities allow the application of M. chamomilla in the medicinal and veterinary field, food preservation, phytosanitary control, and as a surfactant and anti-corrosive agent. Finally, the encapsulation of M. chamomilla essential oils or extracts allows the enhancement of its biological activities and improvement of its applications. According to the findings, the pharmacological activities of M. chamomilla confirm its traditional uses. Indeed, M. chamomilla essential oils and extracts showed interesting antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, anti-pyretic, anti-allergic, and analgesic activities. Moreover, the most important application of M. chamomilla was in the medicinal field on animals and humans.

Keywords: Matricaria; chamomile; ethnomedicine; medicinal herbs; pharmacological activity; phytotherapy.

Publication types

Review