Medical term:

Chamomile tea

chamomile

Ayurvedic medicine
Chamomile has been used for women’s complaints, indigestion and colicky children.

Herbal medicine
An annual herb, the flowers of which contain choline, coumarins (e.g., umbelliferone), cyanogenic glycosides, flavonoids (e.g., rutin), salicylate derivatives, tannins and volatile oils (e.g., bisabolol and chamazulene). Chamomile is administered as a tea, extract, tincture or ointment. German chamomile tea is analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, anxiolytic, carminative, expectorant and sedative; it has been used to treat acne, anxiety, asthma, bacterial and fungal infections, colicky infants, diarrhoea, flatulence, gout, headaches, indigestion, insomnia, irritable bowel, menstrual cramping, pruritus, rheumatic disease and sciatica. In Russia, Roman chamomile is used for colds, gastric complaints, colitis, as a sedative gargle, and topically for eczema and inflammation.

Most herbalists use German chamomile and Roman chamomile interchangeably.

Homeopathy
See Chamomilla.

Pseudomedicine
An essence in the pseudoscience of flower therapy which is believed to balance emotions, calm nerves and brighten moods.

German chamomile

An annually flowering member of the aster family (Matricaria recutita). Teas made from the flower are used as a mild sedative, an astringent, a cosmetic hair rinse, an analgesic, and an antispasmodic in the treatment of colic, indegestion, and irritable bowel syndrome, . Oils extracted from the plant are used in alternative and complementary medicine to relieve itch. Some people are sensitive to the plant's oilsand may develop contact dermatitis after exposure. Synonym: wild chamomile