Arnica is primarily used as an external rubbing oil or alcoholic liniment for injuries and bruises. As such, it is very effective. To make oil of arnica, simply macerate fresh or dried arnica leaves and flowers in warm sesame or olive oil for three d...
* Please Note: Traditional Use information is provided as a courtesy only. Although we have done our best to review the validity of these uses and we continue to revise this information as new data emerges, the traditional uses indicated on this page for this product may be wrong. This information is based on Traditional and Folklore Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA and is not necessarily based on scientific evidence from any source. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Arnica is primarily used as an external rubbing oil or alcoholic liniment for injuries and bruises. As such, it is very effective. To make oil of arnica, simply macerate fresh or dried arnica leaves and flowers in warm sesame or olive oil for three days, then squeeze and strain through a cloth. Bottle for external use on aches, strains, bruises or injuries in which the skin has not been broken. Arnica liniment is made in a similar manner except that rubbing alcohol, vodka or gin replaces oil.
Internally, it should only be taken in minute or homeopathic dosage and is best prescribed by an experienced practitioner.
Sometimes called 'leopard's bane', the flower heads of arnica affect the blood and circulation of the body, while its stimulant and analgesic properties make it effective for bruises and painful injuries. The anti-inflammatory action is largely due to the presence of sesquiterpene lactone helenalin.
Arnica
Arnica species
A. cordifolia Hook A. fulgens Pursh A. sororia Greene
The European Arnica montana L. is the most widely used source of arnica preparations, but the three North American species named above also supply material used in drug products and are officially listed as sources of amica in the American Pharmaceutical Association's "National Formulary." All of these species are reported to have similar properties. Medicinally, the three North American species are generally not distinguished from each other or from the European species. Arnica angustifolia Vahl both from North America and Eurasia has also been reported to be medicinal. The extent to which the North Americann A. chamissonis Less. is a drug source is unclear. In the following, all of the drug species are referred to collectively as "arnica."
English Common Names
Arnica, wolf's-bane.
The European plant is called arnica, European arnica, mountain daisy, mountain tobacco, mountain snuff, leopard's bane (leopard's-bane), sneeze-wort, and fall-kraut. The Mexican antimicrobial herb Heterotheca inuloides Cass. is sometimes also referred to as "Arnica." "Arnica" from Brazil might be Solidago microglossa DC., which has been recommended as a substitute for A. montana.
Morphology
Arnicas are erect, perennial herbs 10-70 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, with smooth or toothed margins. Both simple and glandular (i.e., gland-tipped) hairs are often present. The basal leaves, 4-20 cm long, are the longest, while the uppermost leaves are short and stalkless. The leaves are particularly useful in distinguishing the three North American drug species. Arnica cordifolia has long-stalked basal leaves that are broadly ovate and more or less heart-shaped, whereas A. fulgens and A. sororia have lanceolate leaves that are tapered at the base and have relatively short stalks. Arnica fulgens has dense tufts of brown hair in axils of old leaves whereas A. sororia has at most a few whitish hairs in the axils. The one to seven yellow flower heads of the drug species are 1.5-3 cm across and are produced in July and August. The seeds, actually achenes (one-seeded dry fruits), are 3-10 mm long with a whitish or brownish pappus. (The pappus refers to the hairs or bristles at the top of the achene, a feature possessed by many members of the daisy family, which serves for dispersal, for example by wind or attachment to animals.) The rhizomes are short and thick in the grassland species (A. fulgens and A. sororia), but long and creeping in A. cordifolia.
Classification and Geography
The genus Arnica includes about 28 species of the north temperate region, most occurring in the montane region of western North America. All three North American species that supply drugs occur in the western cordillera. Arnica fulgens and A. sororia are found largely on the high plains and interior valleys. They were once thought to be best treated as varieties of a single species, but recent studies have shown that they are quite distinct, although more closely related to each other than to other species of the genus.
The wide ranging A. cordifolia is found in the western American mountains, with isolated populations in Manitoba and the Lake Superior region. The northern populations differ from southern populations in flavonoid composition. Studies suggest that A. cordifolia gave rise to a number of narrowly distributed species of Oregon and California. Within A. cordifolia the alpine or subalpine var. pumila (Rydb.) Maguire is distinguished by its relatively small size, narrower leaves and more glandular achenes. Arnica cordifolia has five races differing in chromosome number, with the ancesiral types (the diploids, with the lowest chromosome number) restricted to the unglaciated territory in northeastern Oregon and southern Yukon. Isolated eastern occurrences of A. cordifolia in the Lake Superior region were first discovered on the Kewenaw Peninsula and the plants were described as the new species, A. whitneyi Fernald, but subsequent study suggested that they were better combined with the western A. cordifolia. The species was recently discovered in Sibley Park on the shore of Lake Superior. There are about 50 other arctic-alpine vascular plant species that were left as isolated disjuncts on or near to the cold Lake Superior shore following the glacial retreat 10 000 years ago.
Ecology
Arnica cordifolia occurs in woodlands and along woodland edges. Cutting and thimiing of forests have resulted in population increase. Prairies are the primary habitats of A. fulgens and A. sororia. The latter two species reproduce sexually and are self-incompatible. Many different insects including bees, ffies and butterflies visit the flowers and serve as pollinators. In contrast, A. cordifolia produces seeds without fertilization, but like many other such apomicts, it can presumably also take advantage of occasional fertilization following pollination by insects. A study in The Netherlands suggested that the European A. montana is largely self-incompatible and has an outcrossing mating system.
Low levels of grazing have been found to be necessary to maintain Arnica montana in some European grasslands where it is otherwise outcompeted by grasses. Acidification of nutrient-poor soils in The Netherlands due to air pollution has been related to a decline in populations of A. montana.
Medicinal Uses
Arnica montana, the European species, was used in folk medicine in Europe for a variety of purposes, just as North American Indians employed indigenous American species medicinally. This old remedy was used particularly as a counterirritant, an agent applied locally to produce superficial inflammation in order to reduce pain in deeper adjacent areas. Bactericidal and fungicidal properties also led to use in treatment of abrasions and gunshot wounds in Europe. Arnica was also used to treat tumors. Most of these treatments are outmoded.
Arnica is still primarily used as a counterirritant, usually as a hydroalcoholic extract, to reduce the inflammation and pain of bruises, sprains, and aches. Its use declined with the development of effective synthetic painkillers. It is more popular in Europe, where it is available in creams, than in North America. Application to damaged skin seems unwise considering the high irritation capability and, as noted below, it is sufficiently toxic that internal use is unwarranted.
Chemistry
In some cases entire plants or the roots are uti- lized, but most often drugs are obtained from the dried flower heads which yield a yellowish-brown powder containing arnicin, volatile oil, resin and tannin. Numerous chemical constituents have been reported, but it was only recently discovered that certain sesquiterpenoid lactones were responsible for some of the beneficial effects, particularly the anti-inflammatory action. Helenalin, dihydrohelenalin, and their esters are among the most active principles. Isomeric alcohols such as arnidiol and foradiol have been reported to contribute to counterirritant action. Much of what is known of the medicinal properties and their chemical basis has been published in Europe.
Arnica montana and A. chamissonis ssp. foliosa have been adulterated by blending with Heterotheca inuloides, but a chromatographic method has been developed to rapidly detect this in Arnica drugs. A number of other species of the aster family have also been used to adulterate arnica preparations.
Agricultural and Commercial Aspects
Germany markets as many as 300 drug preparations containing arnica extract, while Canada has about 20 such products. Arnica is obtained from both wild and cultivated sources. The US is apparently a more important supplier than Canada, with material collected in the wild from Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. Decline of the wild sources and the likely capability of both the North American and European plants to grow throughout much of Canada, as well as demonstrated ease of cultivation, make arnica a potentially interesting diversification crop for Canada.
Arnica montana has become particularly scarce in some parts of Europe, making the cultivated crop more significant. This species is now cultivated as a drug source in parts of Europe and in northern h~dia. Highly productive clones have been produced in Bavaria, with over a hundred flower heads and more than 1% of both flavonoids and sesquiterpene lactones in the harvested drug preparations. Optimal cultivation conditions, including substrates, fertilization and climate, for productivity of A. montana in Germany and Russia have been determined. Studies in the Venetian Alps have suggested that Tephritis arnicae, a troublesome, widespread fly pest that feeds on the ovaries in the flower heads of A. montana, might be controlled effectively with natural parasites. Related species of Arnica, such as A. foliosa and A. chamissonis, have been found to be useful as alternative drug sources.
Some characteristics of the North American species of Arnica adapt them to cultivation. These include rapid maturation (i.e., flowering) in the second year after growth from seed; rapid multiplication by rhizomes; upper parts harvest readily, leaving the rhizomes for subsequent growth; self-seeding by some species, so replanting is not necessary.
Myths, Legends, Tales, Folklore, and Interesting Facts
One of the stranger old-time medicinal preparations is "toad ointment," used to treat sprains, strains, lame back, rheumatism, caked breast, caked udders, etc. A recipe is: put four good-sized toads into boiling water and cook until very soft; remove them and boil the water down to 1/2 pint; add 1 pound of fresh churned, unsalted butter and simmer; add 2 ounces of tincture of arnica.
Although not safe for internal consumption by humans, Arnica cordifolia has been identified as an important constituent of the diet of elk and mule deer.
Applied to the bald scalp, arnica is said to make hair grow (although skin irritation is the more likely result).
Large quantities of arnica were used to treat soldiers during World War II.
Arnica, from the European Arnica montana, is said to be one of the most frequently used homeopathic remedies for sports injuries, including "Tennis Elbow." Swiss mountain climbers have sought out the herb and chewed it to relieve sore, tired muscles (a dangerous practice in view of its poisonous and allergenic properties).
Arnica montana was attractively pictured (along with crowberry) on a 1995 Swedish postal stamp.
Commission E recommends that ointments contain no more than 15 percent arnica oil, or not more than 20-25 percent tincture.
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Directions
Take 1 capsule, 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
Concerns
As with all members of the Compositae family, allergic skin reactions are common, but the likelihood of their occurring depends on how much helenalin is in the product being applied and how the product has been manufactured. Reactions in occasional users remain unpredictable, but long-term use is very likely to cause eczema, and its use is not advised.
Warnings
Internal use of amica is not advisable. There is only one reported arnica-related death in the medical literature, but helenalin can interact with so many of the body's enzyme systems that the risk of internal use far outweighs any possible benefits.
Drug Testing
Components of arnica-containing ointments should not be absorbed through the skin, and even if they were, there is nothing to suggest that any of those molecules would be detected by standard workplace urine drug tests.
Toxicity
Arnica should not be taken internally as it is sufficiently toxic that it can cause fatal poisoning. Unidentified substances that it contains can produce stress on the nervous system, the digestive system and the circulatory system, resulting in muscular weakness, collapse and even death. Experiments with small animals have confirmed that arnica causes cardiac toxicity and large increases in blood pressure. This herb was listed in a 1995 Health Canada document as unacceptable as a nonprescription drug product for oral use.
Arnica is a popular homeopathic remedy, i.e., it is orally consumed in very diluted doses that are said to be too weak to cause harm. External use may cause contact dermatitis due to the allergenic helanin, a sesquiterpene lactone (which has medicinal properties), and other constituents. Arnica should not be applied to broken or damaged skin. Given the potential for allergenic reactions, it seems unwise to use this herb except under qualified medical supervision.
Additional Information
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