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CHAMOMILE (GERMAN
AND ROMAN)
Source: German chamomile Matricaria
recutitaL. (syn.Matricaria chamomilla
L.,Chamomilla recutita(L.) Rauschert)
(Family Compositae or Asteraceae);
Roman chamomileChamaemelum nobile
(L.) All. (syn.Anthemis nobilisL.) (Family
Compositae or Asteraceae).
Common/vernacular names: Chamomile,
German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile,
manzanilla, matricaria, sweet false chamo-
mile, wild chamomile (M.recutita); English
chamomile, gardenchamomile, Romancham-
omile (C.nobile); camomile.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
German chamomile is a fragrant, low annual
herb, with ligulate flowerheads about 2 cm
broad; up to about 0.6 m high; nativeto Europe
and northern and western Asia; naturalized
in North America; extensively cultivated, par-
ticularly in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Greece,
Argentina, and Egypt. Parts used are the dried
flowerheads.Anessentialoilobtainedfromthe
flowersbysteamdistillationisbluewhenfresh.
Frequent changes in interpretation of the
scientific name of German chamomile have
led to great confusion over the past two dec-
ades. The currently accepted scientific name
isMatricaria recutita, thoughChamomilla
recutitaand, to a lesser extent,Matricaria
chamomillaare still commonly seen in the
literature.^1
Roman chamomile is a strongly fragrant,
hairy, half-spreading, and much-branched
perennial, with mostly white ligulate flower-
heads up to 3 cm across; up to about 0.3 m
high; native to southern and western Europe;
naturalized in North America; cultivated in
England, Belgium, the United States, Argen-
tina, and other countries. Parts used are the
dried expanded flowerheads.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Four chemotypes, characterized as A, B, C,
and D, dominate M.recutita, although as
many as 11 different German chamomile che-
motypes have been reported, which show
considerable variation in flavonoid concentra-
tion and bisaboloid profile, but with onlyslight
differences in coumarin and phenolic acid
content.^1 The four main chemotypes are dom-
inated, respectively, by bisabolol, bisabolol
oxide A, bisabolol oxide B, and bisabolone
oxide A.^2
German chamomile contains variable
amounts of volatile oil (0.24–1.9%); flavo-
noids including apigenin, apigetrin (apigen-
Chamomile (german and roman) 169
