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Arnica montana is a flowering plant in the sunflower family that grows in nutrient-poor meadows and mountainous regions of Europe. It has yellow flower heads and is noted for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in herbal medicine, though evidence is limited. The plant contains essential oils, fatty acids, and pseudoguaianolide sesquiterpene lactones including the toxin helenalin. It grows from basal rosettes of leaves and forms rhizomes in a two-year growth cycle to survive harsh winter conditions in its alpine habitat.

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56 views4 pages

Arnica Montana: Jump To Navigationjump To Search

Arnica montana is a flowering plant in the sunflower family that grows in nutrient-poor meadows and mountainous regions of Europe. It has yellow flower heads and is noted for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in herbal medicine, though evidence is limited. The plant contains essential oils, fatty acids, and pseudoguaianolide sesquiterpene lactones including the toxin helenalin. It grows from basal rosettes of leaves and forms rhizomes in a two-year growth cycle to survive harsh winter conditions in its alpine habitat.

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ANMOL
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Arnica montana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Arnica montana

1897 illustration[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Tracheophytes

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Eudicots

Clade: Asterids

Order: Asterales

Family: Asteraceae

Genus: Arnica

Species: A. montana
Binomial name

Arnica montana

L.

Synonyms[2]

 Doronicum
montanum Lam.
 Doronicum
oppositifolium Lam.
 Arnica helvetica Loudon
 Arnica petiolata Schur
 Arnica
plantaginifolia Gilib.
 Arnica lowii Holm
 Cineraria cernua Thore

Arnica montana, also known as wolf's bane, leopard's bane, mountain


tobacco and mountain arnica,[3] is a moderately
toxic ethnobotanical European flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is noted for
its large yellow flower head. The names "wolf's bane" and "leopard's bane" are also
used for another plant, aconitum, which is extremely poisonous.
Arnica montana is used as an herbal medicine for analgesic and anti-inflammatory
purposes, but there is insufficient high-quality clinical evidence for such effects.

Contents

 1Description
 2Taxonomy
 3Distribution and habitat
 4Chemical constituents
 5Cultivation
 6Use in herbal medicine
o 6.1Toxicity
 7Market
 8References
 9External links

Description[edit]
Arnica montana

Arnica montana is a flowering plant about 18–60 cm (7.1–23.6 in)


tall aromatic fragrant, perennial herb. Its basal green ovate-cilitate leaves with
rounded tips are bright coloured and level to the ground. In addition, they are
somewhat downy on their upper surface, veined and aggregated in rosettes. By
contrast, the upper leaves are opposed, spear-shaped and smaller which is an
exception within the Asteraceae. The chromosome number is 2n=38.
The flowering season is between May and August (Central Europe). The hairy
flowers are composed of yellow disc florets in the center and orange-yellow ray
florets at the external part. The achenes have a one-piece rough pappus which
opens in dry conditions.[4][5] Arnica montana is a hemicryptophyte,[6] which helps the
plant to survive the extreme overwintering condition of its habitat. In
addition, Arnica forms rhizomes, which grow in a two-year cycle: the rosette part
grows at its front while its tail is slowly dying.[7]

Taxonomy[edit]
The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains. [8]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Distribution map of Arnica montana.

Arnica montana is widespread across most of Europe.[9] It is absent from the British
Isles and the Italian and Balkan peninsulas. [10] In addition, it is considered extinct in
Hungary and Lithuania.[10] Arnica montana grows in nutrient-poor siliceous meadows
or clay soils.[7] It mostly grows on alpine meadows and up to nearly 3,000 m
(9,800 ft). In more upland regions, it may also be found on nutrient-poor moors and
heaths. However Arnica does not grow on lime soil, [7] thus it is an extremely reliable
bioindicator for nutrient poor and acidic soils. It is rare overall, but may be locally
abundant. It is becoming rarer, particularly in the north of its distribution, largely due
to increasingly intensive agriculture and commercial wild-crafting. [11] Nevertheless, it
is cultivated on a large scale in Estonia. [10]

Chemical constituents[edit]

Chemical structure of helenalin

The main constituents of Arnica montana are essential oils, fatty


acids, thymol, pseudoguaianolide sesquiterpene lactones and flavanone glycosides.
Pseudoguaianolide sesquiterpenes constitute 0.2–0.8% of the flower head of Arnica
montana. They are the toxin helenalin and their fatty esters.[12] 2,5-Dimethoxy-p-
cymene and thymol methyl ether are the primary components of essential oils from
both the plant's roots and rhizomes.[13]

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