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| ==Medicinal uses== | ==Medicinal uses== | ||
| This plant is often used as remedy in ] as a treatment for bruising and sprains. |
This plant is often used as remedy in ] as a treatment for bruising and sprains. ] for sprains, bruises, muscle aches, physical and emotional shock are also made from highly-diluted preparations of this plant<ref>{{cite book | last = Morrison, MD | first = Roger | title = Desktop guide to keynotes and comfirmatory symptoms | publisher =Hahnemann Clinic Publishing | date = 1993 | location =Grass Valley, CA | ISBN =0-9635368-0-X}}</ref>. | ||
| ==Toxicity== | ==Toxicity== | ||
Revision as of 19:10, 20 January 2008
| Arnica montana | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Genus: | Arnica |
| Species: | A. montana |
| Binomial name | |
| Arnica montana L. | |
Arnica montana (also known as leopard's bane, wolf's bane, mountain tobacco and mountain arnica), is a European flowering plant with large yellow capitula.
Distribution and habitat
A. montana is endemic to Europe, from southern Iberia to southern Scandinavia and the Carpathians. It is absent from the British Isles and the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas. A. montana grows in nutrient-poor silcaceous meadows up to nearly 3000 m. 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. In more upland regions, it may also be found on nutrient-poor moors and heaths.
Form
A. montana has tall stems (20–60 cm), supporting usually a single flower head. Most of the leaves are in a basal rosette, but one or two pairs may be found on the stem and are, unusually for composites, opposite. The flower heads are yellow, approximately 5 cm in diameter, and appear from May to August.
Medicinal uses
This plant is often used as remedy in herbal medicine as a treatment for bruising and sprains. Homeopathic treatments for sprains, bruises, muscle aches, physical and emotional shock are also made from highly-diluted preparations of this plant.
Toxicity
Arnica montana, like many compounds used in homeopathy, is toxic in its pure form. As a homeopathic treatment it is usually given as a highly diluted tincture or tablet. An undiluted tincture can cause tachycardia, enteritis and even collapses. As long as it is prepared properly, and taken in the prescribed manner, A. montana, can be taken internally to reduce swelling and bruising associated with plastic surgery. The plant must be prepared properly because the plant in its pure form contains compounds that, if ingested, inhibit liver function in the human body which, in turn, causes death in most cases. Because of these internal effects, Arnica was once used as a means of assassination. Countermeasures after accidental ingestion include carbon or charcoal ingestion to absorb traces of the toxins in the digestive tract and the ingestion of liquids to dilute the concentration of toxins. There are, however, no known antidotes for these compounds.
References
- Morrison, MD, Roger (1993). Desktop guide to keynotes and comfirmatory symptoms. Grass Valley, CA: Hahnemann Clinic Publishing. ISBN 0-9635368-0-X.
External links
- Botanica.com Arnica
- "Arnica montana". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 23 May.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - http://healthyherbs.about.com/od/monographs/p/arnica.htm