Arnica montana

Arnica montana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
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),^[1] is a European flowering plant with large yellow capitula.

Distribution and habitat

Arnica montana

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 silicaceous 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.

Uses and toxicity

Seeds

Arnica montana is sometimes grown in herb gardens and has long been used medicinally.^[2][3] It contains the toxin helenalin, which can be poisonous if large amounts of the plant are eaten. Contact with the plant can also cause skin irritation.^[4][5] The roots contain derivatives of thymol,^[6] which are used as fungicides and preservatives and may have some anti-inflammatory effect.^[7] When used topically in a gel, Arnica was found to have the same effect as the use of NSAIDs (ibuprofen) in treating the symptoms of hand osteoarthritis.^[8] A study found that the application of topical Arnica had no better effect than a placebo in the treatment of laser-induced bruising.^[9]

Arnica is currently used in liniment and ointment preparations used for strains, sprains, and bruises. Commercial arnica preparations are frequently used by professional athletes. The thymol derivatives concentrated in the plants' roots have been clinically shown to be effective vasodilators of subcutaneous blood capillaries. Arnica preparations used topically have been demonstrated to act as an anti-inflammatory and assist normal healing processes by facilitating transport of blood and fluid accumulations through a dilating action of subcutaneous blood capillaries. If ingested internally, the toxin helenalin produces severe gastroenteritis, and internal bleeding of the digestive tract if enough material is ingested.^[10]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arnica montana

• Botanica.com Arnica
• Arnica montana (TSN 505925). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 23 May 2006.
• http://healthyherbs.about.com/od/monographs/p/arnica.htm