Marigold or Calendula and its medicinal benefits

Herb of the Month: Marigold, herb of the sun.

Marigold is a popular garden plant all over the world. It attracts bees for pollination and protects many other plants from harmful insects. The Romans introduced Marigold into Britain.

The ancient Greeks used the herb’s petals for decoration, to give food a yellow colour, in cosmetics and as medicine. It is very interesting to see, how the medicinal uses of marigold and many other plants throughout history change.

To begin with the most important key criteria were observation and trial and error, more or less mixed in with myth and superstition. Culpepper suggests marigold as ‘a comforter of the heart and spirits’. And Macer’s Herbal states ‘It must be taken only when the moon is in the Sign of the Virgin and not when Jupiter is in the ascendant, for then the herb loses its virtue. And the gatherer, who must be out of deadly sin, must say three Pater Nosters and three Aves. It will give the wearer a vision of anyone who has robbed him.’

During the course of history, myth and medicine have become further and further removed from one another. Recent knowledge about the medicinal use of
marigold is based on an understanding of the many plant ingredients, keeping in mind that the whole of the plant is greater than the sum of its parts.
Calendula’s most popular use is as a wound healer.

It has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic properties and speeds up the wound healing in cases of burns, eczema, haemorrhoids and dry skin.
It can be used to treat conjunctivitis, inflamed gums, athlete’s foot, nappy rash and sore nipples in nursing mothers. Calendula’s most popular use is as a wound healer.

Apart from using calendula externally, it also can be used internally, as an infusion or tincture or herbal extract. Usually, a herb which stimulates
healing of the external skin, has a similar effect inside the body, inside the digestive system. Here it can help with healing stomach ulcers and generally improving digestion.

Studies in Germany have shown that calendula protects the stomach and intestinal lining and inhibits prostaglandins, which are responsible for swelling and inflammation.

Anne McIntyre values calendula because it ‘has an affinity for the female reproductive system, regulating menstruation and relieving menstrual cramps. Its estrogenic effect helps at menopause and reduces breast congestion. Its astringent properties help reduce excessive bleeding and uterine congestion’.

A versatile plant which grows easily in most gardens providing it can see the sun.