Marigold
The marigold (Calendula officinalis) is a common garden flower that loves sunny paths and walls, and spreads easily by seed without cultivation. There are several varieties but the one with the orange flowers and flat, olive-coloured leaves is commonly used in medicine. We pick the golden petals in order to make an infusion (tea), medicinal oil or cream, after drying the flowers in the shade, but the fleshy leaves are also sometimes used. The leaves can be dried and made into an infusion, ointment or even a poultice.
Marigold has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-oedema, antifungal and immunostimulant activity.1 As such it is a useful healing herb to be applied to wounds, acne, ulcers, chilblains, bites, sores, warts, burns, tonsils, bleeding gums, sore eyes and eczematous rashes. The sap can even be applied to warts. Because of its many virtues, the homeopathic physician William Boericke says that it is one of the ‘most remarkable healing agents’. He recommends the tincture for topical use because it encourages the growth of healthy scar tissue without suppuration.2
The English physician Dorothy Shepherd also used Calendula as a mainstay in her hospital clinic and outpatient work in the 1930s in London. She applied the tincture, diluted 15 drops to a glass of water, to abrasions, burns, ulcers and wounds.3
Marigold infusion can be used to bring down fevers because it promotes perspiration. The skin is also an important channel of elimination, helping to rid the body of wastes through the sweat. Marigold will therefore help ‘throw out’ any eruption, that is, bring the causative wastes to the surface from their deeper origin. For this reason it was once used to treat smallpox and measles.4 Elimination is further assisted by marigold through stimulation of the liver, something that is hinted at under the doctrine of signatures by the colour of the flower. For example, a suitable skin case may show a yellow colour around the eyes from jaundice.
Furthermore, marigold is a circulatory stimulant, especially to the pelvic area where it helps cleanse the lymphatic system. It treats unresolved cases of enlarged glands that have remained after an infection has been treated, or there may be some lingering suspicion of cancer in the lymphatic system.5 A useful combination for treating enlarged glands is with the herb clivers.
Because of this focus on the lower abdomen, the herbalist Maurice Messegue says that it is useful for treating women’s complaints: as a douche for leucorrhoea and Candida, or internally as a hormone-balancer for regulating periods. In this respect, he says that a woman should take it a week before the period to ensure it comes and goes without any difficulty or pain.6
Marigold has also been used to treat mastitis, cancer of the uterus or breast. In fact, extracts of the roots, flowers or leaves (methanol, aqueous etc.) have been tested in vitro against several cell lines including ‘leukemia, non-small cell lung cancer, colon cancer, central nervous system cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer’, and been found to have anticancer as well as chemo-preventive effects.1
This versatile plant can be prepared in many more ways as we often find with common medicinal herbs that have been naturalised around the world due to their utility. The flowers can be soaked in vinegar to make a lotion for treating stings, while the petals steeped in olive oil and combined with beeswax to make the ointment called Calendula, which you can find on the shelves in the health food shops alongside Arnica and chickweed creams. This cream can be used for all kinds of wound-healing including bed sores and injured Achilles tendons.7,8
Apart from wound-healing, the cream can be used for healthy skin as well, to counteract some of the effects of aging. In one study, 21 volunteers used a cream for 8 weeks and experienced a significant improvement in hydration and firmness.9
Lastly, an infusion of the flowers can be used to make a mouthwash to treat gingivitis and plaque,10 or a lotion for inflamed eyes. This lotion is useful for treating conjunctivitis or injuries to the eyes which tend towards suppuration, as with chamomile or eyebright.
Disclaimer: this article is intended for the purpose of general education only, and is not a substitute for a diagnosis, treatment advice, or a prescription given in a consultation with a qualified physician.
References:
1. Cruceriu D, Balacescu O, Rakosy E. Calendula officinalis: Potential Roles in Cancer Treatment and Palliative Care. Integr Cancer Ther 2018;17:1068–78.
2. Boericke W. Pocket Manual Of Homoeopathic Materia Medica, c. 1927. Delhi: Indian Books & Periodical Publishers; 2007.
3. Shepherd D. More Magic Of The Minimum Dose. London: Headley Brothers; N.D.
4. Grieve M. A Modern Herbal. London: Tiger Books International; 1994.
5. Wood M. The Book Of Herbal Wisdom, Using Plants As Medicines. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books; 1997.
6. Messegue M. Health Secrets Of Plants And Herbs. Collins; 1976.
7. Buzzi M, Freitas F de, Winter M de B, Buzzi M, Freitas F de, Winter M de B. Pressure ulcer healing with Plenusdermax® Calendula officinalis L. extract. Rev Bras Enferm 2016;69:250–7.
8. Aro AA, Perez MO, Vieira CP, et al. Effect of Calendula officinalis cream on achilles tendon healing. Anat Rec Hoboken NJ 2007 2015;298:428–35.
9. Akhtar N, Zaman SU, Khan BA, Amir MN, Ebrahimzadeh MA. Calendula extract: effects on mechanical parameters of human skin. Acta Pol Pharm 2011;68:693–701.
10. Khairnar MS, Pawar B, Marawar PP, Mani A. Evaluation of Calendula officinalis as an anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis agent. J Indian Soc Periodontol 2013;17:741–7.