El Arte de la Naturaleza, El Arte de la Ciencia
Nombre común | arnica, mountain arnica
Nombre Científico | Arnica montana
Parte usada | Flower
Compuestos activos conocidos | chlorogenic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, quercetin, kaempferol
Beneficios potenciales en cosméticos | anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory
Nombre del producto | Arnicalm-APD, Arnicalm-ANB
Historia de la Planta
Arnica montana, commonly called arnica, wolf’s bane, leopard’s bane, and mountain arnica, is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe. It is an alpine plant that grows at high elevations, up to 3000 m in altitude. A. montana has been used as a medicinal herb for centuries. The earliest record of A. montana is found in Matthiolus’s herbal book in 1558, described as 'alisma'. In herbal medicine, A. montana is used for sprains, bruises, edema, fractures, arthralgia and rheumatic joint pains, and inflamed insect bites. It is also known to be antiseptic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory.
Arnica flowers are a source of various phenolic compounds. Phenolic acids such as chlorogenic acid and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives as well as flavonoids including quercetin and kaempferol derivatives were identified. Hydroethanolic extract of A. montana flowers showed anti-oxidant activity by scavenging DPPH radical and anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).