Common names | arnica, mountain arnica

Scientific name | Arnica montana

Used part | Flower

Known active compounds | chlorogenic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, quercetin, kaempferol

Potential benefits in cosmetics | anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory

Product name | Arnicalm-APD, Arnicalm-ANB 

Plant Story

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).