A daisy-family flower taken as tea, oral extract, mouth rinse or topical oil. Best-supported: modest reduction in persistent anxiety, better-rated sleep quality in poor sleepers, lower average blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, less mouth inflammation during cancer treatment, less dental plaque and gum bleeding, less menstrual pain. Evidence for anxiety and sleep points both ways. (Full Review)

Protocol

Standardized extract, the trial regimen

500 mg three times daily

Pharmaceutical-grade Matricaria chamomilla extract, totalling 1,500 mg daily

Tea preparation

3 g in 150 mL, three times daily

Dried flowers in just-boiled water, immediately after meals; the regimen that produced the glycemic and lipid results

Best time of day

Evening, 30–60 min before bed

For the anxiety and sleep uses; immediately after meals for the glycemic use

Time to effect

Blood sugar and lipids

8 weeks

Glycemic and lipid changes required the full eight weeks of dosing

Sleep quality

2–4 weeks

Gains appeared by two weeks and consolidated by four

Anxiety

2–4 weeks

Anxiety scores separated from placebo within two to four weeks

Benefits

High: Reduced anxiety symptoms (conflicted); improved sleep quality (conflicted); better blood sugar control; reduced severity of cancer-treatment mouth inflammation; reduced dental plaque and gum bleeding; reduced symptom severity in carpal tunnel syndrome; reduced menstrual pain and bleeding

Medium: Improved blood lipids; reduced premenstrual symptom severity; reduced migraine pain with topical use; reduced menopausal symptom burden; reduced diabetic nerve-damage symptoms

Low: Lower all-cause mortality signal in older women; relief of functional indigestion symptoms; maintained remission in ulcerative colitis; reduced severity of radiotherapy skin damage (conflicted); reduced depressive symptoms; reduced analgesic need in knee osteoarthritis; faster healing of irritated skin lesions

Speculative: Preservation of the cell's main energy coenzyme; improved antioxidant-enzyme and lipid-peroxidation markers

Contraindications

Confirmed hypersensitivity to chamomile or to ragweed pollen, or prior anaphylaxis to any Compositae plant

Pregnancy at any stage, and specifically regular use before 37 weeks' gestation

Breastfeeding

Warfarin users whose INR is unstable or above the upper limit of their target

Solid-organ transplant recipients on anti-rejection drugs without therapeutic drug monitoring

Within two weeks of elective surgery or spinal or epidural anaesthesia

Active hormone-receptor-positive breast or endometrial disease

Key Interactions

Vitamin K antagonists (warfarin, acenocoumarol, phenprocoumon)

Direct oral anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents (apixaban, rivaroxaban, clopidogrel, aspirin)

Benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotics and sedating antihistamines (diazepam, zolpidem, diphenhydramine)

Opioids and alcohol (oxycodone, morphine, codeine)

Insulin and insulin-releasing oral medications (sulfonylureas such as gliclazide; meglitinides such as repaglinide)

Calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporine, tacrolimus)

Oral contraceptives and hormone therapy (ethinylestradiol–levonorgestrel tablets, estradiol patches)

Over-the-counter aspirin and NSAIDs, and sedating cold and allergy products (diphenhydramine, doxylamine)

Anticoagulant-potentiating supplements (fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo, garlic, curcumin)

Additive-effect supplements (valerian, passionflower, kava, lemon balm, magnesium, glycine, L-Theanine; berberine, cinnamon, chromium)

Topical Compositae botanicals (arnica, calendula, feverfew)

Risk & Side Effects

High: Mild digestive and nervous-system side effects

Low: Threatened miscarriage and preterm labour with regular use in pregnancy; allergic reactions including anaphylaxis; increased bleeding risk with anticoagulants; contact dermatitis and eye irritation from topical use

Speculative: Additive sedation with central nervous system depressants; reduced oral contraceptive effect and estrogen-sensitive conditions; altered clearance of drugs oxidised by liver enzymes; additive glucose lowering with diabetes medication; pyrrolizidine-alkaloid contamination of chamomile products

Monitoring

Marker	Target	Why
HbA1c	≤5.4%	Tracks the average blood sugar chamomile is claimed to lower
Fasting glucose	75–85 mg/dL	Baseline for the glycemic claim and for additive lowering with diabetes drugs
Fasting insulin	≤5 µIU/mL	Chamomile tea lowered insulin and insulin resistance in the diabetes trials
Lipid panel	Triglycerides <80 mg/dL; LDL cholesterol set by individual risk	The lipid fractions that fell in the chamomile tea trial
hs-CRP	<0.5 mg/L	Cheapest readout of the anti-inflammatory claim
INR	The individual's own prescribed warfarin target	Detects the anticoagulant potentiation reported with chamomile
ALT and AST	ALT ≤20 U/L in women, ≤25 U/L in men	Baseline liver status, given alkaloid contamination reports and conjugative clearance
Compositae-specific IgE	No established target; used qualitatively as present or absent	Confirms the daisy-family sensitization behind the anaphylaxis reports

Cadence: Symptom score at 2 and 4 weeks; INR at 1 and 2 weeks after starting or stopping; glycemic, lipid and liver panels at 8 to 12 weeks, then every 6 to 12 months where use continues

Qualitative Assessment

Sleep continuity, specifically the number of night-time awakenings
Time to fall asleep
Daytime alertness and absence of morning sedation
Subjective worry intensity and its intrusiveness during the day
Post-meal fullness, bloating and upper-abdominal discomfort
Absence of any itching, rash, lip or throat tingling, which is the stop signal

Chamomile for Health & Longevity

Protocol

Benefits

Risk & Side Effects

Monitoring

Qualitative Assessment