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Wonders of Chamomile flower: Bloom could treat heart attacks, brain bleed, scientist finds
The Allahabad University alumnus completed his doctoral research at the National Research Council of Italy in 2017 and is now taking it forward
Young Prayagraj scientist, Amit Dubey, has found that two major compounds (chlorogenic acid and matricin) in the extract of the Chamomile flower (Baboon flower), in combination, are very effective in treating cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks, and bleeding in the brain among others. The Allahabad University alumnus completed his doctoral research at the National Research Council of Italy in 2017 and is now taking it forward.
Chlorogenic acid and matricin exhibit circulatory guarding properties by suppressing oxidative stress, leukocyte infiltration, platelet aggregation, platelet-leukocyte interactions, vascular remodelling, and apoptosis (a type of cell death) as well as the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism and vasodilatory action in the cardiovascular system. They exert these effects by acting on complex signalling networks of the body.
“These findings have been published in Switzerland’s leading research journal ‘Biomolecules’. Currently, we are using the two major compounds of chamomile on rats to see how effective it is in eradicating a serious disease like cancer,” said Dubey.
“In many places, fresh flowers of chamomile or Babuna as called in Hindi are also used for its anti-diabetic properties, which are helpful in controlling sugar. In addition, since caffeine is not found in chamomile tea, doctors advise diabetic patients to drink chamomile tea,” he said.
Whether it is to relieve the fatigue of the day or to get rid of stress, this flower originally from Egypt is a medicine for many ailments, he added.
“Recently, we have been working on nanoformulation-based dengue therapeutics from chamomile plant flavonoids and phytochemical constituents. I am using previously reported compounds like alpha-pinene and carvacrol, which are showing very strong antiviral, antimalarial, and anti-inflammatory activities against dengue”.
Chamomile has numerous medicinal properties and the tea of this flower gives relief from gas, muscle tension, stress, sleeplessness and even migraine pain. In another study, it was revealed that drinking chamomile tea is helpful in the treatment of hyperglycemia, abdominal distension, obesity, and anxiety disorders. Chamomile is also considered an effective cholesterol controller, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory. Thus, chamomile tea may also be beneficial in managing dengue-related symptoms, like nausea, headache, and body aches, added Dubey, who is a senior scientist at Quanta Calculus Private limited, Greater Noida.
Dubey, who is a distinguished adjunct professor at Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, has worked on chamomile for four years with his Italian doctoral guides, prof Angelo Facchiano and prof Anna Marabotti. The team has discovered 13 major natural compounds of Chamomile. As effective as it is in inhibiting chymase (atherosclerosis), it is equally effective in inhibiting other proteins, which has led to the conclusion that it can prove to be equally effective in curing thousands of diseases.
