Arnica (macerated) oil is our oil of the month for May 2019. This means we have a fat discount on this oil through the whole month of May.
Read about our previous oils of the month if you have missed the blog posts:
The plant:
Arnica Montana is a European flowering plant from the sunflower family. It is known for its beautiful bright yellow colour and the large centre. It is a lightly toxic plant with a long tradition as a medicinal plant.
Since the demand is much higher than the production and the occurence has been declined during to climatic changes in the last decades, arnica is a protected plant in many European countries.
Available products
Arnica has a very long history in herbal medicine and home remedies. Long before its constituents could be determined via modern techniques the flowers were infused in oil or fat and were applied over wounds and injuries.
Arnica is commercially available as:
our focus today is on the macerated oil:
This is a maceration of arnica montana flowers in organic sunflower oil
INCI:HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL, ARNICA MONTANA FLOWER EXTRACT
CAS# 8001-21-6, 68990-11-4
EC# 232-273-9, 273-579-2
The constituents:
The fatty acid profile is that of the sunflower oil with:
6,5% palmitic acid
3,0% stearic acid
31,8% Oleic acid
56,4% Linoleic acid
Apart from that the oil contains 7500 ppm lecithin (amazing!!), over 3000 ppm sterols, ca. 580 ppm tocopherols and ca. 400 ppm squalene.
The main tocopherol is alpha-tocopherol (the most active form in human body)
The main sterols are beta-sitosterol (57,8%), delta-7-stigmasterol (12,75%), campesterol (8,57%) and Stigmasterol (8,10%)
Active ingredients
This includes:
Triterpenediol esters (ca 220 ppm), helenalin esters (140 ppm) and sesquiterpene lactones (176 ppm)
Properties:
arnica has been used against sprains and pains, for wound healing and against haematoma. It is a tonic and a stimulant and in hair care it is used against excessive greasiness and to stimulate hair growth. Arnica oil is athletes' best frind for an after sport massage to comfort aching and strained muscles and joints.
Cautions:
Arnica could cause intolerance and allergic reactions in some individuals. Although it has been used (and is still used by experts) for wound healing, we recommend NOT using it over wounds and irritated skin when it comes to cosmetic applications.
Formulation examples:
Green tea muscle relief whipped butter
Runners companion: recovery biphase lotion
Further reading:
BeHappy and have fun
