Arnica tea is a herbal tea that’s made from the flower of the herbal plant Arnica (Arnica montana). Most times, the leaves and roots are also adds to the tea due to there health benefits. However, cautions are extremely required when taking Arnica tea; if possible, consult your doctor before and during the oral administration of the tea. The reason for this is because Arnica plant can be toxic to your heart, and can cause several side effects, which we shall discuss in details in this article.
What are the uses of Arnica?
Arnica montana can be used for several purposes. One, it is taken as a tea, the leaves can be made into a poultice and used for topical pains and wounds. In traditional orthopedic treatment, Arnica is used to treat bone fracture, and to prevent inflammation from insect bite.
Where to get Arnica montana products (Arnica tea near me)
Arnica tea comes in several products. There are several commercial products of Arnica tea which you can buy from the grocery stores, supper markets, and pharmaceutical stores. The most available Arnica supplements available in the market is the Te de Arnica tea by the company with the brand name, Herbacil. You can also cultivate the plant in your garden or indoor, using a plastic pot. The leaves, flowers and roots can be used when formulating your Arnica tea, however, the flower remains the most used.
How much Arnica tea can i drink a day?
As stated earlier, it is advisable to consult your doctor before and during the oral administration of Arnica tea. Studies have shown that oral administration of Arnica extract can be toxic to the body. When taking the tea, you should make sure it is a small quantity, probably a small cup per day. Do not drink too much of the tea, as it can harm your heart functions.
What are the Arnica tea benefits?
Arnica can come as a tea, gel, or pellet. It can be taken orally as a tea or tablet, or applied topically as a gel to alleviate pains.
Arnica montana soothes pains
The active ingredient in Arnica tea, pellet or gel is helenalin. It is an anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene lactone, which acts on inflammation and pains by selectively inhibiting the inflammatory transcription factor, NF-kB.
Arnica tea reduces muscles and joints pains, skin aches and bruises. It is also beneficial for an osteoarthritis patients. Arnica tea pain relieving properties may be compared to that of other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Ibuprofen. Arnica gel is also used topically to treat back pain, waist pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
Improves wound healing
Arnica tea have been given to patients after a surgical operations. This is because Arnica montana fasten wound healing processes. However, extreme caution should be taking when giving Arnica tea to a patients with surgical operation. This is because Arnica tea contains anti-clotting compounds that may increase bleeding of the surgical wounds. Ensure that you consult your doctor before drinking Arnica tea.
Like Aspilia africana, Arnica montana also possesses wound healing property. When added in a gel and applied to surgical wounds, Arnica montana alone or in combination with H. Perforatum can significantly increase wound healing process of surgically induced incision on the back of Wister rats effectively. This makes Arnica montana a good herbal agent for treating wounds.
Arnica tea may improve depression
A study has shown that the plant extract exhibits anxiolytic activities. This means that Arnica tea may be useful for patients with anxiety disorder and depression. It can also release the muscle tightness, suppress fear and uneasiness, and gives you the feeling of relaxation. The good news is that most commercially available Arnica tea contains a very small quantity of helenalin, which makes them easy to use without much of the toxic effects.
You may take a cup of the Arnica tea after dinner for relaxation and to experience a long sleep hours, as the tea may suppress insomnia and sleep disorder.
Lemon verbena tea is another herbal remedy with a more potent anti-depressant activity, and for treating insomnia. It is also recommended for people with dementia and people with major depression disorder (MDD).
Arnica montana improves blood circulation
In order for the body parts to function optimally, they must be adequately supplied with all the necessary ingredients and oxygenated blood. When these are not done, some diseases that are related to restricted blood flow to nerve endings and the limbs of patients, such as fibromyalgia, toxic neuropathy, and diabetic neuropathy may begin to develop.
A regular consumption of Arnica tea will improve blood circulation to your nerve endings and limbs. These in turn circulates required ingredients, and oxygenated blood to all every cell and tissue of your body. This will also ensure proper circulation of medications to the targeted cellular components.
Arnica tea improves your immune system
The flowers of Arnica montana possess polysaccharides that exhibit significant immunostimulating properties. These polysaccharides stimulate the increase of phagocytosis by granulocytes. Phagocytosis is an important cellular process by which microorganism and dead cells are cleared from the body.
Our body systems use phagocytosis to maintain cellular homeostasis, remove infective microorganisms and boost our immunity. The active component responsible for the increase of phagocytosis in Arnica flower is Fucogalactoxyloglucan.
The flower of Arnica montana also possess another active compound, an acidic arabino-3, 6-galactan-protein. This glycoprotein activates macrophages to release tumor necrosis factor, and also possess anticomplementary activity. Together, the two polysaccharides boost your immunity against disease pathogens.
May help prevent heart attack
Arnica montana may help prevent heart attack. It may also help a person who just had a heart attack incident recover quickly. This is because as a homeopathic remedy, Arnica tea possess inotropic activity on the heart and helps maintain a health heart beat. A dose of five drops a day will significantly improve the mild weakness of heart muscles and angina pectoris. Cautions must however be taken to avoid overdosing the supplementation, which may cause an irreversible negative inotropic action, leading to the block of the muscle contraction.
The tea also possesses antiplatelet compounds that inhibit the formation of thromboxane. Thromboxane plays major roles in cardiovascular diseases due to its acute and chronic effects in promoting platelet aggregation, vasoconstriction, and proliferation. Therefore, by inhibiting its activities, Arnica tea has shown to be a homeopathic remedy for protecting the heart.
Arnica tea for the liver
Arnica tea possesses phenolic compounds that revive bile formation in the liver. It also improves the release of chelates and bilirubin, and the removal of cholesterol. As a herbal tea rich in antioxidants, Arnica tea protects the liver from oxidative damages caused by free radicals. In also increases the synthesis and excretion of bile acids, bilirubin and cholesterol; bile secretion also increases the activity of serum enzymes.
Arnica tea may improve your heir health
A regular consumption of Arnica montana may improve your hair growth, stop hair breakage, and treat dandruff. A combination of the flower in aqueous ammonia promotes hair follicles, increases hair growth and hair strength. This may be similar to the hair growth effect of perilla seed oil, watermelon seed oil, and spermidine supplement.
May prevent hyperpigmentation
As you age, your skin also withers. This may also be contributed by environmental stressors such as ultraviolet radiations of the solar system, which causes damages to the skin like thickening plague, deep furrowing , wrinkles, loss of skin tone, and formation of different colors also known as hyperpigmentation due to increased melanin secretion.
A study showed that Arnica montana extract can give good result if added to hypopigmentation cosmetics. You can added the dried flower powder to watermelon seed oil and use to massage your skin or as a skin scrub.
Arnica montana stops bleeding in women
A study has shown that Arnica montana exhibits antihemorrhagic activity in women of age group 20-35 years, which reduced postpartum blood loss. Postpartum death is the major cause of perinatal morbidity and global mortality. When delivered through the vagina, Arnica montana extract may suppress bleeding.
What are the side effects of Arnica tea?
Arnica montana can cause skin irritation when taken undiluted. It can also cause nausea, rapid heart rate, bleeding and can be toxic to both your heart and liver. However, the commercial Arnica tea products are homeopathic, and therefore do not exhibit much of the counter reactions associated with drinking tea made from the flowers without removing the active ingredients responsible for the side effects.
Who should not take Arnica tea?
Before administering Arnica tea, make sure to consult your doctor. Also, do not use the raw flower of Arnica montana, as you may not know the right dilution that will give you the best effect. When purchasing the commercial products, ensure they are the ones that are certified by reputable laboratories, otherwise, do not buy.
Pregnant women
There is not enough studies that support the use of Arnica tea during pregnancy. It is safer to avoid taken the tea while you are pregnant, to avoid the incidence of miscarriages. The toxic compound helenalin may pose a serious negative effect on the fetus. If your are looking for home remedies that will be of immense help to you as a pregnant woman, or for your partner, Pepino melon juice may just be an idea juice for you. It not only help the fetus growth, but also helps in development of strong bones.
Patients with fresh surgical operation
Arnica tea possesses hexuronic acids and phenolic glycoconjugates that exhibit anticoagulant activities. These anticoagulation property of the tea will negatively impact on a fresh surgical operation as it will make it harder for the bleeding to stop, since it prevents blood clot formation. Excess bleeding might cause the death of the patient, or have a negative economic impact.
A hypertensive patient
If you are hypertensive, do not take Arnica tea. Arnica montana have been shown to increase blood pressure. Therefore, if you are treating high blood pressure, it is best you avoid the tea or any Arnica supplement.
References
Smith, A.G.; Miles, V.N.; Holmes, D.T.; Chen, X.; Lei, W. Clinical Trials, Potential Mechanisms, and Adverse Effects of Arnica as an Adjunct Medication for Pain Management. Medicines 2021, 8, 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines8100058.
Smyth E. M. (2010). Thromboxane and the thromboxane receptor in cardiovascular disease. Clinical lipidology, 5(2), 209–219. https://doi.org/10.2217/clp.10.1.
Usui K et al. Identification of HSP70-inducing activity in Arnica montana extract and purification and characterization of HSP70-inducers. J Dermatol Sci 2015; 78: 67–75.
Castro FCB et al. Effects of microcurrent application alone or in combination with topical Hypericum perforatum L. and Arnica montana L. on surgically induced wound healing in Wistar rats. Homeopathy 2012; 101: 147–153.
