Chamomile

Country of origin: Egypt

Extraction method: steam distillation

Matricaria discoidea (M. matricarioides) (Asteraceae/Compositae) Pineapple weed, Disc Mayweed.

There are about fifty species of chamomile, more than half from South Africa and the rest from the northern hemisphere. Wild chamomile is from north-eastern Asia and western North America, but has now spread around the world. It is a "street weed" typically growing in newly cleared ground along roads and in courtyards. The tiny seeds are slimy in moist weather thereby sticking to feet and wheels.

The cone-shaped composite flowers without white ray-florets are aromatic, especially when squeezed, with a sweet herbal-fruity odor. The dried flowers may be used as a tea in the same way as true chamomile.

Thirty-six compounds have been identified, accounting for 87 % of the oil. The major constituents are myrcene (28 %), (E)-beta-farnesene (23 %), germacrene D (7%), geranyl isovalerate (6 %) and the so-called (Z)-en-yn-dicycloether (8 %) [215]. Moreover, 7-methoxy-coumarin (or herniarin) was detected in M. discoidea.