Calendula Usage

Experiments on rats and other animals suggest that calendula cream exerts wound-healing and anti-inflammatory effects, ¹ but double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have not yet been reported. The best study on calendula so far was a controlled trial comparing calendula to the standard treatment trolamine for the prevention of skin irriation caused by radiation therapy . ² Interestingly, the researchers used trolamine for comparison not because it has been proven effective but more as a kind of acceptable placebo (trolamine is not thought to do very much, even though it's widely used). The study found calendula more effective than trolamine. However, because this was not a double-blind study, the results mean little; mere expectation of benefit is likely to cause patients and experimenters to perceive benefit.

Creams made with calendula flower are a nearly ubiquitous item in the German medicine chest, used for everything from children's scrapes to eczema , burns , and poorly healing wounds. These same German products are widely available in the United States as well.

Calendula cream is also used to soothe hemorrhoids and varicose veins , and the tea reportedly reduces the discomfort of canker sores . However, as yet there is no scientific evidence for any of these uses.