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〜 Nanairo Batake 〜

Herbs and Fragrances - German chamomile

Plant data

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Matricaria chamomilla, synonym: Matricaria recutita
FAMILY: Asteraceae / キク科 / 국화과 / 菊科
COMMON NAME (plant): chamomile; camomile; German chamomile; blue chamomile; scented mayweed / カモミール; カモマイル; ジャーマン・カモミール; カミツレ / 저먼캐모마일 / 德國洋甘菊; 母菊
MAIN PLACES OF PRODUCTION: native to southern and eastern Europe, but grows on all continents.
DESCRIPTION: German chamomile is a kind of annual plant. It has branched, erect and smooth stem that grows to 20 to 60cm tall. The long and narrow leaves are bipinnate or tripinnate. The flower looks like a small yellow-colored "dome" surrounded by 10 to 20 white "petals", but it is in fact not a single flower, but a cluster of much smaller flowers, as is the case with nearly all species of the Asteraceae family. Such a cluster is called a capitulum. The capitulum of German chamomile consists of two different kinds of flowers: ray flowers shaped like white petals, and disk flowers, which are yellow and densely packed in the center on a hollow, conical structure called receptacle. The flowers bloom in early to midsummer and have a strong apple-like smell. The ray flowers have a strong tendency to flex downwards when in full bloom. The fruit is a yellowish-brown achene with 5 strips on its side.
PICTURES:

whole plant

flowerhead (capitulum)

illustration of flowerhead showing ray flower (B) and disk flower (A)

illustration of whole plant

yet another illustration

Fragrance data

PART OF EXTRACTION: flower
METHOD OF EXTRACTION: solvent extraction using hexane (C6H14), or steam distillation
COLOR: dark cyan
VOLATILITY: mid note
STRENGTH: medium
DESCRIPTION OF FRAGRANCE: A combination of fruity and spicy notes.
MAIN USAGE: skin cream
MAIN COMPOSITION: tans-β-farnesene, chamazulene, α-(−)-bisabolol, α-bisabolol oxide

Additional info

The name "chamomile" comes from greek χαμαίμηλον which is χαμαί (on the ground) + μήλον (apple).

German chamomile can be consumed as a herb tea to alleviate sore stomach, intestinal cramps, dry skin etc. or as a gentle sleep aid.

German chamomile is the national flower of Russia.

Chamazulene is an aromatic hydrocarbon with chemical formula C14H16 that is found in german chamomile essential oil at a concentration of around 2.9%. It is a blue-violet derivative of azulene that gives the essential oil its characteristic color.

chemical structure of chamazulene.

Tans-β-farnesene is a hydrocarbon with chemical formula C15H24. It is a member of a family of 6 isomers under the name of farnesene. Four of them are α-farnesenes, and the remaing two are β-farnesenes. α-farnesenes and β-farnesenes differ in the position of double bonds, and the chemicals within each (α- or β-) "subfamily" differ in the positioning of functional groups around those double bonds (these are called "stereoisomers"). One member of the α-"subfamily" called (E,E)-α-farnesene is found in the coating of green apples and is responsible for the characteristic green apple odour. Another one called (Z,E)-α-farnesene has been isolated from the oil of perilla. Although α-farnesenes do exist in german chamomile essential oil at a concentration of less than 1%, it is tans-β-farnesene that is the most abundant, making up about 19.1% of the essential oil. Interestingly, tans-β-farnesene is also released by aphids as an alarm pheremone upon death to warn away other aphids, and by potatoes as a natural insect repellent. But unfortunately I was unable to determine if tans-β-farnesene also has that apple smell.

chemical structure of tans-β-farnesene.

α-(−)-bisabolol, a.k.a levomenol is a natural monocyclic sesquiterpene alcohol found in german chamomile essential oil. It is colorless and has a weak sweet floral aroma. Its oxidized forms, α-bisabolol oxide A and B, are also present in the essential oil, with α-bisabolol oxide A being dominant in quantity. Together, α-(−)-bisabolol, α-bisabolol oxide A and α-bisabolol oxide B make up more than 53% of the essential oil.

chemical structure of α-(−)-bisabolol.

chemical structure of α-bisabolol oxide A.

chemical structure of α-bisabolol oxide B.

NOTE: The percentages of chemical compounds listed in this section is based upon data pertaining to german chamomile essential oil produced by steam distillation. For solvent extraction, the percentages may differ.

There is a related species called Roman chamomile or sweet chamomile (scientific name: Chamaemelum nobile) that is also used to extract essential oil. That oil is yellow to orange in color and has a stronger scent.