by Missy Tonin
Calendula flowers have a long history of use in traditional medicine, with the beautiful flowers being soaked in oils to extract their medicinal qualities. Now, advanced technology in the field of botanical extracts has created the first Calendula essential oil, with an incredibly strong concentration of the therapeutic components of the flower. This essential oil, known as a Total Supcritical Critical Carbon Dioxide Extract, is very easily used by both natural health practitioners and by mothers using aromatherapy as a natural healing alternative in their home. A large body of scientific research has grown in the last decade revealing quite a list of profound healing properties of this extract. It has been found to have regenerative, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, antitumorial, and organ-protective effects.
Healing from the Marigold Flower
Calendula flowers, a particular kind of Marigold, is a genus of 20 species of herbaceous plants in the Daisy family. Calendula infused oil — made by soaking the flowers in olive oil — is highly regarded as a base of soothing skin formulas, with cooling and hydrating effects. It has been a popular ingredient in formulas for eczema and baby’s needs — or anywhere skin irritation is being addressed. The infused oil had limitations in that the base oil needed to be the infused oil itself, limiting other carrier or base oils included in the formula. Even very small quantities (1-3%, or 8-24 drops per ounce) of the essential oil added to your recipes can have dramatic results
The Healing Potential of the New Calendula Extract
With an essential oil of Calendula finally available, great flexibility of formulation has been afforded to the home user. This oil is often noted as Calendula CO2, indicating the use of pressurized carbon dioxide (the natural gas which becomes liquid at high pressures) used for extraction of the active constituents of the flowers. The product of this new extraction process has been the subject of MANY scientific inquiries, available through pubmed.gov, the database of the National Institute of Health. A search for “Calendula” currently produces 195 results, with abstracts published in peer-reviewed journals around the world.
A Look at the Research
The research focuses on several of Calendula’s healing properties. Scientists have investigated the following effects of Calendula: an increased rate of wound healing, treatment of radiation burns from chemotherapy, powerful antioxidant activity, inflammation reduction, liver protection, plus anti-parasitic, antibacterial, antiviral, antispasmodic and even anti-tumorial effects. Most of the conclusions of these studies straightforwardly hail the healing effects of Calendula; in Volume 20, 2009 Journal of Basic Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, Indian scientists note “The data indicate potent wound healing activity of Calendula officinalis extract”. Other researchers concluded in the 2009 Indian Journal of Experimental Biology: “Results suggest a protective role of the flower extract of C. officinalis against…hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity) and cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity (kidney toxicity)…has been found to contain several carotenoids of which lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene predominate…action of the flower extract may be due to its antioxidant activity”. One can read a great many of these studies coming to the same conclusions — that Calendula extract (ie. the CO2 essential oil) has nearly miraculous healing powers. So then, how to use it? Let’s have a look at some classic methods.
Creating Recipes at Home with Calendula
Simply adding a few drops of Calendula essential oil to topical wound healing and pain relief formulas is the most simple means. Calendula will synergize with essential oils such as Helichrysum, Lavender and Tea Tree depending on your needs. For wound healing, with the possibility of scar and hematoma reduction, try 5% Helichrysum, 3% Calendula, 3% Lavender and 3% Tea Tree in a base of virgin Tamanu and Coconut oils. This formula can prevent infection, sooth the injury, and speed the overall healing process. For joint and muscle pain, or injuries to muscles and connective tissue, increase the amount of Helichrysum essential oil to up to 25%, and use 5% Calendula in any carrier oil as a base. Helichrysum is known to be very effective at relieving pain and reducing inflammation, as is Calendula — the two together may provide an even more profound healing effect for many people. Calendula’s profound antioxidant activity make it a first choice for beauty care preparations as well, as its radical-scavenging activity will likely prevent premature skin aging.
Liver and Kidney Protection Through Reflexology
Calendula’s organ-protective effects can be utilized by applying the essential oil to the feet, which are highly receptive to the energetics of essential oils. The liver and kidney points are directly behind the ball of the foot, at the front of the arch. One can make one ounce of an organ-supportive blend by using 3 milliliters of Calendula, 1 and 1/2 milliliters each of Helichrysum italicum, Blue Tansy and Carrot Seed essential oils in organic Coconut. Regular massage in the area described with this blend is intended to ‘clear’ these organs and support their healthy function. With further dilution, this formula can be massaged in the low back and abdomen for further therapeutic support.
An Excellent Safety Profile
Calendula essential oil has been listed by the FDA as being safe for ingestion in commonly-used amounts. What does this mean? When essential oils are ingested, they are typically consumed by the drop, and usually in the range of only 1-3 drops per day. Ingesting the oil may be a way to utilize the liver and kidney anti-toxicity protective effects described in the research. While typically essential oil ingestion is frowned upon in the United States, the real challenge is proper education about dosages. Calendula CO2 extract specifically should be quite tame, although perhaps the most tasty thing one has ever put in their body! Ingestion of 3 drops daily, put in an empty cellulose capsule if you like, may impart a range of benefits, from antioxidant activity, to chemo-protective, to antibacterial and antiparasitic potential actions.
Calendula: Now One of the Most Highly Regarded Natural Medicines
Calendula is a profoundly-healing plant, with both extensive folklore as well as scientific research supporting its use. An effective and easy method of using Calendula essential oil is to use it therapeutically in instances of skin irritation and wound healing of all varieties. Calendula and Helichrysum essential oils synergize to enhance the rate of wound healing, the reduction of inflammation, and therapeutically for injuries to the musculoskeletal system (painful joints, muscles, tendons and so on). Calendula extract has also been noted by researchers as supportive and protective for both the kidneys and the liver, and has other protective effects for nearly every aspect of one’s physiology. If these effects of Calendula seem like something you or your loved ones could use, its long history of direct application in therapeutic use along with scientific validation make it a worthwhile product to investigate further.