Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla · Matricaria recutita · German chamomile

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Anxiety¹ Sleep quality² Oral mucositis in cancer care³ Endometriosis pain and dysmenorrhea⁴	Asteraceae or ragweed allergy⁵ Mugwort pollen allergy⁶

Chamomile (German chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla or recutita) is a daisy-family flower taken mainly as tea, extract capsule, or liquid, with traditional use for calming and digestive complaints⁶. Its calming action is attributed to apigenin acting at the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor system⁶. People take it for anxiety and sleep, and also for mouth and skin inflammation during cancer care, menstrual pain, and menopausal symptoms. The typical patient is an adult seeking a mild calming agent, or an oncology patient using a mouth rinse or topical gel.

Human research spans about thirty small trials and numerous reviews, covering anxiety, sleep, oral mucositis, radiation dermatitis, dysmenorrhea, and menopause. Oral chamomile for anxiety is split: a systematic review of ten trials found nine favoring it¹, while a guideline taskforce did not recommend it for generalized anxiety disorder⁷ and a network meta-analysis could not confirm benefit over placebo⁸. For sleep, a meta-analysis found better sleep quality scores but no gain in sleep duration. In a 2025 systematic review of adverse events, case reports described anaphylaxis to chamomile, while the trials reported none⁹. Products come as tea bags, powders, liquid extracts, and capsules; see Form comparison.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

74 sources, 58 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources