Calendula (Calendula officinalis L.) is a very common annual plant in Mediterranean countries.

The extract of its flowers has interesting curative properties

The content of Calendula officinalis has interesting components: phenolic complexes such as flavonoids and, to a lesser extent, ethanol. These components have a demonstrated antioxidant activity (1) also for the presence of terpenes, in particular pentacyclic triterperpenes, Taraxasterol, Lupeol, alpha-amirin, beta-amirin (2), kaempferol and narcissine (3) an alkaloid also found in narcissus.

Medical

Due to components such as rutin and quercetin, Calendula extract has shown a potential role in the healing of ulcers in the diabetic foot (3) and in wound healing (4).

A phytochemical analysis on the composition of Calendula seeds showed that 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl (1→3)-β-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid has, in adults, a powerful stimulant effect for the production of hyaluronic acid on normal human dermal fibroblasts, while another acid, oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl (1→3)-β-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid, showed a stimulating activity of melanin biosynthesis (5).

Due to its numerous polyphenolic antioxidants, Calendula has been evaluated both in the laboratory and in clinical settings for use in the treatment and prevention of radiotherapy skin reactions with conflicting results (6).

An interesting application of Calendula concerns the sterilizing properties of its extract (7). 

Cosmetics

Fragrance. It plays a very important role in the formulation of cosmetic products as it allows perfume to be enhanced, masked or added to the final product, improving its commercial viability.  The consumer always expects to find a pleasant scent in a cosmetic product.

Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment by restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants.

Bibliografia_____________________________________________________

(1) Biological Activities of Asteraceae (Achillea millefolium and Calendula officinalis) and Lamiaceae (Melissa officinalis and Origanum majorana) Plant Extracts.
García-Risco MR, Mouhid L, Salas-Pérez L, López-Padilla A, Santoyo S, Jaime L, Ramírez de Molina A, Reglero G, Fornari T.
Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2017 Jan 18. doi: 10.1007/s11130-016-0596-8.

(2) Bioaccessibility and Antioxidant Activity of Calendula officinalis Supercritical Extract as Affected by in Vitro Codigestion with Olive Oil.
Martin D, Navarro Del Hierro J, Villanueva Bermejo D, Fernández-Ruiz R, Fornari T, Reglero G.
J Agric Food Chem. 2016 Nov 23;64(46):8828-8837.

(3) A Prospective, Descriptive Study to Assess the Clinical Benefits of Using Calendula officinalis Hydroglycolic Extract for the Topical Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers.
Buzzi M, de Freitas F, Winter M.
Ostomy Wound Manage. 2016 Mar;62(3):8-24.

(4) The Water Fraction of Calendula officinalis Hydroethanol Extract Stimulates In Vitro and In Vivo Proliferation of Dermal Fibroblasts in Wound Healing.
Dinda M, Mazumdar S, Das S, Ganguly D, Dasgupta UB, Dutta A, Jana K, Karmakar P.
Phytother Res. 2016 Oct;30(10):1696-1707. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5678.

(5) Zaki A, Ashour A, Mira A, Kishikawa A, Nakagawa T, Zhu Q, Shimizu K. Biological Activities of Oleanolic Acid Derivatives from Calendula officinalis Seeds. Phytother Res. 2016 May;30(5):835-41. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5589. Epub 2016 Feb 16.

(6) A Review of the Use of Topical Calendula in the Prevention and Treatment of Radiotherapy-Induced Skin Reactions.
Kodiyan J, Amber KT.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2015 Apr 23;4(2):293-303. doi: 10.3390/antiox4020293. Review.

(7) Production of Sterilizing Agents from Calendula officinalis Extracts Optimized by Response Surface Methodology.
Goktas FM, Sahin B, Yigitarslan S.
Int J Anal Chem. 2015;2015:789732. doi: 10.1155/2015/789732.