Chrysanthemum: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum), known in Sanskrit as Sevanti (meaning service, as it gives the energy of devotion and surrender to the Divine), is a cooling flower herb from the Compositae family. It has a bitter and sweet rasa, cooling virya, and pungent vipaka. It pacifies Pitta and Kapha (PK-) while potentially increasing Vata in excess. It acts on plasma, blood, and marrow tissues through the digestive, respiratory, and nervous systems.

The common chrysanthemum flower grown in gardens makes an excellent cooling tea for summer heat or for Pitta-constitution individuals — two teaspoons of flowers steeped per cup of water. Chrysanthemum brightens the eyes and improves the vision, and is an important ingredient in many formulas for eye diseases. It cools and regulates Pitta, making it valuable as a diaphoretic and antipyretic.

Chrysanthemum is indicated for headaches, sore throat, eye infections, nosebleeds, boils, dysmenorrhea, and liver diseases. Its actions include diaphoretic, antipyretic, alterative, and antispasmodic. It has few precautions beyond high Vata conditions, and is prepared as infusion (hot or cold) or powder (250 mg to 1 g).

• Jvarahara: Reduces fever Raśa- yana Rejuvenative, especially to the eyes and pitta Pittaśamaka Calming and cooling to pitta
• Kus• t• haghna: Alleviates skin conditions
• Biomedical: Diaphoretic, ophthalmic, alterative

Contraindications: Pregnancy as it stimulates the; uterus. As with all flowers, may; increase vata in excess

Safety: No drug–herb interactions are known.

Dosage: 3–9g per day dried or 5–15ml of a 1:5 @ 25% tincture. Q Chrysanthemum morifolium is sweeter to taste, more specific for the eyes and clearing mild headaches from pitta–va-ta.

Combinations:

• Lemongrass, vamsa lochana, tulsi for acute respiratory infections.
• Rose water, jasmine water, fennel or triphala infusion for eye infections, internally and externally.
• Licorice, peppermint, musta for regulating liver flow and cooling pitta.
• Brahmi, gotu kola, shankhapushpi for nerve imbalance. Use with triphala to regulate apana vayu and descend rising nervous agitation.