Arnica species

Ci5H g04, Mr 262.31, cryst., mp, 168 °C, [ajp -102° (acetone), soluble in alcohol, chloroform, poorly soluble in water. A toxic sesquiterpene lactone that induces sneezing from Helenium and Arnica species such as, e.g., Helenium autumnale and Arnica mon-tana [LD50 (mouse p.o.) 150 mg/kg]. After intoxication, the symptoms are nasal irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo, palpitation, respiratory impairment, and finally collapse with a weak, very rapid pulse. In the past deaths have been reported after consumption of Arnica preparations. Contact with the skin leads to dermatitis. 

Several American Arnica species ( American arnica ) have also been used (A. fulgens Pursh, A. sororia Green, and A. cor difolia Hook.), all of which are native to the region of the western Rocky Mountains. 

As saffron is frequently adulterated, e.g. with calendula, arnica, other blossoms such as saflor (Carthamus tinctorius L.), and non-colouring crocus species [261], suitable detection methods have been developed see [262, 263, 264] and its ISO standard [265]. 

K. umbellata (Cav.) Schlecht., known as guayabillo, laurel de chile and arnica, grows in the state of Morelos, Guerrero and Puebla. Standley reports the presence of this species the state of in Michoacan, but the only species that could be corroborated for this region is K. johnstonii, which is similar to K. umbellata. An infusion made from its leaves is used to reduce inflammations caused by contusions. 

Cultural and climatic conditions have only a moderate effect on the alkaloid content of plants. It is known that the amount of alkaloids in opium varies with the source, but some of this variation is undoubtedly due to varietal differences in the poppies in question. A lone example, frequently cited to illustrate the catastrophic effect of soil or climatic conditions upon the type of alkaloid elaborated, is the California poppy Eschscholtzia calif arnica Cham.). Records show that when this plant was grown in Brittany it yielded but a single base, ionidine, which, if correctly characterized, differed from those bases characteristic of the plant when it is grown in other habitats. In a systematic study of the true species and of cultivated varieties grown both in very rich and very poor soils, the author (unpublished results) failed to detect the presence of ionidine although several new alkaloids were found. 

Other species of arnica A. angustifolia, A. chamissonis, A. chamissonis Less, ssp.foliosa, A. cordifolia, and A. sororia) are used interchangeably in trade (McGuffin et al. 1997). 

Allergic contact dermatitis to arnica has been reported and is associated in some cases with sensitivity to other species of plants in the Asteraceae and Lauraceae families (Brinkhaus et al. 2006 Hausen 1980,1985,1992,1996 Hausen and Schulz... 

Yarrow (A. millefolium s.l), arnica, and even chamomile originate still partly from wild collection in Central and Eastern Europe, and despite several attempts to cultivate spikenard Valeriana celticd), a tiny European mountain plant with a high content of patchouli alcohol, this species is still wildly gathered in Austria and Italy (Novak et al., 1998, 2000). 

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