Chrysanthemum morifolium ju hua 菊花

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Chrysanthemum morifolium ju hua 菊花, kikuka,
kukhwa, kuk fa, 干菊花 gan ju hua, 黃菊花 huang ju
hua, 杭菊花 hang ju hua, 白菊花 bai ju hua。

chrysanthemum flower

Chrysanthemum morifolium can be found in East Asia. Traditionally, it has been
believed to treat people with low back pain, ear ringing, poor eye sight, dizziness,
blurry vision and dizziness.

Most herbalists believe it (especially wild ju hua) benefits people suffered from
inflammation, infection, high cholesterol, blood pressure and some other chronic
conditions.

Wang YJ, Yang XW, Guo QS. from Nanjing Agricultural University, China, found flowers
of Chrysanthemum morifolium (Huangjuhua) contain luteolin, quercetin, acacetin 7-O-
beta-D-(3"-acetyl) -glucopyranoside, luteolin, 7-O-beta-D-(6"-acetyl)-glucopyranoside,
hesperetin 7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, acacetin 7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside,
diosmetin, 7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, apigenin 7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside,
hesperidin, linarin, and luteolin 7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside. [1] While, they found
juniper camphor is a characteristic constituent in its essential oil. [2] Other ingredients
in the oil are 1, 3, 3-trimethylcyclohex-1-ene-4-carboxaldehyde, borneol, alpha-
curcumene, alpha-bisabolol, cis-caryophyllene, benzyl benzoate, methyl beta, beta-
dimethylbenzenepropanoic acid ester, 2, 4-decadienal and heneicosane. [2]

Are there any Scientific Studies about its health claim(s) / benefit(s)?

The number of studies are very limited and mainly in test-tubes.

Kim HJ and Lee YS from Korea Institute of Science & Technology isolated two
dicaffeoylquinic acids, 3,5-dicaffeoyl- epi-quinic acid and 1,3-dicaffeoyl- epi-quinic acid
from Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramar. They showed strong antioxidant activities in
the DPPH radical and superoxide anion radical scavenging systems. [3] In a separate
study, they also isolated two flavonoid glucuronide- apigenin 7-O-beta-D-(4'-caffeoyl)
glucuronide and apigenin 7-O-beta-D-glucurnoide from flowers of Chrysanthemum
morifolium. They found they have anti-HIV activities in a test-tube study. [4]

Miyazawa M, Hisama M. [miyazawa@apch.kindai.ac.jp] from Kinki University, Kowakae
demonstrated the potential health benefit of chrysanthemum morifolium extracts for
people at risk of cancers. A methanol extract from the flower heads of Chrysanthemum
morifolium showed a suppressive effect on umu gene expression of the SOS response
in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002 against the mutagen 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-
2-furyl)acrylamide (furylfuramide). [5]

Reference

[1] Studies on chemical constituents in Huangjuhua (flowers of Chrysanthemum
morifolium, Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2008 Mar;33(5):526-30. [2] Guo QS, Wang
YJ, Yang XW, Xu WB. Characterization of chemical components of essential oil from
cupitulum of Chrysanthemum morifolium cultivated in Tongxiang city. Zhongguo Zhong
Yao Za Zhi. 2008 Mar;33(6):624-7. [3] Kim HJ, Lee YS. Identification of new
dicaffeoylquinic acids from Chrysanthemum morifolium and their antioxidant activities.
Planta Med. 2005 Sep;71(9):871-6. [4] Lee JS, Kim HJ, Lee YS. A new anti-HIV
flavonoid glucuronide from Chrysanthemum morifolium. Planta Med. 2003 Sep;69(9):
859-61. [5] Antimutagenic activity of flavonoids from Chrysanthemum morifolium. Biosci
Biotechnol Biochem. 2003 Oct;67(10):2091-9.

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