PENELOPE ZANOLLI*, MANOLA ATTOMBRI
⃰Corresponding author
Armonia e Natura, Noale, Italy

Calendula officinalis L. (Asteraceae) is an annual herbaceous species native from Mediterranean region. It grows in many regions of Italy but also in a wide range of places including Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe, West Asia, Germany and America (2-3). C. officinalis is a plant 20-50 cm tall with sparsely branching erect stems, rectangular lance leaflets with tubular disc florets yellow to orange. The inflorescence consist of a single flower head with yellow or orange capitula and blossoms are produced year round, but flowering peak around March and July (4). Aachen fruit is brown with a rough surface.

Also known as pot marigold, owing to its historical use in soups and stews for combating diseases (5-6), C. officinalis has been cultivated as a food and medicinal plant since the Middle Ages and the colorant made from this plant was used in the ancient Greece and Rome and by early Indian and Arabic population (7).The Food Drug Administration (FDA) has classified C. officinalis as a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) substance (8). Edible Calendula flowers possessing nutritional properties and being rich in quinic acid and tocopherol (9). As medicinal plant, it is one in use since ancient times and it holds appreciable importance in traditional medicine. First attributions of the medicinal use of C. officinalis is found in a fourteenth-century medical book (10). However familiarity with the use of calendula appeared to be widespread even in the 13^th century and these early manuscript identified the marigold used for its wound-healing capabilities as Calendula officinalis (11). C. officinalis is mentioned in Ayurvedic and Unani system of medicine demonstrating that leaves and flowers seem to have antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antiepileptic and antimicrobial properties (12-13). The plant is also included in German Commission E, European Scientific Co-operative on Pythotherapy, European Herbal Pharmacopoeia, EMA and World Health Organization monographs (14). More than 35 properties have been attributed to flower extracts and these preparations have been considered valuable remedies for burns, bruises, cuts, rashes, skin wounds and other conditions (15-16). Additionally, C. officinalis infusion may be used to treat beestings, eye inflammations, abscesses and boils, varicose veins, eczema or as gargle for mouth sores or to relieve toothache. It also improves blood and lymphatic fluids circulation and aids in the elimination of toxins from the body (17). Besides, traditionally, C. officinalis is taken internally to treat fevers, jaundice and promote menstruation.

The pharmacological activity of marigold is related to the content of several classes of secondary metabolites (27). Interestingly, it has been found to be a rich source of bioactive compounds, containing a wide range of chemical constituents including triterpenes, saponins, triterpendiol esters, free and esterified triterpenic alcohols, polysaccharides, steroids, phenolic acids, tannins, quinines, coumarins, flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, narcissin, isorhamnetin, kaemferol), carotenoids, terpenoids, amino acids, essential and volatile oils, among many other chemical groups (28-29-10-30-31).

C. officinalis is probably the queen of anti-inflammatory plants. Its main activity as an anti-inflammatory constituent justifies its utilization as a cosmetic and personal care product for wound treatment (32-33). The most-well known skin issues are dryness, eczema, acne, dullness, wrinkles, pimples, aging, skin spots, and so on (34-35).

Nowadays, several calendula preparations are available for incorporation in topical formulations directed towards wound healing and for soothing inflamed and damaged skin, like extracts, tinctures, and oils (36-37). C. officinalis is used mainly for cutaneous and internal inflammatory diseases of several origins. In cosmetic products, calendula is used in formulations for sensitive skin and soothing products (e.g. after-sun products), among a variety of presentations, including skin, hair, eye and bath products, with recognized safety for use in cosmetics (38).

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the use of lipophilic and aqueous alcoholic extracts of C. officinalis as a traditional medicinal products in the treatment of minor inflammatory diseases of the skin and as an aid in the healing of small wounds (39-40-41). Particularly, extracts, tinctures, balms and salves made from flowers of C. officinalis are applied directly to the skin to heal wounds, as remedies for diverse burns, including sunburns and skin wounds, and to soothe inflamed and damaged skin (42). Also, their flowers are believed to be useful as an antiseptic, for treating skin ulcerations and eczema (43). It has been reported that calendula seems to increase the rate of epithelialization, granulation tissue formation and the regeneration of dermal collagen in skin wounds (44) and also seem to increase neovascularization process and angiogenic activity (45). It has been stated that one of the main ingredients responsible of the anti-inflammatory effect is faradiol (37), but also triterpenes and polysaccharides (46) which role is believed to be by intervention in immunological reactions. Secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, coumarins and others alone or in association are directly associated with these effects (47). Some experimental tests showed that C. officinalis creams, containing the extract of C. officinalis, increase skin moisturization and firmness (48). Marigold flowers contain large quantities of antioxidant compounds (flavonoids, carotenoids and polyphenols), suggesting they may possess antioxidants to prevent UV-induced skin damage and skin damage caused by free radicals (49-50). These antioxidant substances are found to have beneficial effects on proliferating aging skin cells (51). An antibacterial action has also been attributed to triterpene glycosides of calendula (52). Calendula is very effective to treat acne (53), radio dermatitis and dermatitis (54-55-56). It can repair dry skin, reduce redness, and heal wounds (57). It also helps remove acne scars and cure fungal infections. The range of possible applications for these multi-functional calendula active ingredients is only bounded by one’s imagination. Armonia and Natura laboratories produce a lot of cosmetic products containing calendula extracts for skin care and skin regeneration. These products are prepared using plants, pure plant extracts, pure essential oils and mother tinctures produced according to the spagyric method. In this way, the plants are full used, exploiting all the properties of the plant used (26-31).We can therefore say that the spagyric extract, compared to the classic herbal one, transmits the virtues of the plant in a purer and more amplified way and acts both from a chemical and energetic point of view. The practice of “spagyria” dates back to Paracelsus (1493–1541), who first coined the term to mean “separate” (spao) and “combine” (ageiro), indicating that spagyric preparations are based on “separation”, “extraction”, and “recombination” of the active extractives, including mineral components (58). Plant minerals and oils act as catalysts to stimulate the body’s own natural powers of healing and homeostasis (59). It is known that spagiric preparations could generally maintain good stability and biological activity over time and they be considered to have good biological activity (60). Garlic spagyric formulas are showed to be most effective for treatment of toenail fungi (61) and recently, it is proved the efficacy of the spagyric essence prepared from different plants in wound healing (62).

Natural ingredients have been used for centuries for skin care purposes and are often better equipped in fighting against skin problems (63). Nowadays, natural ingredients have become more common in cosmetic preparations due to consumers’ concern about synthetic products that are enriched with chemical substances. Non-poisonous and hypoallergenic items are much in demand because for quite a while risky synthetic substances, (e.g. some heavy metals) before these were restricted for their toxicity (64). For these reasons there is a great demand of herbal cosmetics, mainly because their lack of side effects (65). Herbal preparations do not produced instant cures, but rather offers a way to put the body in proper tune with nature. Recently, there is incredible interest for certain successful plant extracts to be used in cosmetic products, among these are mentioned the calendula extracts (66). This changed mindset of using skin-care products that have natural ingredients is nothing less than a revolution. However, further study and new avenue of research activities are highly required to explore the efficacy of the active ingredients of herbs and botanicals that be incorporated to prepare herbal cosmetics and also to develop and optimize processes for producing good quality skin-care as well as therapeutic products.