Arnica Montana
Arnica Montana
Arnica montana is also known as leopard's bane, wolf's bane, mountain tobacco and mountain arnica.
Arnica has been used in internal and external medicine for hundreds of years. The active ingredient for its external use is thymol. Thymol is a compound also found in the herb thyme, which gives it that distinct flavor. (We don't recommend eating Battle Balm® or spreading it on your sandwich.)
Thymol is a strong antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal. Naturally-occurring biocidal agents such as thymol can reduce bacterial resistance to common drugs such as penicillin.[1]
In other studies, it has been found that the ingredient thymol works synergistically with antibiotics to fight bacteria, topically and systemically. Thymol is also an effective fungicide,[2] particularly against fluconazole-resistant strains.
In addition, there is evidence that thymol has antitumor properties.[3]
Arnica has also been positively compared to ibuprofen gel in treating pain symptoms of osteoarthritis.[4]
Battle Balm® contains 100% Certified Organic Arnica Montana as one of its 20 key ingredients. It's just one of the herbs used to manage pain and perform as a topical analgesic. An additional benefit is that the arnica also treats bacteria, fungus, and other microbial infections as well.
References
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160510001868 (Use of natural antimicrobials to increase antibiotic...)
- http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4293517?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101504339383 (Clonal Propagation of Arnica Montana...)
- Andersen A, Final report on the safety assessment of sodium p-chloro-mcresol,p-chloro-m-cresol, chlorothymol, mixed cresols, mcresol,o-cresol, p-cresol, isopropyl cresols, thymol, o-cymen-5-ol, and carvacrol.Int J Toxicol. 2006;25 Suppl 1:29-127
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17318618 (Choosing between NSAID and arnica for topical treatment of hand osteoarthritis...)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnica_montana (Arnica Montana)