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Limited evidenceJoints & skin

Calendula

Marigold flower extract with a modest evidence base for topical wound and skin care. Taken orally as a capsule or tea it has essentially no supporting trials.

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What the science says

  • Topical wound healing Limited evidence

    A systematic review of Calendula officinalis extract for wound healing found positive signals across a mixed set of animal and human studies but concluded the human evidence was of low quality, with small samples and heterogeneous preparations. It could not recommend calendula as a standard treatment.

  • Skin irritation and dermatitis Limited evidence

    A double-blind randomized controlled trial compared an emollient cream with and without 1% supercritical CO2 calendula extract in contact dermatitis. It is one of the few properly controlled trials, and it tested a topical cream, not an oral supplement.

  • Oral supplementation Limited evidence

    No randomized trial of oral calendula for skin, joints or inflammation is indexed in PubMed. The internal use claims are traditional rather than tested.

Dosage & safety

Studied doseTopical preparations use 2–10% calendula extract in a cream or ointment applied 2–3 times daily. No oral dose has been validated; label doses are typically 300–500 mg of extract.
SafetyTopical use is well tolerated, though calendula is in the daisy family and can cause allergic contact dermatitis in people sensitive to ragweed, chrysanthemum or arnica. Oral use is discouraged in pregnancy because of traditional reports of uterine stimulation. It may add to the effect of sedatives.

How to take it

TimingApply two to three times a day to clean skin; the evidence is for topical use, not capsules.
With food?Not relevant for topical use, which is the only form with meaningful evidence.
Worth knowingPatch test first if you react to ragweed, chrysanthemum or arnica — calendula is in the same family and cross-reacts.

Interactions

With medications

  • sedatives and CNS depressants

    Oral calendula has been reported to add to sedation. avoid oral calendula if you take sedatives or sleep medication

With other supplements

  • valerian, melatonin and other sedative supplements

    Possible additive drowsiness with oral use. do not stack sedating products

Well-established interactions only — this is not a complete list. Always tell your doctor and pharmacist what you take.

Frequently asked questions

Does calendula cream help wounds heal?

The evidence for topical calendula on wounds is limited: a systematic review found positive signals but rated the human studies as low quality, small and inconsistent. It could not recommend calendula as a standard wound treatment.

Is calendula good for eczema or dermatitis?

One double-blind randomized trial tested an emollient cream with 1% calendula extract in contact dermatitis, which makes topical calendula one of the better-tested herbal creams, though the overall evidence is still limited. That evidence does not apply to calendula capsules or tea.

Do calendula capsules or tea do anything?

No randomized trial of oral calendula for skin, joints or inflammation has been published, so the internal-use claims are traditional rather than tested. Oral calendula is discouraged in pregnancy and may add to the effect of sedatives.

Can calendula cause an allergic reaction?

Yes: calendula is in the daisy family and can cause allergic contact dermatitis in people sensitive to ragweed, chrysanthemum or arnica. Patch test a calendula cream first if you react to those plants.

Scientific references

Related in Joints & skin

Herbal medicines: what the evidence says (335)