Margriet

Bij de ingang van domaine du Bonsoy bloeien uitbundig wilde margrieten gemengd met blauwbloeiend beemdkroon en in het weiland er achter eindeloos veel gele boterbloemen. Zou de boer blij zijn met zo'n weiland? De paarden en een meute echte ezels lijken er in elk geval geen last van te hebben.
Wilde margrieten zien er vrolijk en fris uit, toch verspreiden ze een minder okselfrisse geur. Medicinaal worden ze nauwelijks nog gebruikt, toch vreemd voor zo'n algemene en niet giftige plant.

Door de eeuwen heen vinden we wel veel toepassingen van deze margriet. Of was er verwarring met echte kamille of madeliefje?
De Engelse beroemde herborist Gerard schreef: 'Dioscorides saith that the floures of Oxeie made up in a seare cloth doe asswage and washe away cold hard swellings, and it is reported that if they be drunke by and by after bathing, they make them in a short time wellcoloured that have been troubled with the yellow jaundice.'
Culpepper tells us that it is 'a wound herb of good respect, often used in those drinks and salves that are for wounds, either inward or outward' . . . and that it is 'very fitting to be kept both in oils, ointments, plasters and syrups.' He also tells us that the leaves bruised and applied reduce swellings, and that 'a decoction thereof, with wall-wort and agrimony, and places fomented or bathed therewith warm, giveth great ease in palsy, sciatica or gout. An ointment made thereof heals all wounds that have inflammation about them.'

Toch werden er vroeger ook kritische bemerkingen gemaakt. Zo lezen we in het 6de deel van Afbeeldingen der Artsenijgewassen uit 1801. ' Men meenden dat het wondheelend, urinedrijvend, en tot uitdrijving der inwendige etterstoffen van dienst zij. De schrijver Krauss zegt verder' wie slaat er nu geloof aan dit wondermiddel?'

Op de serieuze hedendaagse website 'Plants for the future' vinden we 'The whole plant, and especially the flowers, is antispasmodic, antitussive, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, tonic and vulnerary. It is harvested in May and June then dried for later use. The plant has been employed successfully in the treatment of whooping cough, asthma and nervous excitability. Externally it is used as a lotion on bruises, wounds, ulcers and some cutaneous diseases. A decoction of the dried flowers and stems has been used as a wash for chapped hands. A distilled water made from the flowers is an effective eye lotion in the treatment of conjunctivitis'.
Toch is er weinig wetenschappelijk onderzoek te vinden voor zijn medisch gebruik. Aan de vreemde geur kunnen we wel aflezen dat er in elk geval etherische olie in de plant aanwezig is en dat is al eerder onderzocht. The oil of  L. vulgare contained much more aliphatic acids and esters than the oils of the other investigated Asteraceae species but had a very low concentration of polyacetylenes.

Eigen ervaringen met het medisch gebruik van Leucanthemum vulgare heb ik niet. Mogelijk zijn de bloemen als lotion vooral goed voor de huid.

Nota: Content and composition of essential oils in some Asteraceae species
Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (Impact Factor: 0.37). 01/2011; 60(1):55-63. DOI: 10.3176/proc.2011.1.06. The content and composition of the essential oils of five Asteraceae species from Estonia were studied. The oil yields ranged from traces up to 0.2%. By using GC-FID and GC-MS methods a total of 115 compounds were identified and significant qualitative and quantitative differences were observed among the studied species. The main constituents of the essential oils of the studied Asteraceae species were as follows: Chamomilla recutita: bisabolol oxide A (39.4%), bisabolone oxide A (13.9%), (Z)-en-yne-dicycloether (11.5%), bisabolol oxide B (9.9%), α-bisabolol (5.6%), and chamazulene (4.7%); Chamomilla suaveolens: (Z)-en-yne-dicycloether (37.2%), geranyl isovalerate (22.9%), (E)-β-farnesene (15.6%); Anthemis tinctoria: α-eudesmol (10.2%), γ-cadinol (8.7%), γ-cadinene (4.0%); Matricaria perforata: (Z,Z)-matricaria ester (77.9%), (E)-β-farnesene (3.5%), matricaria ester isomer (3.5%), and matricaria lactone (3.0%); and Leucanthemum vulgare: (E)-β-farnesene (7.3%), hexadecahydrocyclobuta[1,2:3,4]dicyclooctene (5.3%), decanoic acid (4.9%), and γ-eudesmol (4.5%). The number of compounds found in all plant oils studied was 14.