Calendula

Also called

Golden Healer, Pot Marigold, Marigold, Gold-bloom, Marybud

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Based on long-standing use, the European Medicines Agency recognizes calendula flower as a traditional herbal medicine for:

  • Minor skin inflammation, such as sunburn
  • Helping minor wounds heal
  • Minor inflammation in the mouth or throat

  On the skin it is used as a cream or ointment, or as a warm tea soaked into a dressing.[4]Health agency

• Calendula comes as creams and ointments to soothe irritated skin, and is used for small cuts and burns. Fresh petals are eaten in salads, and dried petals add color to soups and stews.[2]General reference

• Calendula flower is used in compresses for slow-healing wounds, bruises, rashes, boils and dermatitis. Its use in children under 6 isn't recommended.[5]Study

• Herbalists use calendula oil, salve, compresses and washes on the skin for rashes, stings, insect bites, scrapes, burns, sunburn, bruises, eczema, acne, cold sores, diaper rash, cracked nipples from breastfeeding and tears from childbirth. They recommend using the whole flower head, including the green base, because that's where most of the resin is; "petals only" products are weaker. These uses come from herbal practice and haven't been tested in clinical trials.[3]General reference

• Herbalists give calendula tea for heartburn and acid reflux, stomach ulcers (alongside antibiotics when the ulcer is caused by H. pylori bacteria) and inflammatory bowel disease, often mixed with licorice, slippery elm, marshmallow root and meadowsweet. These uses come from herbal practice and haven't been tested in clinical trials.[6]General reference

• Herbalists also use calendula tea for swollen lymph nodes from colds, throat infections and tonsillitis, and add it to mouthwashes for gum disease, thrush and bleeding gums. In medieval Europe the flowers were added to bread, broths and syrups, and the herbalist Nicholas Culpeper described them as a "comforter of the heart and spirits". These uses come from herbal practice and haven't been tested in clinical trials.[7]General reference

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• In lab and animal studies, calendula reduced inflammation and showed antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. In animals, it helped burns heal faster and helped protect the skin from sun damage.[2]General reference

Research in people

• The European Medicines Agency looked at studies of calendula for leg ulcers caused by poor vein circulation, burns and skin inflammation. No firm conclusions could be drawn because of problems with how the studies were designed.[4]Health agency

• A 2019 review of 7 clinical trials and 7 animal studies found some evidence that calendula extract helps wounds heal:

  • Acute wounds: one trial and five animal studies found faster healing of inflammation.
  • Leg ulcers from poor vein circulation: two studies found the ulcers shrank more than with comparison treatments.
  • Diabetic leg ulcers and burns: trials found no benefit.
  • Skin damage from radiation therapy: one trial found calendula helped prevent it, another found no benefit.

  The authors say larger, well-designed trials are needed.[8]Review or trial

• Other small studies suggest calendula may help when used to prevent skin damage from radiation therapy, and for diabetic foot and leg ulcers, vaginal yeast infections and pain after an episiotomy. Larger studies are needed.[2]General reference

• In a 2025 trial, 20 healthy volunteers had patches of skin deliberately irritated, as happens in contact dermatitis. A moisturising cream with 1% calendula extract kept the skin better hydrated than the same cream without calendula, and helped the skin barrier recover faster. It didn't reduce redness, and there were no side effects.[9]Study

  Technical detail: double-blind randomised within-person trial; hydration better than placebo cream on day 4 (p = 0.035); transepidermal water loss lower than untreated on day 3 (p = 0.022).

• In a small double-blind trial, 20 healthy volunteers had patches of forearm skin irritated on purpose. A moisturizing cream with 1% calendula extract kept the skin more hydrated than the same cream without calendula or no cream, and helped the skin barrier recover faster. There were no side effects.[10]Study