The Lesser Known Medicinal Values of Marigold

Because of their easy cultivation, wide adaptability to various soil and climatic conditions, attractiveness, and excellent keeping quality; Marigold has become one of the most popular flowers in India. They are commercially cultivated for cut flowers garlands, essential oils, and medicines.

Marigold is very popular amongst gardeners and florists because of its easy culture and wide adaptability. Its habit of free flowering, short duration to produce marketable flowers, a wide spectrum of attractive color, shape, size, and good keeping quality attracts the attention of flower growers. In India, it is one of the most commonly grown flowers and is extensively used in religious and social functions, in one form or the other, ego garlands or loose form.

It is highly suitable as a bedding plant, in a herbaceous border and is also ideal for newly planted shrubberies to provide color and fill the spaces. French marigold is most ideal for rockery, edging, hanging baskets, and window boxes. Both leaves and flowers are equally important from a medicinal point of view.

Leaf paste is used externally against boils and curbuncles. Leaf extract is a good remedy for earache.

Flower extract is considered a blood purifier, a cure for bleeding piles, and is also a good remedy for eye diseases and ulcers.

The essential oil present in different species of marigold, can find a use in the perfume industry, for example:

• Tagetes patula contains essential oil which can be readily extracted by steam distillation. The oil has a pronounced colour and acts as a repellent to flies.

• Tagetes erecta contains the chemicals. L -limonene, ocimene, L -linalyl acetate, and L -linalool.

• Tagetes' signata oil contains mainly aromadeudrene (18.4%) and L-terpineol (8.8%) with other oils like limonene, endesmol, p-phenyl ethyl methyl ether. It contains higher essential oil (4.25% of the dry matter) of very good quality which can be used in perfume industry.

• Tagetes is also a good source of helenine, which varies with flower colour i.e. deep yellow flower had higher content than dark red colour.

It has also been widely known that marigold is highly effective in controlling the nematode population.