A research review of human and relevant scientific studies on Matricaria chamomilla L. / Matricaria recutita L..
Last reviewed: August 2026
🔬 Research Summary
- Sleep & sleep quality: A 2024 systematic review included 10 clinical studies involving 772 participants. Five studies could be pooled for PSQI and showed a significant improvement, although heterogeneity was high. Sleep duration and daytime functioning were not consistently improved. Tea-specific clinical research also exists.
- Anxiety & stress: A 2024 systematic review identified 10 clinical trials of oral chamomile; most reported improvement in at least one anxiety outcome. Earlier meta-analysis found benefit for generalized anxiety disorder and sleep quality but not consistently for state anxiety or insomnia.
- Glucose metabolism: A systematic review/meta-analysis identified four human trials and found reductions in fasting glucose and HbA1c, but the human evidence base remains small and largely concerns people with metabolic disease.
- Menopausal symptoms: Clinical research has investigated chamomile capsules in postmenopausal women, with one recent triple-blind trial reporting improvement in several symptom scores. This is extract/capsule evidence, not tea evidence.
- Pain & inflammatory outcomes: Trials have examined chamomile in conditions including cyclic breast pain and mucositis-related outcomes. Results are condition-specific and preparations vary.
- Digestive & other research: Chamomile is widely investigated for digestive and other traditional uses, but evidence is less consistent and combination products can make attribution difficult.
The sections below summarize the principal health areas investigated in the literature. Evidence strength is not uniform, and studies using extracts, oils, capsules or combination products are identified conceptually rather than treated as interchangeable with tea.
Sleep & sleep quality
What researchers found
A 2024 systematic review included 10 clinical studies involving 772 participants. Five studies could be pooled for PSQI and showed a significant improvement, although heterogeneity was high. Sleep duration and daytime functioning were not consistently improved. Tea-specific clinical research also exists.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Anxiety & stress
What researchers found
A 2024 systematic review identified 10 clinical trials of oral chamomile; most reported improvement in at least one anxiety outcome. Earlier meta-analysis found benefit for generalized anxiety disorder and sleep quality but not consistently for state anxiety or insomnia.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Glucose metabolism
What researchers found
A systematic review/meta-analysis identified four human trials and found reductions in fasting glucose and HbA1c, but the human evidence base remains small and largely concerns people with metabolic disease.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Menopausal symptoms
What researchers found
Clinical research has investigated chamomile capsules in postmenopausal women, with one recent triple-blind trial reporting improvement in several symptom scores. This is extract/capsule evidence, not tea evidence.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Pain & inflammatory outcomes
What researchers found
Trials have examined chamomile in conditions including cyclic breast pain and mucositis-related outcomes. Results are condition-specific and preparations vary.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Digestive & other research
What researchers found
Chamomile is widely investigated for digestive and other traditional uses, but evidence is less consistent and combination products can make attribution difficult.
What remains uncertain
Study results, doses, preparations and participant populations differ. Where the evidence is based mainly on extracts, oils, capsules, combinations, laboratory models or people with a specific condition, that limitation should be considered when interpreting the findings for a normal cup of tea.
Overall Assessment
Chamomile has one of the broader human evidence bases among herbal teas. The strongest recent evidence is for aspects of sleep quality, with additional promising but more heterogeneous research in anxiety, glucose metabolism and several condition-specific outcomes.
References
- Kazemi A, Shojaei-Zarghani S, Eskandarzadeh P, Hashempur MH. Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2024;84:103071. PMID: 39106912. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103071.
- Saadatmand S, Zohroudi F, Tangestani H. The Effect of Oral Chamomile on Anxiety: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials. Clin Nutr Res. 2024;13(2):139-147. PMID: 38784853. doi:10.7762/cnr.2024.13.2.139.
- Zick SM, Wright BD, Sen A, Arnedt JT. Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011;11:78. PMID: 21939549.
- Chang SM, Chen CH. Effects of an intervention with drinking chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep-disturbed postnatal women: a randomized controlled trial. J Adv Nurs. 2016;72(2):306-315. PMID: 26483209.
- Mohsenzadeh-Ledari F, et al. Efficacy and safety of Matricaria chamomilla intervention in managing menopausal symptoms: a triple-blind clinical trial. Menopause. 2025;32(4):353-358. PMID: 39836709. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000002496.
Reference note: References were selected to represent the principal human clinical and systematic-review evidence discussed in this article. Where direct tea-infusion evidence is limited, the article explicitly identifies that limitation.
Publication version: August 2026
Our Pure Chamomile Tea is whole flower, shade dried and nothing else.
These statements have not been evaluated by Medsafe. This tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or managing a health condition, check with your healthcare provider before making it a regular habit.
