Also known as Chinese Thistle Daisy, this root extract is used in Chinese and Japanese alternative medicine for angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) in type-2 diabetes because it contains beta-eudesmol. Some of its other components have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties as well. Whether this effect can be of benefit when the entire extract is applied topically is unknown. (Sources: Yajugaku Zasshi, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, March 2006, pages 133-143; European Journal of Pharmacology, April 2005, pages 105-115; and Planta Medica, July 2001, pages 437-442.)