Viola tricolor, commonly known as heartsease, is a wildflower found in many parts of Europe and Asia. This beautiful flower has several colors in its blossom, usually purple, yellow, or white. This plant is sometimes called wild pansy as the garden pansy originated from V. tricolor. In old herbals, the plant is called ‘Herba Trinitatis,’ being dedicated to the Holy Trinity as each flower has three colors. The flowers are used to decorate food, and the leaves are used as tea. Western Herbal Medicine uses flowers and leaves as an expectorant for lung conditions and an anti-inflammatory agent for the skin. It is used to treat discharging eczema, difficult to treat skin problems, including wounds and scars. 

Multiple phytochemical studies have identified flavonoids in V. tricolor, major of which are violanthin and rutin. They displayed efficient anti-oxidant activities, and possibly with other components, heartsease extracts were demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory activity by reducing the activation of circulating phagocytes and NO synthesis. Recently, gels containing heartsease extract were reported to show a recovery effect on the UVB-induced burn of model animals.