Jasmine: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

If you have ever walked past a jasmine vine on a warm evening, you already know its most famous quality. In India these small white flowers are threaded into garlands, distilled into perfume and, less known in the West, used as a cooling medicine for the skin, eyes and blood.

Jasmine is known in Hindi as Chameli, Bela or Mogra, and in Sanskrit as Jati, with classical names such as Malati and Mallika. Our sources refer to more than one species: Jasminum grandiflorum and Jasminum officinale (Chameli), and Jasminum sambac (Bela or Mogra, also called Arabian Jasmine).

A fragrant climbing shrub

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu (Varga 4) describes it as an evergreen climbing shrub with glossy dark green leaves and white, highly fragrant flowers that bloom through the warm months. There are single and double-flowered varieties, and the flowers are used to make attar, a traditional essential oil.

A cooling flower

Jasmine tastes bitter and astringent, is light and dry, has a cooling potency (Sheeta Virya) and a pungent post-digestive effect (Katu Vipaka). It is considered calming and is said to pacify Pitta and Kapha, while it may aggravate Vata when used to excess.

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu lists four core actions for jasmine: it enhances complexion (Varnya), acts as an antidote (Vishaghna), is good for the eyes (Netrahita) and cleanses wounds (Vranashodhana). Almost every classical use follows from those four labels and from the flower's cooling potency.

Skin and complexion

The same text calls the flowers useful in skin diseases, applied as a paste. The Sharangadhara Samhita (Uttara Khanda, Chapter 11) pairs jasmine's soothing fragrance with red sandalwood in a gentle paste for improving facial complexion.

Wounds and burns

Its wound-cleansing action and cooling, astringent nature explain its traditional place in the recovery phase of minor burns. It is used externally, once the acute heat has passed and the skin has closed.

Eyes

Eye care is one of jasmine's most consistent classical uses. The Sushruta Samhita (Uttara Tantra, Chapters 11 and 12) includes jasmine flowers and buds in eye applications (anjana) for itching, swelling and suppuration in different types of conjunctivitis. The Ashtanga Hridaya describes binding the eyes at night with a pad of jasmine flowers such as Malati and Mallika.

Ears

Because Ayurveda links the eye and ear channels, jasmine also appears in care for hot, inflamed ear disorders, applied externally around the ear and never into the canal.

Blood, bleeding and fever

Ayurvedic sources describe jasmine as blood-cooling and hemostatic, meaning it helps arrest bleeding, which links it to bleeding disorders. The flowers are described as excellent for fevers, and the oil helps relieve sunstroke.

Ayurvedic practitioners also combine jasmine with Kutki and Bhumiamalaki for liver disorders with high Pitta, and with Guduchi to clear excess Pitta from the blood.

Mind and emotions

Jasmine is described as a calming nervine with a soothing effect on emotional disturbances. Practitioners pair it with Brahmi, Gotu Kola and Ashwagandha for stress and exhaustion. It is also considered mildly aphrodisiac for women.

Jasmine is used both internally, as a gentle flower tea, and externally, as a paste, oil or compress. Ayurvedic sources say the infusion can be made hot or cold but should not be boiled.

Classical combinations

• With Brahmi, Gotu Kola, Ashwagandha and Tagara for stress and exhaustion.
• With Shatavari, Mustaka, Rose and Manjishtha for menstrual pain and heavy bleeding.
• With Turmeric, myrrh and safflower for clots and pain.
• With Kutki and Bhumiamalaki, or with Guduchi, for liver problems and blood heat from high Pitta.

External vehicles

For the skin, jasmine paste is often mixed into aloe vera gel with sandalwood powder. For oils, a coconut base keeps it light and cooling, while a sesame base suits dry skin.

Jasmine is a gentle flower, and our sources note no known drug and herb interactions. The cautions that do exist come from its cooling, light and dry nature.

Who should be careful

• People who run cold or have high Vata. Avoid jasmine with severe chills or a strong Vata imbalance, since it may aggravate Vata when used to excess.
• Pregnancy. Our sources advise caution during pregnancy. Avoid concentrated jasmine essential oil internally.

External use

Jasmine essential oil is concentrated. Dilute it in a carrier oil and test on a small patch of intact skin first.

Never apply jasmine paste or oil to open, weeping wounds, and never pour oil or paste into the ear canal. Stop and seek medical care if you notice increasing redness, swelling, pus or fever.

Know when it is not a home matter

Large, chemical or electrical burns need emergency care. Severe ear pain with fever, sudden hearing loss or discharge needs an ear specialist, not a flower compress.

Jasmine is a cooling flower, so the useful comparisons are with other cooling herbs it is often used beside.

Jasmine is one of the gentler plants in the Ayurvedic pharmacy, but its cooling, light and dry nature matters for some groups. Our sources give no separate doses for any of them.

Pregnancy and Nursing

Our sources advise caution with jasmine during pregnancy, and concentrated essential oil should not be taken internally. There is no specific guidance for breastfeeding, so check with your practitioner before using it.

Children

No child dose appears in our sources. Talk to a qualified practitioner before giving jasmine internally to a child, and keep essential oils out of reach.

Elderly

No specific guidance for older adults appears in our sources. Because jasmine can aggravate Vata in excess and should be avoided with severe chills, anyone who feels cold easily should use it sparingly.

People who run hot

A hot, irritable Pitta type is where jasmine fits best. Its cooling potency is the reason it is used in fever, sunstroke and heat in the blood.