Night Jasmine: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

Walk past a Night Jasmine tree at dawn and the ground beneath it is carpeted with fallen flowers. The fragrant white blossoms, each with a bright orange tube, open at night and drop by morning, which is why the tree is also called the Tree of Sorrow.

Its botanical name is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. In English it is also known as Night-flowering Jasmine or Coral Jasmine, in Hindi as Harsingar, and in Sanskrit as Parijata (Parijata, also called Shephalika). It is a small tree of 8 to 10 feet with rough leaves, and one of the most popular medicinal trees in Indian gardens.

In Ayurveda, Night Jasmine is above all a fever herb. The Bhavaprakash Nighantu describes its leaf decoction for malarial and other stubborn fevers, and for sciatica (Gridhrasi, nerve pain that runs down the leg). The flower tubes also yield a yellow dye used in religious ceremonies, and the flowers are used in perfumery.

Night Jasmine is bitter (Tikta) and astringent (Kashaya) in taste, light (Laghu) and dry (Ruksha) in quality, hot in potency (Ushna Virya), and pungent after digestion (Katu Vipaka, the taste-effect that remains after digestion). The Bhavaprakash Nighantu says it calms Vata and Kapha.

Fever

Its best-known action is as a fever-reducer (Jvarghna). The Bhavaprakash Nighantu credits the leaf decoction with remarkable fever-breaking properties and describes its use for chronic and malarial fevers. The leaves contain nyctanthin, which our sources note has anti-malarial and anti-parasitic properties.

Sciatica and Back Pain

The same text states that the leaf decoction is given in sciatica. As a Vata-calming herb with hot, penetrating qualities, it suits cold, stiff back pain, especially the heavy, morning-stiff type linked with Ama (undigested metabolic residue). See Night Jasmine for backache.

The leaves decoction is given in sciatica (gridhrasi).

Bhavaprakash Nighantu, Varga 4

Inflammation and Swelling

It is listed as anti-inflammatory (Shothahara). The Sharangadhara Samhita includes Night Jasmine, under the name Shephali, in a warm, thick paste for Vata-type abscess, alongside Moringa, castor, barley, wheat and rice. Read more under inflammation.

Intestinal Worms

Night Jasmine is classed as anthelmintic (Krimighna, worm-expelling), and our sources note that a leaf extract has shown effectiveness against intestinal worms. See parasites and worms.

Hair

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu (Varga 3) also lists it as hair-promoting (Keshya). Its bitter, drying action suits oily, dandruff-prone scalps rather than hot, inflamed ones. See Night Jasmine for hair loss.

The leaves are the main medicinal part, and the classical form is a decoction (Kwatha, a herb boiled in water and reduced). The leaves are intensely bitter, which is worth knowing before you start.

Our classical sources do not give a fixed internal dose, so let a practitioner set one. For condition-specific household methods, see our pages on backache and hair loss.

For a dry, depleted Vata picture, an unctuous vehicle (anupana, the food or liquid a herb is taken with) such as warm ghee softens its drying action. Where there is heaviness and Ama, plain warm water is the better pairing.

Night Jasmine is a widely used garden medicine, but it is a strong, bitter, hot herb, and a few cautions follow from that profile.

Bitterness and digestion

The leaves are intensely bitter. Start with a small amount and stop if it causes nausea or digestive upset.

Heat and dryness

Its hot potency and dry, light qualities suit cold, heavy Vata and Kapha conditions. They are a poor match for hot, burning, inflamed Pitta complaints, and can aggravate dry, depleted conditions if used for long without an unctuous vehicle.

Skin and scalp

Avoid applying leaf pastes to raw, broken or actively inflamed skin or scalp, where the bitter, hot leaf can sting.

Pregnancy, nursing and medication

Our sources advise against internal use during pregnancy and breastfeeding without practitioner guidance. Our backache guidance also flags possible mild blood-thinning activity, so use caution with anticoagulant medication and before surgery, and check with your doctor.

Night Jasmine is a clearing, drying herb, so the useful comparisons are with herbs that nourish or cool, and with other Vata back-pain herbs.

Our sources hold little population-specific data for Night Jasmine, so the guidance below errs on the side of caution.

Pregnancy & Nursing

Avoid internal use during pregnancy and breastfeeding without practitioner guidance. It is hot, drying and penetrating, while the safe direction in pregnancy is cooling and nourishing, and modern safety data is limited.

Children

Our sources give no children's dose. Do not give it to children without a practitioner's advice, and take any child's fever to a doctor.

Elderly

Older adults with dry, depleted back pain and thinning bones may find its drying action unhelpful. In that picture, nourishing herbs such as Bala or Ashwagandha are better leads. Check with a doctor if you take blood-thinning medication.

Athletes

Our sources say nothing about exercise or performance. Its role is in clearing heavy, stiff Vata pain, not in building strength.