Jasmine

Chinese Name: Mo li hua
Medical Name:
Latin Name: Jasminum sambac
Origin:
Taste: Sweet

Quotes from Chinese historical sources

THE MATERIA MEDICA COMPARED WITH SOME PRIMARY SOURCES: "Jasmine flower was not used in the ancient remedies, but in modern times has been used to treat dysentery. Its pleasant fragrance can drive out stale old smells."

CORRECT MEANING OF THE MATERIA MEDICA: "The pleasant fragrance of jasmine is now taken with tea. Its effects are similar to those of rose and of the flowers of bitter orange."

Western Research

Phytother Res 2002 Jun;16(4):364-7
Peroxynitrite scavenging activity of herb extracts.
Choi HR, Choi JS, Han YN, Bae SJ, Chung HY.
College of Pharmacy, Pusan National University, Pusan 609-735, Korea.
Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) is a cytotoxicant and can cause cell death, lipid peroxidation, carcinogenesis and aging. The aim of this study was to characterize ONOO(-) scavenging constituents from herbs. The potency of scavenging activity following the addition of authentic ONOO(-) was in the following order: witch hazel bark > rosemary > jasmine tea > sage > slippery elm > black walnut leaf > Queen Anne's lace > Linden flower. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2005 Oct;95(2-3):107-14
Sedative effects of the jasmine tea odor and (R)-(-)-linalool, one of its major odor components, on autonomic nerve activity and mood states.
Kuroda K, Inoue N, Ito Y, Kubota K, Sugimoto A, Kakuda T, Fushiki T.
Laboratory of Nutrition Chemistry, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Japan.
We investigated the effects of the odor of jasmine tea on autonomic nerve activity and mood states in a total of 24 healthy volunteers. We used the odor of jasmine tea at the lowest concentration that could be detected by each subject but that did not elicit any psychological effects. R-R intervals and the POMS test were measured before and after inhalation of the odors for 5 min. Both jasmine tea and lavender odors at perceived similar intensity caused significant decreases in heart rate and significant increases in spectral integrated values at high-frequency component in comparison with the control (P < 0.05). In the POMS tests, these odors produced calm and vigorous mood states. We also examined the effects of (R)-(-)-linalool, one of its major odor components, at the same concentration as in the tea, and (S)-(+)-linalool. Only (R)-(-)-linalool elicited a significant decrease in heart rate (P < 0.05) and an increase in high-frequency component in comparison with the controls, and produced calm and vigorous mood states. Thus, the low intensity of jasmine tea odor has sedative effects on both autonomic nerve activity and mood states, and (R)-(-)-linalool, one of its components, can mimic these effects.