Jasmine

In India, fresh flowers of Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac) are applied to the breasts as a lactifuge, to suppress milk production after childbirth ^{3,12Reference 3Shrivastav P et al et al. · 1988Clinical trialSuppression of puerperal lactation using jasmine flowers (Jasminum sambac) — [comparative clinical study]View study →Reference 12Acharya SR · 1987Acharya SR (1987). “Jasmine—the lactifuge” — [clinical report]. J Assoc Physicians India. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3429440/View study →}.

In a controlled study, students who inhaled an odour of their choice, such as rose, jasmine or lavender, during rhythmic handgrip exercise had a 24% smaller rise in diastolic blood pressure. The authors attributed the effect to the brain rather than to a lower brainstem reflex ^{10Reference 10Nagai M et al et al. · 2000Clinical trialPleasant odors attenuate the blood pressure increase during rhythmic handgrip in humans — [human study]View study →}.

The odour of jasmine tea at low intensity increased parasympathetic activity in volunteers, whether or not they liked the smell ^{5Reference 5Inoue N et al et al. · 2003Autonomic nervous responses according to preference for the odor of jasmine tea — [human autonomic study]View study →}. At the lowest detectable concentration it slowed heart rate and produced calm and vigorous mood states, and (R)-(−)-linalool, one of its main odour compounds, had a similar effect on heart rate ^{6Reference 6Kuroda K et al et al. · 2005Clinical trialSedative effects of the jasmine tea odor and (R)-(-)-linalool, one of its major odor components, on autonomic nerve activity and mood states — [human study]View study →}.

The direction of the effect varies. Aromatherapy massage with J. sambac oil in 40 volunteers increased breathing rate, blood pressure and subjective alertness compared with placebo ^{1Reference 1Hongratanaworakit T · 2010Stimulating effect of aromatherapy massage with jasmine oil — [human aromatherapy study]View study →}. In women inhaling a range of aroma oils, jasmine was among those that raised EEG alpha activity, a marker of relaxation ^{2Reference 2Choi NY et al et al. · 2022Clinical trialEffects of Olfactory Stimulation with Aroma Oils on Psychophysiological Responses of Female Adults — [human study]View study →}.

A 2024 single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in 56 children found that 15 minutes of jasmine aromatherapy reduced anxiety and pain perception during dental treatment ^{11Reference 11Jafarzadeh Samani M et al et al. · 2024RCTAnxiolytic Effect of Jasmine Aromatherapy in Pediatric Dental Procedures: A Single-Blinded Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial — [randomised placebo-controlled trial]View study →}.

Gap: every study is small and uses a different way of delivering the aroma and a different outcome. Jasmine can be arousing as readily as relaxing.

In a comparative study, fresh Arabian jasmine (J. sambac) flowers applied to the breasts suppressed milk production after childbirth as effectively as the dopamine-agonist drug bromocriptine on breast engorgement, milk production and painkiller use. Serum prolactin fell with both, though less with jasmine ^{3Reference 3Shrivastav P et al et al. · 1988Clinical trialSuppression of puerperal lactation using jasmine flowers (Jasminum sambac) — [comparative clinical study]View study →}.

A later randomised, double-blind crossover trial gave an aqueous-ethanolic jasmine flower extract as nasal drops to 35 women with raised prolactin from antipsychotic drugs. Ten of them had a drop of at least 25 ng/mL ^{4Reference 4Finny P et al et al. · 2015RCTJasmine flower extract lowers prolactin — [randomised controlled trial]View study →}. A report on jasmine as a lactifuge was published in India in 1987 ^{12Reference 12Acharya SR · 1987Acharya SR (1987). “Jasmine—the lactifuge” — [clinical report]. J Assoc Physicians India. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3429440/View study →}.

These results point to a prolactin-lowering substance in the flower, which has not been identified ^{4Reference 4Finny P et al et al. · 2015RCTJasmine flower extract lowers prolactin — [randomised controlled trial]View study →}.

Gap: the samples are small, and the two studies used different routes, one with J. sambac flowers and one with an extract whose species is not stated.

Ethanolic J. grandiflorum flower extract at 250 mg/kg increased wound epithelialisation and contraction in rats (65% compared with 54% in controls) and increased granulation tissue, collagen and fibroblasts ^{13Reference 13Nayak BS et al et al. · 2007AnimalInfluence of ethanolic extract of Jasminum grandflorum linn flower on wound healing activity in rats — [rat study (in vivo)]View study →}. A methanolic leaf-extract ointment accelerated healing through increased collagen synthesis and the antioxidant enzymes SOD, catalase and glutathione ^{14Reference 14Chaturvedi AP et al et al. · 2013AnimalEfficacy of Jasminum grandiflorum L. leaf extract on dermal wound healing in rats — [rat study]View study →}.

A leaf ointment from the related J. auriculatum reached 84% wound contraction by day 15 ^{15Reference 15Arun M et al et al. · 2016AnimalEvaluation of wound healing, antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacy of Jasminum auriculatum Vahl. leaves — [rat study]View study →}.

In one human study, a J. grandiflorum (“jati”) oral gel added to standard care reduced pain and lesion area in grade 2 radiation-induced oral mucositis ^{16Reference 16Anuja AR et al et al. · 2024Clinical trialJasminum grandiflorum oral gel as an add-on to standard of care in radiation induced grade 2 oral mucositis - an open label pilot clinical trial — [clinical trial]View study →}.

Gap: the healing data are almost entirely J. grandiflorum leaf or flower applied to rodents. None used J. officinale flower or the aromatic absolute.

An ethanolic J. officinale extract showed dose-dependent activity against both acute and chronic inflammation in mice ^{17Reference 17Atta AH et al et al. · 1998AnimalAnti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of some Jordanian medicinal plant extracts — [mouse study]View study →}.

In J. grandiflorum, a methanolic leaf extract cut nitric-oxide release from macrophages and carrageenan-induced paw oedema ^{18Reference 18Chaturvedi AP et al et al. · 2011AnimalMethanolic extract of leaves of Jasminum grandiflorum Linn modulates oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators — [rat study]View study →}. An aerial-parts extract at 400 mg/kg reduced colonic pro-inflammatory cytokines and matched the steroid prednisolone in colitis and arthritis models ^{19Reference 19El-Shiekh RA et al et al. · 2021AnimalAnti-inflammatory activity of Jasminum grandiflorum L. subsp. floribundum (Oleaceae) in inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis models — [rat study]View study →}.

Four new sesquiterpenoids isolated from J. officinale stems moderately inhibited LPS-induced nitric-oxide production in macrophages ^{20Reference 20Lu Y et al et al. · 2019In vitroFour new sesquiterpenoids with anti-inflammatory activity from the stems of Jasminum officinale — [in vitro]View study →}. A standardised J. sambac root extract showed anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity in rodents ^{21Reference 21Sengar N et al et al. · 2015Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-pyretic activities of standardized root extract of Jasminum sambac — [study]View study →}.

Gap: the strongest data use leaf, root or aerial-part extracts rather than the flower, and the J. officinale evidence is in vitro or a single mouse study. There is no human anti-inflammatory trial.

Several rodent studies suggest an antidepressant-like action. Jasmine tea reversed depressive-like behaviour in chronically stressed rats, partly through the gut–brain axis, restoring BDNF and gut-microbial diversity ^{22,23Reference 22Zhang Y et al et al. · 2021AnimalJasmine Tea Attenuates Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress-Induced Depressive-like Behavior in Rats via the Gut-Brain Axis — [rat model]View study →Reference 23Zhou J et al et al. · 2025AnimalJasmine tea extract prevents CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors through the modulation of microbiota-gut-brain axis — [rat model]View study →}. Inhaled J. sambac essential oil cut immobility in the forced-swim and tail-suspension tests while modulating hippocampal serotonin receptors and BDNF in mice ^{8Reference 8Ma Y et al et al. · 2025AnimalAntidepressant-like Effects of Five Essential Oils Inhaled in Reserpine-induced Depressed Mouse Models — [mouse model (in vivo)]View study →}.

The plant stress hormone methyl jasmonate, chemically related to jasmine’s cis-jasmone, reduced depressive-like behaviour in mice through monoaminergic pathways and by suppressing oxidative stress and TNF-α ^{7,24Reference 7Umukoro S et al et al. · 2018AnimalAntidepressant-like activity of methyl jasmonate involves modulation of monoaminergic pathways in mice — [mouse model]View study →Reference 24Adebesin A et al et al. · 2017AnimalMethyl jasmonate attenuated lipopolysaccharide-induced depressive-like behaviour in mice — [study]View study →}.

Gap: entirely preclinical, and spread across tea, essential oil and an isolated signalling molecule. There is no human antidepressant trial.

Many in vitro assays show that flowers, leaves and stems of various Jasminum species scavenge DPPH and other radicals in proportion to their phenolic content ^{25Reference 25Guo ZY et al et al. · 2014In vitroAntioxidant and anti-inflammatory caffeoyl phenylpropanoid and secoiridoid glycosides from Jasminum nervosum stems, a Chinese folk medicine — [in vitro]View study →}. A J. officinale flower enrichment gave the highest total-phenolic content and antiradical activity among several herbs in one distillate study ^{26Reference 26Andreou V et al et al. · 2018In vitroHerbal distillates: A new era of grape marc distillates with enriched antioxidant profile — [in vitro]View study →}.

The active molecules are ordinary plant phenolics and secoiridoid glycosides. No study has shown an antioxidant effect in people from drinking jasmine tea or inhaling the absolute.

Hydroalcoholic J. grandiflorum leaf extract produced significant pain relief, and anticonvulsant activity, in tail-flick and acetic-acid writhing tests at 50–200 mg/kg ^{27Reference 27Gupta RK et al et al. · 2013AnimalAntinociceptive and anticonvulsant activities of hydroalcoholic extract of Jasminum grandiflorum (jasmine) leaves in experimental animals — [rodent study (in vivo)]View study →}. The standardised J. sambac root extract reduced writhing by about half ^{21Reference 21Sengar N et al et al. · 2015Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-pyretic activities of standardized root extract of Jasminum sambac — [study]View study →}.

In a randomised trial in 156 women in labour, 15 minutes of aromatherapy with J. officinale did not significantly reduce pain compared with control. Sage aromatherapy did reduce pain at 30 minutes, and none of the groups differed at 60 minutes or in the babies’ Apgar scores ^{28Reference 28Kaviani M et al et al. · 2014Clinical trialComparison of the effect of aromatherapy with Jasminum officinale and Salvia officinale on pain severity and labor outcome in nulliparous women — [clinical trial]View study →}.

Gap: the only human study found no effect for jasmine, and the animal data use leaf and root extracts of other species.

Extracts of J. grandiflorum protected rat liver against carbon tetrachloride injury in a dose-dependent way ^{29Reference 29Sun L et al et al. · 2022AnimalExtract of Jasminum grandiflorum L. alleviates CCl₄-induced liver injury in rats — [rat study]View study →}, and new oligomeric secoiridoid glycosides from J. sambac flowers were liver-protective in mice at 12.5–25 mg/kg ^{30Reference 30Inoue N et al et al. · 2025AnimalOligomeric secoiridoid glycosides with hepatoprotective activity from the flowers of Jasminum sambac (L.) Aiton — [mouse study]View study →}.

Oleuropein, isolated from J. officinale var. grandiflorum, blocked hepatitis B surface-antigen secretion in liver cells (IC₅₀ about 23 µg/mL) and lowered viraemia in infected ducks ^{9Reference 9Zhao G et al et al. · 2009In vitroAntiviral efficacy against hepatitis B virus replication of oleuropein isolated from Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum — [in vitro and animal study]View study →}.

Gap: the liver findings rest largely on oleuropein, a secoiridoid shared with olive and privet, at injected or high oral doses in animals. There is no evidence that jasmine flower tea delivers a liver-protective dose.

Ethanolic J. grandiflorum flower extract (300 mg/kg) prevented chemically induced mammary tumours in rats during the initiation phase while improving antioxidant defences ^{31Reference 31Kolanjiappan K et al et al. · 2005AnimalChemopreventive efficacy and anti-lipid peroxidative potential of Jasminum grandiflorum Linn. on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced rat mammary carcinogenesis — [rat model (in vivo)]View study →}. J. sambac essential oil inhibited triple-negative (MDA-MB-231) breast-cancer cells more than hormone-responsive MCF-7 cells, with supporting rat tumour-model data ^{32Reference 32Lakshmi SG et al et al. · 2024In vitroNetwork pharmacology integrated with molecular docking reveals the anticancer mechanism of Jasminum sambac Linn. essential oil against human breast cancer and experimental validation by in vitro and in vivo studies — [in vitro and animal study]View study →}.

Most other reports are single cell-line cytotoxicity screens.

Gap: animal and cell-line data only, mostly from species other than J. officinale, and no human data.

Jasmine essential oil is bactericidal against E. coli in vitro, but only at high concentrations (MIC about 2–31 µL/mL) ^{33Reference 33Rath CC et al et al. · 2008In vitroAntibacterial potential assessment of jasmine essential oil against eView study →}. J. officinale essential oil modestly inhibited the mould Aspergillus parasiticus, by about 21% over 14 days ^{34Reference 34Císarová M et al et al. · 2016In vitroThe in vitro effect of selected essential oils on the growth and mycotoxin production of Aspergillus species — [in vitro]View study →}, and cold and hot water extracts of J. officinale gave variable, generally weak inhibition of common pathogens ^{35Reference 35Khan UA et al et al. · 2013In vitroAntibacterial activity of some medicinal plants against selected human pathogenic bacteria — [in vitro]View study →}.

The results come from concentrated oil and absolute, not from the dilute aroma of a scented tea.

Ordinary use. No serious systemic toxicity has been reported from scented teas, flavouring or diluted essential oil or absolute.

Skin. Like any essential oil, the absolute should be diluted and patch-tested before it touches the skin. It contains the fragrance allergens benzyl benzoate, benzyl alcohol and linalool, which can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive people.

Breastfeeding. Jasmine flowers applied to the breasts lower prolactin and suppressed milk after childbirth about as well as bromocriptine ^{3,4Reference 3Shrivastav P et al et al. · 1988Clinical trialSuppression of puerperal lactation using jasmine flowers (Jasminum sambac) — [comparative clinical study]View study →Reference 4Finny P et al et al. · 2015RCTJasmine flower extract lowers prolactin — [randomised controlled trial]View study →}. Breastfeeding women who want to keep their milk supply should avoid medicinal flower preparations.

Internal use. Drug interactions, toxicity when swallowed and standardised doses have not been studied, and no pharmacokinetic or CYP450 study of jasmine exists.

Plants called jasmine. Carolina or yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is a vine from the south-eastern United States whose alkaloids make every part of the plant highly poisonous. Symptoms include sweating, nausea, muscle weakness, convulsions and respiratory failure ^{40Reference 40North Carolina State ExtensionGelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jessamine) — plant profile and poison information — horticultural databaseView study →}. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is a fragrant vine of the dogbane family and not a true jasmine ^{41Reference 41North Carolina State ExtensionTrachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine) — plant profile — horticultural databaseView study →}. Check the genus before using any plant sold or foraged as jasmine.