Rose

Rose is a cornerstone of Persian and Unani (Greco-Arabic) practice. Damask rose (gul) is distilled into rose water and cooked with sugar into gulqand, a rose-petal preserve taken as a gentle laxative and a cooling tonic for the heart and gut.

In this system rose is classed as cooling and mildly astringent. It is used to “strengthen the heart”, lift low spirits, calm agitation and settle the stomach. Rose water is also a long-standing eye-wash and skin remedy.

European herbal tradition kept the apothecary rose (Rosa gallica) as a tonic and mild astringent. The dried petals were used for sore throats, bowel complaints and excess mucous discharge, and as an eye wash ^{26Reference 26LewisH., Ertter, B., & Bruneau, AView study →}. The fragrance was used for grief and nervous tension.

The autumn hips were gathered as a vitamin-C-rich food.

Ayurveda uses rose (gulab) as a cooling herb that settles pitta, for the heart and for the mood. The petals are taken as gulkand, a petal conserve, and rose water is added to drinks.

A 2021 systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials pooled 32 publications. R. damascena significantly reduced state anxiety (24 effect sizes, standardised mean difference −1.74) and stress (4 effect sizes, SMD −1.33). It had no significant effect on trait anxiety, the long-standing, dispositional form ^{2Reference 2Rasooli et al. · 2021Meta-analysisRosa Damascena Mill for treating adults’ anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

The effect did not rise with total dose or duration ^{2Reference 2Rasooli et al. · 2021Meta-analysisRosa Damascena Mill for treating adults’ anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

Two labour trials report lower anxiety in the first stage of labour with inhaled damask rose. One randomised 110 first-time mothers to rose essence or saline ^{11Reference 11Effects of aromatherapy with Rosa damasc et al. · 2018RCThttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29526235/View study →}, and the other analysed 76 women across rose, saline-placebo and usual-care groups ^{10Reference 10Effects of Rosa damascena on labor pain et al. · 2025RCThttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39212535/View study →}.

A systematic review of animal studies and clinical trials reached the same conclusion across anxiety, sleep and depression ^{7Reference 7Evidence for Rosa damascena efficacy in et al. · 2022Systematic reviewPhytotherapy Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35653142/View study →}.

Gap: the effect is on short-term state anxiety, not trait anxiety. Almost every trial used inhaled essential oil rather than petal tea, most trials were of fair quality, and GRADE certainty ranged from very low to moderate ^{2Reference 2Rasooli et al. · 2021Meta-analysisRosa Damascena Mill for treating adults’ anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

A 2021 systematic review of 10 randomised controlled trials found that inhaled R. damascena improved sleep quality, with a pooled standardised mean difference of 2.24 across seven effect sizes ^{3Reference 3Ghorbani Rami et al. · 2021Meta-analysisEffect of Rosa damascena on improvement of adults’ sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}. Oral intake also improved some sleep outcomes in the trials reviewed ^{3Reference 3Ghorbani Rami et al. · 2021Meta-analysisEffect of Rosa damascena on improvement of adults’ sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

Two of the trials recorded adverse effects: headache, nausea, vomiting and frequent sneezing ^{3Reference 3Ghorbani Rami et al. · 2021Meta-analysisEffect of Rosa damascena on improvement of adults’ sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

A systematic review of mental-health trials noted the same direction of effect, and lists reduced sympathetic nervous activity among the proposed mechanisms ^{7Reference 7Evidence for Rosa damascena efficacy in et al. · 2022Systematic reviewPhytotherapy Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35653142/View study →}.

The pooled estimate rests on fair-quality trials of inhaled oil, and no trial has tested the petal infusion.

A 2021 meta-analysis of 16 randomised controlled trials found that aromatherapy with damask rose reduced acute pain severity (weighted mean difference −2.12). Both inhalation (−2.39) and aromatherapy massage (−1.16) were effective, and the quality of evidence was low ^{4Reference 4Nasiri et al. · 2021Meta-analysisEffect of aromatherapy with Damask rose on alleviating adults’ acute pain severity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

A second meta-analysis of 11 trials looked at rose taken by mouth or applied to the skin. Oral intake reduced pain, but not significantly (SMD −0.55), and topical application had no effect ^{5Reference 5Effects of topical application et al. · 2022Meta-analysishttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36188887/View study →}.

The two labour trials above report lower pain alongside lower anxiety ^{10,11Reference 10Effects of Rosa damascena on labor pain et al. · 2025RCThttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39212535/View study →Reference 11Effects of aromatherapy with Rosa damasc et al. · 2018RCThttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29526235/View study →}.

The pooled trials span very different pain types, including labour, burns, surgery and needle procedures, and the positive result is tied to the inhaled or massaged oil.

This indication belongs to a different part of the plant: the hip of the dog rose (R. canina), taken as a standardised powder. A 2008 meta-analysis of three randomised controlled trials (287 patients, median duration three months) found that rosehip powder reduced osteoarthritis pain versus placebo (effect size 0.37, number needed to treat six) ^{12Reference 12Christensen et al. · 2008Meta-analysisDoes the hip powder of Rosa canina (rosehip) reduce pain in osteoarthritis patients? A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

All three trials were supported by the manufacturer ^{12Reference 12Christensen et al. · 2008Meta-analysisDoes the hip powder of Rosa canina (rosehip) reduce pain in osteoarthritis patients? A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

In the crossover trial, 112 patients took Hyben Vital 5 g/day or placebo for three months and then switched. The group given placebo first improved significantly more on the powder. In the group given the powder first, both periods looked similar, which the authors read as a carry-over effect. Over the first three months, 66% responded on the powder against 36% on placebo ^{13Reference 13Rein et al. · 2004RCTA herbal remedy, Hyben Vital (standardised powder of a subspecies of Rosa canina fruits), reduces pain and improves general wellbeing in patients with osteoarthritis — double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trialView study →}.

Reviews attribute the effect to antioxidant activity, NF-κB inhibition, lower pro-inflammatory cytokines and lower C-reactive protein. The galactolipid GOPO, isolated from hip seeds and fruit, is singled out as an anti-inflammatory constituent ^{14,15Reference 14Rosa canina — rose hip pharmacological i et al. · 2019Systematic reviewPhytomedicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31138475/View study →Reference 15Anti-inflammatory et al. · 2021Reviewhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34348637/View study →}.

Gap: the evidence is for a standardised R. canina hip powder, not rose petals or rose tea. The trials were small and manufacturer-funded, and the effect size is modest.

The 2021 dose-response meta-analysis that pooled the anxiety data also found lower depression scores (SMD −0.87 across seven effect sizes) ^{2Reference 2Rasooli et al. · 2021Meta-analysisRosa Damascena Mill for treating adults’ anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}.

A 2025 triple-blind RCT gave 82 menopausal women 500 mg of oral R. damascena extract or placebo twice daily for eight weeks. Depression, anxiety and stress scores fell significantly on the extract ^{6Reference 6Effect of oral capsules of Rosa damascen et al. · 2025RCTMaturitas. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40628163/View study →}.

In a double-blind trial in 40 people with dementia, R. damascena capsules added to donepezil improved cognition, depression and behaviour over three months compared with placebo ^{8Reference 8Novel effects of Rosa damascena extract et al. · 2018Clinical trialInternational Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30050668/View study →}.

In a rat model of chronic stress, rose essential oil reduced depressive-like behaviour, raised serotonin (5-HT) and acted on the serotonergic synapse pathway. Docking pointed to citronellol, geraniol and farnesol as the likely active compounds ^{9Reference 9Deciphering the antidepressant effects o · 2024AnimalDeciphering the antidepressant effects of Rosa damascena essential oil mediated through the serotonergic synapse signalling pathway (2024) — rat model. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38492791/View study →}.

The depression pooling rests on far fewer effect sizes than the anxiety data, and the serotonergic mechanism has been shown only in animals.

Methanolic and ethyl-acetate fractions of R. damascena petals were active in free-radical scavenging assays ^{16Reference 16Promising effects of Rosa damascena peta et al. · 2021In vitroPromising effects of Rosa damascena petal extracts as antioxidant and antibacterial agents (2021) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34247996/View study →}. An industrial flower extract and its phenolic-enriched fraction were also active, with the enriched fraction stronger ^{17Reference 17Phytochemical profile et al. · 2023In vitroPhytochemical profile, antioxidant potential, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity of dry extract from Rosa damascena (2023) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38005389/View study →}.

In rats with chemically induced liver fibrosis, a flavonol-rich fraction standardised for quercetin and kaempferol lowered fibrosis markers (TGF-β1, PDGF and collagen cross-linking), lowered malondialdehyde and raised catalase ^{18Reference 18Evaluation of the flavonol-rich fraction · 2023AnimalEvaluation of the flavonol-rich fraction of Rosa damascena in an animal model of liver fibrosis (2023) — rat model. Life Sciences. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37797686/View study →}.

No human study has measured an antioxidant endpoint after taking rose. The data are laboratory fractions plus a single animal liver study.

Rose relaxes airway smooth muscle in isolated tissue. In guinea-pig tracheal chains, both an ethanolic extract and the essential oil relaxed pre-contracted tissue in a concentration-dependent way, comparably to theophylline ^{19Reference 19Boskabady et al. · 2006Relaxant effects of Rosa damascena on guinea-pig tracheal chains and its possible mechanism(s) — animal studyView study →}. In rat trachea, the oil’s relaxing effect was blocked by inhibitors of voltage-gated (Kᵥ), ATP-sensitive (K_ATP) and calcium-activated (BK_Ca) potassium channels ^{20Reference 20Rosa damascena Miller essential oil rela et al. · 2022AnimalRosa damascena Miller essential oil relaxes rat trachea via Kᵥ, K_ATP and BK_Ca channels (2022) — animal study. Prostaglandins & Other Lipid Mediators. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36115499/View study →}.

The same research group found that ethanolic and aqueous extracts reduced citric-acid-induced coughing in guinea pigs ^{1Reference 1Boskabady et al. · 2011ReviewPharmacological effects of Rosa damascena — reviewView study →}.

All of this is animal work with the oil or extracts. No human respiratory trial has been done.

Rose essential oil relaxed pre-contracted rat aorta. The effect was partly dependent on the vessel lining (endothelium) and was reduced by blocking nitric-oxide synthase and soluble guanylate cyclase, the NO-cGMP pathway ^{21Reference 21Demirel · 2022AnimalRosa damascena Miller essential oil relaxes rat thoracic aorta through the NO-cGMP-dependent pathway — animal studyView study →}.

2-Phenylethanol, isolated from the water left after rose oil is distilled, relaxed both the rat aorta and the smaller mesenteric arteries. It worked without the endothelium, mainly through calcium-activated (BK_Ca) potassium channels ^{22Reference 22Singh MK et al. · 2023Vasorelaxant property of 2-phenyl ethyl alcohol isolated from the spent floral distillate of damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) and its possible mechanism — animal studyView study →}.

This is animal-tissue and isolated-compound work only. No human study has measured blood pressure or any cardiovascular outcome after rose.

R. damascena petal fractions were most active against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were the most resistant ^{16Reference 16Promising effects of Rosa damascena peta et al. · 2021In vitroPromising effects of Rosa damascena petal extracts as antioxidant and antibacterial agents (2021) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34247996/View study →}. A dry flower extract was active against Cutibacterium (Propionibacterium) acnes, S. aureus and S. epidermidis, but not against Candida albicans ^{17Reference 17Phytochemical profile et al. · 2023In vitroPhytochemical profile, antioxidant potential, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity of dry extract from Rosa damascena (2023) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38005389/View study →}.

An extract of dog-rose petals sharply lowered the concentration of β-lactam antibiotics needed to inhibit methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The ellagitannin tellimagrandin I was the main active compound, acting synergistically with oxacillin, and it also lowered the tetracycline dose needed against some strains ^{23Reference 23Shiota et al. · 2000In vitroRestoration of effectiveness of beta-lactams on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by tellimagrandin I from rose red — in vitroView study →}.

All of the antibacterial data are from laboratory cultures. There is no clinical infection study.

Food use. Rose petals, rose water and hips are widely eaten, with no significant toxicity reported at culinary amounts. In the laboratory, rose extracts showed low toxicity to human skin cells, with toxicity to liver-cancer cells only above 350–500 µg/mL ^{17Reference 17Phytochemical profile et al. · 2023In vitroPhytochemical profile, antioxidant potential, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity of dry extract from Rosa damascena (2023) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38005389/View study →}. Petal fractions caused no damage to human red blood cells ^{16Reference 16Promising effects of Rosa damascena peta et al. · 2021In vitroPromising effects of Rosa damascena petal extracts as antioxidant and antibacterial agents (2021) — in vitro. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34247996/View study →}.

Sourcing. Ornamental roses are often treated with pesticides, so use only unsprayed, food-grade material. Smoking any plant material carries respiratory risk.

Essential oil. Inhaled rose oil is generally well tolerated. Two of the sleep trials recorded mild side effects: headache, nausea, vomiting and sneezing ^{3Reference 3Ghorbani Rami et al. · 2021Meta-analysisEffect of Rosa damascena on improvement of adults’ sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trialsView study →}. Concentrated essential oil should not be taken internally except under professional guidance.

Interactions. No drug-interaction study of rose has been done. The oil relaxes blood vessels in animal tissue, so an added effect with blood-pressure medicines is possible in theory ^{21,22Reference 21Demirel · 2022AnimalRosa damascena Miller essential oil relaxes rat thoracic aorta through the NO-cGMP-dependent pathway — animal studyView study →Reference 22Singh MK et al. · 2023Vasorelaxant property of 2-phenyl ethyl alcohol isolated from the spent floral distillate of damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) and its possible mechanism — animal studyView study →}.