7 Amazing Benefits Of Gardenia Essential Oil
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Do you want to use an essential oil whose essence comes from coffee? Then gardenia essential oil is what you should be looking for! Gardenia essential oil is the oil extracted from the gardenia flower, a cousin of your favorite morning pick-me-up coffee.
The oil comes with a number of health benefits as well. Would you like to know what they are? Keep reading!
What Is Gardenia Essential Oil?
Gardenia essential oil has a characteristic sweet smell that sees it feature as a prominent ingredient in perfumery and aromatherapy. Gardenia oil features in many lotions, perfumes, and candles (1). Its smell mirrors that of jasmine.
The oil extraction process does not involve steam distillation, as the flower is too delicate for that process. Many cultures used the intense process of ‘enfleurage’, which usually involves using odorless animal fats at room temperature to trap the essence of plant compounds (2). However, today, gardenia essential oil is mainly steam distilled as enfleurage is an intense process, and it needs more resources and time.
Gardenia Essential Oil Benefits
1. Anti-Inflammatory
Gardenia essential oil exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. It is an effective remedy for treating inflammatory disorders like arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and intestinal inflammation. Geniposide and genipin are two special chemicals in gardenia that promise anti-inflammatory actions (3).
The two special chemicals are strong anti-inflammatory agents and may even help treat the symptoms of jaundice, edema, fever, and hepatic disorders.
2. Sedative And Anti-Seizure
Gardenia essential oil has many health benefits and helps overcome seizures. It is an effective sedative as well. Studies conclude that gardenia oil exhibits sedative, anti-seizure and hypnotic activities in mice. The study also stresses that the effect is enhanced when you mix gardenia with jujube (Zizyphus zizyphus) seed oil (4).
3. Antibacterial
Gardenia essential oil is a strong bactericidal agent, which helps make it an effective remedy for treating bacterial infections like sepsis, tetanus, and others. The bactericidal activity also means that it can be used on a surface that you would like to smell good and stay germ-free. Just add a few drops of the essential oil to water to use it as a spray or sprinkle a few drops in a bucket of water. Gardenia also helps protect you from potentially dangerous bacterial infections caused by bacterium like salmonella and E. coli (5).
4. Antioxidant
Gardenia essential oil is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are chemicals that inhibit the formation of free-radicals and reduce oxidative stress. They can also help you reduce the risk of contracting cancer and purge damage-inducing toxins from the body. Antioxidants also play an important part in skin health and are responsible for reducing scarring and pigmentation (6).
5. Alleviate Mood
Gardenia essential oil has many uses in aromatherapy and improves your mood, reduces anxiety and induces relaxation. So, the next time you feel down or get into a rotten mood, add some gardenia essential oil to your bath, or massage your head with this oil. It not only helps warm your body up, but improves your mood as well.
6. Helps Treat Interstitial Cystitis
Gardenia can help alleviate interstitial cystitis. It helps reduce pelvic pain, and a study on 25 patients with interstitial cystitis concludes that 82% of the patients report a reduction in bladder and pelvic pain within 90 days of using gardenia essential oil. Thus, you can consider adding a few drops of gardenia essential oil to your herbal tea to supplement your interstitial cystitis treatment.
7. Aphrodisiac
Gardenia essential oil is a purported aphrodisiac. It increases your passion. So, if you are looking to spice up things in the bedroom, consider giving your partner a gardenia oil massage or add few drops of the oil to a bath.
So, we hope you consider adding this wonderful essential oil to your home remedy cabinet. It will help you overcome many minor and major afflictions. Tell us how you use gardenia essential oil. Our readers would love to hear your views. Leave a comment below.
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