Description
Jasmine absolute is obtained by solvent extraction. Jasmine flowers are too delicate to be steam distilled so the divine scent is extracted with a solvent. It takes about 8000 hand-picked flowers to produce 1 ml of Jasmine absolute!
Native to the valleys of the Himalayas, the plant is grown mainly in India and Egypt today. Jasmine grandiflorum was imported into Europe by the Moorish and Spanish sailors in the 16th century.
Recent study results suggest that dropping off to sleep surrounded by the scent of jasmine appears to encourage restful sleep. Dr Bryan Raudenbush and colleagues at the Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia monitored participants’ sleep for three nights. Each night, the rooms were filled with the scent of jasmine or lavender, or no scent at all. However, the smell of the scents was so faint that some participants said they could smell nothing at all.
Results showed that people who slept in rooms scented with jasmine seemed to sleep more peacefully, and reported feeling less anxiety when they awoke. Furthermore, mental functioning tests revealed that the subjects completed the test more quickly and with a higher level of accuracy after spending the night surrounded by the sweet scent of jasmine. They also reported higher levels of afternoon-alertness, compared with when they had slept in an unscented or lavender-scented room. Lavender had similar effects although the benefits were not as noticeable as those seen with jasmine.
Caution: Avoid while pregnant. Not for internal use.
