Gardenia FACTS ABOUT GARDENIA

We have come across various plants that have multiple purposes. But many of them are known only as vegetables, fruits or flowers. Gardenia is a flowering plant with a strong fragrance. Apart from using them in decorative foliage and for religious offerings, its medicinal and therapeutic properties are lesser known. Hence let’s discuss about gardenia in detail.

DESCRIPTION

Gardenia is a shrub with greyish bark and dark green, shiny, evergreen leaves with prominent veins. The flowers have a matte texture, in contrast to the glossy leaves. The flowers have a tubular-base with 5-12 petals. They are either white or pale yellow. The flowers could be quite large, up to 10 cm in diametre. The plant flowers from mid-spring to mid-summer.

MEDICINAL USES

„Jaundice: Gardenia seeds are used to treat jaundice – a condition that brings about yellowing of the skin.

„Cholesterol: The gardenia bark contains beta-sitosterol which is used to help reduce cholesterol levels by limiting the amount of cholesterol entering the body.

„Antipyretic: The roots contain antipyretic (substance that reduces fever) properties thereby making it an effective remedy to cure fever.

„Abdominal disorders: Gardenia seeds are also used to treat abdominal related disorders.

„Analgesic: Gardenia is another of those herbal plants which could be used to relieve pain as these herbs act on the nervous system of the body.

„Anthelmintic: Anthelmintic herbs are used to destroy and expel parasitic worms in the body and gardenia is known to be one of them.

„Alterative: Herbs including gardenia are used to bring back the lost balance of the body. They nourish and tone the overall system.

HOME REMEDIES

„Jaundice: Grind gardenia seeds and consume one teaspoon of this powder with lukewarm water.

„Fever: Make a decoction using the gardenia bark and drink 10 ml thrice a day.

„Urinary problems: Add two grams of gardenia bark powder in a cup of warm water and drink twice a day. „Abdominal pain: Boil 10 grams

of gardenia bark in 500 ml of „Scientific name : „Family name : „Native countries : Gardenia jasminoides Rubiaceae

Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam

water. Drink 5 ml thrice a day. „Headache: Heat a few gardenia leaves and use them as poultice on forehead.

„Flu: Boil gardenia flowers, roots and leaves; strain and drink 30 ml of the decoction twice a day.

„Palpitation: Crush and boil 10 grams each of gardenia flowers and leaves in

100 ml of water and drink a cup of it when symptoms arise.