Damask Rose

Rosa damascena

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Anxiety and stress^{1, 2} Sleep quality^2–4 Acute pain⁵ Labor pain and anxiety⁶ Latent-phase labor pain⁶ Functional constipation⁷ Antidepressant sexual dysfunction⁸ Oral and throat inflammation⁹	Rose hypersensitivity⁹ Pregnancy or lactation¹⁰

Damask rose (Rosa damascena) is a rose species whose essential oil and extracts are used in foods and nutraceuticals¹¹. Its calming effect, attributed in part to reduced sympathetic nervous system activity, underlies the mood and sleep uses¹². People take it for anxiety and stress, sleep quality, and acute pain including labor pain. It is also used for constipation, antidepressant-related sexual dysfunction, and traditionally as a rinse for mild oral inflammation⁹.

Pooled randomized trials found reduced state anxiety, depression, and stress, but not trait anxiety, with evidence quality from very low to moderate¹. Inhalation aromatherapy improved sleep quality in a meta-analysis³. A 2025 narrative review in coronary artery disease listed damask rose among plants used for stress relief, a literature summary rather than a trial¹³. Products include liquid botanicals; see Form comparison.

The European Medicines Agency monograph, which covers traditional use only, does not recommend use in pregnancy or lactation because safety data are lacking⁹. Six of nine supplement labels ask for a physician's advice before use in pregnancy or nursing¹⁰.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

49 sources, 40 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources