Rose (Rosa Linnaeus)
DID YOU KNOW?
The earliest records on Roses are from Babylon, where, as early as 4000 B.C. they were mentioned as an ideal of beauty, as surviving cuneiform tablets attest. In the course of thousands of years of recorded history Roses have always had symbolic significance: in the ancient world they represented beauty, joviality, and splendour; in the early days of Christianity they were a symbol of pagan traditions, until finally Roses won Christians over and they became indispensable flowers in cloister garths.
Roses were already highly esteemed by Pliny the Elder, who valued them as a remedy for many ailments. Their petals were dried or crushed in a mortar and preserved in oil or wine to be used to treat dysentery and disorders of the uterus. Their pressed juices were used for diseases of the ear and mouth and as a throat rinse, while the stewed petals were used to treat gingivitis, a sore throat, or stomach troubles. Their pollen sacs served as a diuretic and as an anti-inflammatory agent in the case of toothaches, while a drink to relieve diarrhoea was cooked from the flower buds. At the end of the 13th century the Hungarian doctor and botanist Antal Veszelszki listed many uses for Roses in a like manner. He recommended crushing red Rose petals and preserving them in honey for a weak stomach or nausea and proposed dried petals cooked in wine to relieve diarrhoea.
The cosmetics industry uses the flowers and volatile oil of different Rose species. They are used as strengthening and tightening substances, while water extracts of their perfume essence and their volatile oil are used as strengthening and skin protecting substances. Packs and other cosmetic preparations made from Rose petals tone and regenerate dehydrated, sensitive, loose, seborrhea affected skin with large pores. Thanks to their active ingredients, cosmetics containing Roses have hydrating, slightly tightening, soothing, and antibacterial effects. Their volatile oil helps relaxation in aroma therapy and may also be used in massage oils.
Rose petals (Rosae flos, Rosae petalum)
- Volatile oil: 0,01-0,2 %
- Flavonol derivatives
- Anthocyanin pigments
Rose oil (Aetheroleum rosae)
- Volatile oil components: geraniol, citronellol, nerol, linalool, eugenol, farnesol, citronellal, stearoptenes