What is Gardenia

What is Gardenia?

Botanical Identity

Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, also known as Fructus Gardeniae and Cape jasmine, the genus of Gardenia, is an evergreen flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family, with a Chinese name of Zhi Zi (栀子). Zhi is a type of drinking vessel used in ancient China. It is shaped like Zhi, and thus this name was obtained. Gardenia jasminoides is a shrub with shiny, dark green leaves and grayish bark, growing up to 6 feet in height and 6 feet in width.

The flowers of this shrub are waxy, white, and heavily fragrant, blooming in spring and summer, and can be either single or double, up to 4 inches in diameter. It is growing wild in warm temperate and subtropical climates, particularly found in most Asian continents like Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar and India; it also can be cultivated in garden and grown as a houseplant. The plant has been cultivated in China for over a thousand years and has been introduced to English gardens in the mid-18th century.

Flowering Plant

Ripening Fruit

Dry fruit of G.Jasminoides

Traditional Medicine and Pharmaceutical

Gardenia jasminoides is an ancient herbal medicine listed in Shen Nong's Herbal, the earliest pharmacological book in China for its medicinal properties and is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is classified as a "Middle grade" drug and is recorded in the Chinese pharmacopoeia with various effects, such as eliminating vexation, reducing fever, and cooling blood. In addition to its use in traditional Chinese medicine, G. jasminoides has been widely used in folk medicine in Japan and Korea for hundreds of years to treat fever, gastrointestinal issues, and inflammation. The herb has also been processed in China according to the record in the Treatise on Febrile Diseases and it is considered a medicine food homology by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China.

The dried fruits of gardenia have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat various health problems, which have properties that can suppress evil fire, relieve internal heat, and cool the blood, making it a useful treatment for inflammation, headache, edema, fever, hepatic disorders, and hypertension. It is also effective in stopping hemorrhages and treating nosebleeds, blood in the urine, and hematemesis.

Traditional Medicine and Pharmaceutical

Gardenia jasminoides is an ancient herbal medicine listed in Shen Nong's Herbal, the earliest pharmacological book in China for its medicinal properties and is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is classified as a "Middle grade" drug and is recorded in the Chinese pharmacopoeia with various effects, such as eliminating vexation, reducing fever, and cooling blood. In addition to its use in traditional Chinese medicine, G. jasminoides has been widely used in folk medicine in Japan and Korea for hundreds of years to treat fever, gastrointestinal issues, and inflammation. The herb has also been processed in China according to the record in the Treatise on Febrile Diseases and it is considered a medicine food homology by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China.

The dried fruits of gardenia have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat various health problems, which have properties that can suppress evil fire, relieve internal heat, and cool the blood, making it a useful treatment for inflammation, headache, edema, fever, hepatic disorders, and hypertension. It is also effective in stopping hemorrhages and treating nosebleeds, blood in the urine, and hematemesis.

Pharmacological Activities

Gardenia jasminoides has various biological activities and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Its extracts and active phytoconstituents have been found to have therapeutic and protective effects.