Laurel

Statema, B. C. P.

Plant

Laurel

Lauro

Known today as: Bay laurel, Laurus nobilis: oil, leaves, and berries.
Kind: Plant, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: 1,8-cineole, eugenol and methyleugenol, costunolide, and 1 more
Earliest authority here: Ovid (43 BC–AD 17/18)
In other databases: Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
In the Canale glossary: On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapter 9: Anointings

Laurel: what did Canale use it for?

Laurel oil for anointing; leaves and berries in the oil for the bewitched; among the amulets (chs. 9–10).

Laurel: what does modern science say?

Aromatic; the oil of the berries is rubbed on for rheumatism and sprains.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

1,8-cineole ChEMBL40–50 per cent of the leaf oil
eugenol and methyleugenol
costunolide ChEMBLa sesquiterpene lactone, a contact allergen
lauric acid ChEMBLin the berry fat

Mechanism

The bay of the kitchen, Laurus nobilis, not the cyanide-bearing cherry laurel: its oil is antimicrobial and carminative, the berry oil is a rubefacient in liniments, and the lactones sensitise the skin. Pythia’s laurel chewing does not intoxicate; the leaf is not psychoactive at any dose.

Toxic dose

The leaf is safe as food; the oil and the lactones cause contact dermatitis.

Standing

A spice; the berry oil (oleum lauri) is in European folk liniments; no monograph.

Hausen, B. M., and Vieluf, I. K. (1997). Allergiepflanzen, 2nd ed., “Laurus nobilis.” Verified against its record · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-49340-9_25
Fiorini, C., et al. (1997). “Composition of the flower, leaf and stem essential oils from Laurus nobilis L.” Flavour and Fragrance Journal 12. Verified against its record · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1026(199703)12:2<91::aid-ffj623>3.0.co;2-3

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

Laurel: what lore surrounds it?

Suetonius records that the emperor Tiberius, otherwise dismissive of religion, was so afraid of thunder that he wore a laurel wreath in stormy weather, because laurel was said never to be struck by lightning.

Laurel: what did the older authorities say?

Ovid: Daphne, fleeing Apollo, becomes the laurel, which the god makes his own tree.
Delphi: Laurel was the plant of Apollo’s oracle, and of the victors’ crowns at the Pythian games.

Sources

[7] Awada, F., Hamade, K., Kassir, M., Hammoud, Z., Mesnard, F., Rammal, H., & Fliniaux, O. (2023). Laurus nobilis leaves and fruits: a review of metabolite composition and interest in human health. Applied Sciences 13(7): 4606. doi:10.3390/app13074606 Verified against its record · doi:10.3390/app13074606

Suetonius, Life of Tiberius 69. Verified against its record · doi:10.1093/oseo/instance.00233084

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database

Sources

4 cited: 4 verified against its record. 1 with the abstract on file.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026

Chicago: “Laurel.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/laurel.
MLA: “Laurel.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/laurel. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Laurel. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/laurel

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