Marjoram and jasmine

Statema, B. C. P.

Plant

Marjoram and jasmine

Maggiorana; gelsomini

Known today as: Sweet marjoram, Origanum majorana; jasmine, Jasminum officinale.
Kind: Plant, in 2 older authorities
Constituents: terpinen-4-ol, cis-sabinene hydrate, benzyl acetate, and 1 more
Earliest authority here: Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
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

Revised October 1, 2026: Tradition, lore, modern assessment, and sources extended. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.

Marjoram and jasmine: what did Canale use it for?

Their oils for anointing, the jasmine “with crow’s gall” (ch. 9).

Marjoram and jasmine: what does modern science say?

Aromatic oils. Marjoram oil is antimicrobial in the dish; jasmine absolute is among the dearest materials of perfumery, since the flowers must be picked by hand at night.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

terpinen-4-ol ChEMBLin the marjoram oil
cis-sabinene hydrate ChEMBL
benzyl acetate ChEMBLin the jasmine absolute
indole and methyl jasmonatethe jasmine note

Mechanism

Marjoram oil is carminative and antimicrobial by its terpenes; jasmine is a perfume whose inhalation raised alertness in one small trial. Rubbed on, both are counter-irritants in an oil base and no more.

Toxic dose

Safe at perfumery doses; jasmine absolute sensitises.

Standing

Marjoram has a traditional-use listing in France; jasmine is a perfumery material.

Hongratanaworakit, T. (2010). “Stimulating effect of aromatherapy massage with jasmine oil.” Natural Product Communications 5. Verified against its record · doi:10.1177/1934578x1000500136

The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.

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.

Marjoram and jasmine: what lore surrounds it?

Marjoram was the herb of Aphrodite, who first made it grow, and was put into bridal garlands; the jasmine came from Persia and India through the Arabs, and the scented oil of jasmine, oleum iasmini, was sold by the Venetian perfumers.

Marjoram and jasmine: what did the older authorities say?

Dioscorides: Gives sampsychon, marjoram, warming and drying, for the head and the nerves, and its oil for the sinews.
The Arab physicians: Brought jasmine, yāsmīn, into pharmacy, its flowers steeped in oil of sesame or almonds, warming, for cold pains and the paralysed.

Sources

Dioscorides, De materia medica III. Read in part · the text read
Pomet, P. (1694). Histoire générale des drogues. Book, seen in reviews

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

3 cited: 1 read in part, 1 verified against its record, 1 book, seen in reviews. 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 · last revised October 1, 2026

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

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