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Activities:
Antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and anxiolytic
Important Chemical Components:
Geraniol, which exhibits potent antiseptic activity (seven times that of phenol), and citronellol are the main constituents1,2.
Phenyl ethyl alcohol, nerol, linalool, eugenol, quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, β-carotene, tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, farnesol, stearpoten, and phenolic acids are also key active ingredients.
Origin Classification:
This ingredient is considered natural. As an ingredient used for dermatologic purposes, it is laboratory made.
Personal Care Category:
Antioxidant
Recommended for the following Baumann Skin Types:
DRNW, DRPW, DSNW, DSPW, ORNW, ORPW, OSNW, and OSPW
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Known as the Damask Rose and Rose of Castile (and Gole Mohammadi in Iran), Rosa damascena, a member of the Rosaceae family, is a rose hybrid the flowers of which have been used for rose oil in perfume and for rosewater.3 The petals are rich sources of vitamin C and flavonoids and water extracts of the flower are important components of the ancient herbal remedy “Safi” (cleansing agent), used safely for centuries in Unani medicine (practiced in South Asia and founded on traditional Graeco-Arabic medicine) in Pakistan.4 Indeed, various medicinal properties have been associated with this species. R. damascena is an important ingredient in the food and cosmetics industries in addition to traditional medicine.
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Originally found in the Middle East (the name “Damask Rose” is based on Damascus, Syria), R. damascena was introduced to Europe during the Crusades.5 It is no longer found in the wild, but is cultivated for rose oil in several countries, primarily Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Morocco, Iran, and India.6 Rosewater has been used for centuries in religious rites and for physical, emotional, and spiritual purposes or healing. Thriving rosewater industries are found in Bulgaria, France, and Iran.3,7 The first use of rosewater has been attributed to the Persian doctor Avicenna (an anglicized version of Ibn Sina) in the early 11th century.8 The use of R. damascena in Unani medicine, particularly as an anti-inflammatory agent, has a long history and includes gastrointestinal and cardiovascular indications.3,9 R. damascena is also used for culinary purposes in several global cuisines. The climatic conditions of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand have been found to be especially conducive to the production of rose oil meeting international standards.10
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Some of the earliest work to indicate the potential health and dermatologic benefits of R. damascena dates to the late 1970s. Murphy and Hamilton isolated a strain of cultured cells of the plant that displayed strong resistance to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (254 nm) and generated a greater amount of polyphenols (primarily flavonoids) during the latter stages of culture growth. They found that this UV resistance was associated with increased polyphenolic production.11 Flavonoids are the most prevalent and frequently studied polyphenols, which are the most abundant ...