Jatamansi (spikenard)
Nardostachys jatamansi
Photo credit: Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911)
Safety information
Safety information
Toxicity: Low at studied doses; sedating.
Contraindications: With sedatives/CNS depressants; pregnancy (insufficient data — caution); hypotension.
Interactions: Sedatives, anxiolytics, antihypertensives, antiarrhythmics — additive.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Pregnancy: insufficient data — caution.
Evidence level
Supported by clinical trials in humans.
Preparations
decoction · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
medicated oil · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
powder · rhizome and root
Part used: rhizome and root
pill · rhizome and root
Part used: rhizome and root
aromatic oil (external head-massage oil in Ayurveda) · rhizome and root
Part used: rhizome and root
powder · rhizome/root
Part used: rhizome/root
Traditional use: insomnia, anxiety, memory, epilepsy, hair/scalp tonic
Proposed mechanism: sesquiterpenes (jatamansone/valeranone, nardosinone), coumarins — sedative, anxiolytic, neuroprotective, lipid/BP-modulating
decoction · rhizome and root
Part used: rhizome and root
Traditional use: calming wind/rLung-settling; nervous unrest, insomnia, palpitations, headache; cardiac/nervine tonic
Proposed mechanism: sesquiterpenes/ketones (jatamansone/valeranone, nardostachone, spirojatamol, nardosinone), coumarins — GABAergic/CNS-calming, antioxidant neuroprotective
Associated conditions
Nutritional notes
Not a food source.
Healing traditions
Sources (4)
- Iqbal et al. 2026, Front Pharmacol (PMID 41601970)
- Shah 2025, Biotechnol Rep (PMID 40027104)
- Sharma 2015, Ayu (PMID 26730138)
- Chavan Bhagwan et al. 2024, J Ayurveda Integr Med (PMID 38552438)