Rose flowers: uses, health claims and risks, and what research shows

The rose (genus Rosa) is one of the best-known flowers in Bangladesh and around the world. A review by Hsiuying Wang of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, published in the journal Heliyon in December 2023, notes that the fruit, flowers, leaves and bark of the rose can be used to make cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals and other products. Many home remedies that claim roses cure a long list of diseases, however, have no reliable evidence behind them. This report checks which uses are established, what the research does and does not show, and where caution is needed, against health authorities and published research.

According to the Heliyon review, the genus Rosa has more than 100 species. Roses are used above all as cut flowers, at social and religious occasions and to decorate gardens, pots, lawns and verandas. In Bangladesh a major centre of commercial rose growing is Birulia Union in Savar, near Dhaka, known as Golap Gram, the village of roses. In February 2023 Savar Upazila Agriculture Officer Naziat Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that roses of different varieties were grown on 280 hectares in several villages of Birulia.

In perfumery, rose oil, or attar of roses, is made by steam distilling the petals. Its main source is the Damask rose (Rosa × damascena), which is also used to make rose water, and the oil's main fragrant compounds are geraniol and citronellol. Roses are eaten too: gulkand, a sweet preserve of rose petals, is common in the Indian subcontinent and is traditionally made with Damask roses, and dried petals are brewed as rose tea.

The Heliyon review lists possible benefits of rose for inflammation, diabetes, period pain (dysmenorrhoea), depression, stress, seizures and ageing. The evidence is not all of one kind. For diabetes and inflammation it comes mainly from laboratory and animal studies. In some controlled trials in people, inhaling rose oil reduced period pain, and the effect of rose on anxiety and sleep was tested in heart patients in hospital. The review also describes rose water as used in skin care and reports antibacterial effects against various microbes.

On aromatherapy, the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says it is not known whether it helps with insomnia, because little rigorous research has been done. The scent of roses may be pleasant, but there is no evidence to treat it as a cure.

Rose hips, the fruit of the rose, are nutritious. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) FoodData Central lists 426 milligrams of vitamin C and 24.1 grams of dietary fibre per 100 grams of wild rose hips. The Heliyon review notes that hips of the dog rose (Rosa canina) are high in vitamin C, quercetin and ellagic acid.

Claims that roses cure tuberculosis, leprosy, liver disease, piles, cataract or eye disease found no support in the health authorities and research reviews checked for this report. Do not take home rose preparations for these illnesses without a doctor's advice, and never put rose extract or any home mixture in the eyes.

Rose oil is not safe on every skin. The Heliyon review cites a case of allergic contact dermatitis caused by rosa mosqueta oil and advises care about allergic reactions when using such plant oils. The UK National Health Service (NHS) says allergic contact dermatitis can be triggered by substances in products such as cosmetics. The skin becomes itchy, blistered, dry and cracked, usually within a few hours or days of contact, and it usually clears once the substance is identified and avoided.

Thorns are another risk in the rose garden. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the fungus Sporothrix, which causes sporotrichosis, lives in soil and on plants such as rose bushes, and that pricks from rose thorns can let it into the skin. The infection usually begins as a small, painless red, purple or pink bump. Following CDC and NHS advice:

• Wear gloves, long sleeves and trousers when handling plants.
• Stop using a new cosmetic or rose oil if it causes itching or a rash.
• See a doctor if a bump or sore at a thorn prick does not heal, or if a skin problem is persistent, recurrent or severe.

Talk to a doctor before using roses or rose products as medicine, especially during pregnancy, for children, or if you take regular medication.

Photo: ArifHossain.ED / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: The Agro News, Heliyon (Hsiuying Wang, 2023), USDA FoodData Central, US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), UK National Health Service (NHS), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dhaka Tribune, Wikipedia