What is Ustukhuddus?

Ustukhuddus is the dried flowering top of Lavandula stoechas. English speakers call this plant French lavender. It is one plant, not a mixture of herbs.

The herb is used in Persian and Unani medicine. There it is best known as a calming herb for the head and nerves.

Healers have long given it for headache, low mood and poor sleep. They also used it for memory complaints and for stubborn coughs and colds.

Old Unani writers called it "jaroob-e-dimagh", the broom of the brain. They believed it swept waste matter out of the head.

Here is the honest evidence picture. Ustukhuddus has a long and well-recorded place in Greco-Arabic and Unani practice. But almost no modern human trials have tested this plant for these uses.

Long use tells you that people have trusted a plant. It does not prove that the plant works. That point holds for everything on this page.

How does Ustukhuddus work?

No one has shown clearly how Ustukhuddus works in the body. The ideas below are fair guesses, not settled facts.

The flowers hold a scented oil. In lab and animal work, lavender oils have had mild sedative (calming) effects. They also eased anxiety and acted as an antispasmodic (muscle-relaxing) agent.

Some parts of the plant relax smooth muscle in the gut and airways in a dish.

Smell may also matter. Scent reaches the brain areas that handle feeling very fast. Some people say this is why they feel calmer around lavender.

That route is a fair idea, not a proven one.

In old Unani theory the herb is called hot and dry. It is said to thin and drive out phlegm and black bile from the head.

That is a historical way of talking about the herb. It is not a body mechanism that modern science has tested.

What forms does Ustukhuddus come in?

Dried flowers for a water infusion or decoction are the most common form. Unani practice calls this drink joshanda. It is also the oldest way to take the herb.

Coarse powder of the dried flowers is used as well. It is sometimes stirred into honey.

Other forms include: - compound Unani syrups and electuaries (thick herbal pastes) that list Ustukhuddus as one part - capsules of powdered flower, sold as a supplement - the steam-distilled essential oil, sold for the skin or for a diffuser

The essential oil is a very different product from the tea. It is strong and concentrated. It is not for swallowing.

Where it comes from:

Ustukhuddus came to Persian and Unani medicine from Greek roots. Dioscorides wrote about stoechas in the first century. Arabic and Persian doctors then took it up.

Avicenna's Canon lists it among remedies for trouble of the head and nerves.

From there it became a fixture of Unani practice in Iran, Central Asia and South Asia. It still appears in official formularies and in shop-bought compound syrups. It has held that place for about a thousand years.

What does Ustukhuddus help with?

• Stress and everyday anxiety: This is the use with the most supporting research overall, but almost all of that research used a different lavender species. Trials of a standardised oil from Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) have reported reduced anxiety scores. Whether Ustukhuddus taken as a tea does the same is untested. Traditional use for calming the nerves is strong and consistent.
• Trouble sleeping: Unani practice uses an evening infusion to settle the mind before bed, and small studies of lavender scent in hospital settings have reported better self-rated sleep. Those studies were small, short and rarely blinded, and did not use this species. Treat it as a pleasant bedtime habit that may help, not as a sleeping medicine.
• Headache and migraine: A classic Unani use, given both as a drink and as an inhaled vapour. Human evidence specific to Lavandula stoechas is essentially absent. If your headaches are frequent, severe or new, that needs a doctor's assessment rather than a herb.
• Low mood and melancholia: Classical texts recommend Ustukhuddus for what they called melancholia. Modern trial evidence for this species in depression does not exist. Do not use it in place of treatment for diagnosed depression, and do not stop prescribed medicine to try it.
• Coughs, colds and blocked sinuses: Traditionally taken as a hot joshanda to thin phlegm and ease a chesty cough. The warm fluid and steam plausibly account for much of the comfort people feel. No trials confirm an effect on the illness itself.
• Memory and mental fog: The nickname "broom of the brain" comes from this use. There is no human trial showing that Ustukhuddus improves memory or thinking. Memory loss that is getting worse should be checked by a doctor.
• Aching joints and muscles: Diluted lavender oil is rubbed on sore areas in several traditions, and massage itself eases muscle pain. Evidence that the oil adds anything beyond the massage is weak. Never swallow the oil for this.

Which foods are rich in Ustukhuddus?

1. Culinary lavender in herbes de Provence: a pinch used as a seasoning, though blends usually use English lavender rather than this species
2. Lavender honey: honey from bees working lavender fields, which carries the scent but very little of the plant's oil

Practical Tips:

Ustukhuddus is a medicinal herb rather than a food, and culinary amounts are far below any traditional dose.

What are the side effects of Ustukhuddus?

• Drowsiness or feeling slowed down
• Headache in some people, despite its traditional use for headache
• Nausea, burping or mild stomach upset
• Constipation or reduced appetite
• Skin rash or irritation from the diluted oil
• Allergic reaction, including in people sensitive to mint-family plants
• Breast tissue growth in boys before puberty, reported with repeated use of lavender oil products on skin

Good to know:

Most people who drink a normal cup of the infusion have no trouble at all, and the common side effects are mild and settle when you stop.

The serious problems come from the essential oil, not the tea. Swallowing lavender essential oil can cause vomiting, confusion, breathing problems and, because of its camphor content, seizures (fits). This is especially dangerous for children.

How much Ustukhuddus should you take?

• Recommended daily: No modern dose has been established for Lavandula stoechas, because the trials needed to set one have not been done. Traditional Unani amounts, for adults only, are roughly: Dried flowers as an infusion: about 3 to 7 grams, steeped in hot water, once or twice a day. Powdered flowers: about 3 to 5 grams a day, usually divided into two doses. Essential oil: for scent or diluted skin use only. Do not swallow it. Dilute to about 1 to 2 percent in a carrier oil before it touches skin. If you buy a capsule or syrup, follow the label and do not stack it with a tea on the same day.
• Best time of day: Evening suits most traditional uses, since the herb is used to calm and settle. For coughs and colds it is taken hot, two or three times through the day. Avoid it before driving or operating machinery until you know whether it makes you drowsy.
• With or without food: Either. Some people get mild stomach upset on an empty stomach, so taking it after food is a reasonable default.
• Time to effect: Any calming effect from the scent or a warm drink is felt within 15 to 30 minutes. Effects on sleep or mood, if they come at all, would take one to two weeks of regular use.
• How long to take it: Short courses are sensible. Two to four weeks is enough to tell whether you notice any benefit. If nothing has changed by then, stop. If you are using it for sleep, mood or headache and you are still relying on it after a month, that is the point to see a doctor rather than to increase the dose.