SPIKENARD OIL
Spikenard is a perennial bush growing up to ten feet in height with large leaves, small greenish white flowers, and red or purple berries.
Spikenard was a popular herb among American Indians, who gathered its pleasantly scented 
roots for a variety of medicinal uses. Herbalists record that the Cherokees drank spikenard tea for backache and that the Shawnees used it to treat gas pains, coughs, asthma, and chest pains. Other tribes gave the tea to women in labor to make childbirth swifter and less painful. The Micmacs reportedly applied a salve of spikenard to cuts and wounds, while the Ojibwas used the root in a poultice for healing broken bones.
| Name | Spikenard Oil |
| Synonyms | Nardus indica, Patrinia jatamansi, Valeriana jatamansi, Valeriana wallichii, Nardostachys chinensis, Nardostachys gracilis |
| Botanical Name | Nardostachys Jatamansi |
| Source | Steam distillation of the dried root. |
| Color | Yellow to golden yellow color slightly viscous liquid. |
| Specific Gravity | 0.930 – 0.959 @ 20°C |
| Referactive Index | 1.505 – 1.545 @ 20°C |
| Optical Rotation | -12.0 – -8.0 @ 20°C |
| Solubility | Soluble in 0.4 to 1.5 vol. of 90% alcohol |
| Content | Gurjunene, patchoulene, maaliene, aristolone, patchouli alcohol, seychellene, nardol, nardostachone, camphene, pinene, limonene |
Early settlers added spikenard to their own herbal medicine shelf and found even more uses for
it. Juice from the dark purple berries and oil from the seeds were poured into ears to cure earache and deafness. Medical practitioners in the 19th century prescribed the root to treat gout, rheumatism, syphilis, and other diseases in which it was deemed necessary to "purify the blood."
Closely related to spikenard is wild sarsaparilla, Aralia nudicaulis, whose root is similarly aromatic and was likewise used for medicinal purposes-as a tonic, stimulant, and perspiration inducer. Wild sarsaparilla was also brewed into a root beer.
USES:
Spikenard was one of the early aromatics used by the ancient Egyptians and is mentioned in the Bible in Song of Solomon, and in the Book of John where Mary used it to anoint the feet of Jesus. It has also been used historically by wealthy Roman women in perfumes and beauty preparations.
