BERLIN (dpa) — Instead of a sleeping pill or a valium, a nose full of jasmine is just as effective in calming your nerves and helping you to get restful sleep, according to a team of German researchers.

Showing that nature is more powerful than drugs, the essence from Gardenia jasminoides has been proven to contain the same molecular mechanism of action and is as strong as the commonly prescribed barbiturates or propofol. They soothe, relieve anxiety and promote sleep.

The researchers have now been granted a patent for their discovery. They report in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (online).

In pioneering research done in collaboration with Dr. Olga Sergeeva and Professor Helmut Hass from the Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) led by Professor Hanns Hatt have discovered that the two fragrances vertacetal-coeur (VC) and the chemical variation (PI24513) have the same molecular mechanism.