Do you know that hyacinth flowers are essential for celebrating the Persian years? Besides, hyacinth is the flower of the god Apollo and represents symbols of peace, commitment, beauty, power, and pride.
When I first heard the name hyacinth, I ignored it thinking it was an average plant.
But when my friend repeated the same, I was surprised by a handful of hyacinth benefits.
Generally, hyacinths contain antioxidants, prevent cancer, help digestion, improve skin health, and treat sexually transmitted diseases. Besides, they produce exotic fragrances to contribute to perfume manufacturing.
The list of hyacinth benefits does not end here. If you have planned to cultivate one for yourself, you can easily place it in your garden and complete the requirements easily.
You need to provide 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day, 2-3 days of watering during summer, and fertilizer twice a year to hyacinth for optimum growth.
Before we go into the grow and care guide, continue the article to know the best possible hyacinth benefits.
Table of Contents
- Overview of Hyacinth
- 11 Benefits of Hyacinth You Need to Know
- 1. Contains Antioxidant Properties
- 2. Helps Prevent Cancer
- 3. Preserves High Nutritional Value
- 4. Beneficial to Skin
- 5. Treats Digestion-Related Problems
- 6. Helps with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
- 7. Treats Inflammation and Sore Throat
- 8. Natural Source of Fragrance
- 9. Helps Regulate Periods
- 10. Helps Tackle Respiratory Problems
- 11. Reduces Bad Cholesterol
- Health Considerations To Keep In Mind
- Where to Buy a Hyacinth?
- Conclusion
Overview of Hyacinth
Hyacinth flowers are considered the ‘smell of spring’ due to their soft and sweet fragrance. It became famous in the 18th century and over 2,000 cultivars were grown in the Netherlands after that.
Let’s look at the basic overview of hyacinth.
| Scientific name | Hyacinthus |
|---|---|
| Common name | Hyacinth |
| Plant origin | Mediterranean and tropical Africa |
| Plant type | Perennial, bulb |
| Family | Asparagus |
| USDA zone | 4-8 |
| Growth for | Flowers and beans |
| Growth size | 6-12 inch tall |
| Foliage | Spongy, inflated and roundish leaves |
| Leaf size | 15-35 cm long 1-3 cm broad |
| Flower | White, purple, cream, pink star-shaped flowers |
| Blooming time | Spring |
| Toxicity | Mild to moderate toxic to both human and pets |
11 Benefits of Hyacinth You Need to Know
Hyacinth leaves, flowers, seeds, pods, and roots have multiple medical uses and all these parts can be edible also.
Many people prefer taking hyacinth beans by mouth to prevent diarrhea and stomach disorders and pregnancy. Do check more about what more hyacinth benefits you can get.
1. Contains Antioxidant Properties
An antioxidant is a property available in different fruits and vegetables and other foods such as nuts, whole grains, and a few types of meat, poultry, and fish.
Free radicles are the independent molecules formed during metabolism and they are linked to various illnesses and diseases like diabetes and cancers
According to Legume science Wiley, the bean of the hyacinth hydrolysates can be effectively used as natural antioxidant and food additives in food industries.
It contains compounds like phenols, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, and glycosides that boost the antioxidant property.
These antioxidant booters thus, encourage improving immunity and fighting against viruses and germs-related diseases strep throat, urinary tract infections, and tuberculosis.
Even though its antioxidant property has a handful of benefits against various diseases, it alone cannot counter them alongside your unhealthy lifestyle.
2. Helps Prevent Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading reasons of death worldwide due to the replication of old unwanted cells in the body.
According to the American Cancer Society, 1.9 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2021, which resulted in 608,570 cancer deaths.
Many plants are used to prevent cancer due to their antioxidant properties, and hyacinth is one of them.
BMC complementary medicine, concludes that crude extracts of hyacinth act as antioxidants and potential anticancer in comparison to their separated fractions.
This shows that oxidative stress in the body promotes cancer cell survival and this helps hyacinth’s antioxidant properties to track the free radicals and neutralize their harmful effect.
Hence, hyacinth beans are one of the primary sources of antioxidants, and consuming them regularly helps prevent cancer.
3. Preserves High Nutritional Value
People in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Europe have been continuously cultivating hyacinth beans as food legumes.
A research report concludes that the plant is a powerhouse of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and lipids that provides nutrition and prevent deficiency in the body.
Beans are a rich source of protein and are used in the form of green mature unripe pods and dry seeds.
Here is a brief nutritional chart of hyacinth served per 100 gm from the US Department of Agriculture.
| Nutrients | Nutritional values |
|---|---|
| Total fat | 0.68 g |
| Carbohydrate | 9.2 g |
| Protein | 2.95 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 25.6 g |
| Calcium | 41 mg |
| Magnesium | 49 mg |
| Potassium | 262 mg |
| Zinc | 0.38 mg |
| Copper | 0.048 mg |
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 5.1 mg |
| Selenium | 1.6 mcg |
| Iron | 0.76 mg |
You can consume raw or cooked young leaves, flowers, and tender and immature pods of hyacinth beans.
4. Beneficial to Skin
Does your pocket feel empty buying expensive skin care products? I will help you save hundreds and thousands worth of skincare products by doing nothing but growing hyacinth.
Hyacinth contains antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties to treat skin disorders.
According to Plant Archives, the multifaceted potential of eichhornia crassipes or water hyacinth) has rich value aided and therapeutic properties.
The leaves and flowers of hyacinth are rich in zinc, copper, and various vitamins that help against aches.
Use Hack: Make a paste of its leaves and flowers, mix it well with turmeric and rice flour, and apply it to your skin.
The Journal by DRJ says that the plant is rich in Vitamin C, and consuming the plant also benefits the skin.
Vitamin C helps fight against acne, fade hyperpigmentation, smoothen the skin, and brighten up skin. So, you can also apply the paste of hyacinth can leverage the same result.
5. Treats Digestion-Related Problems
Are you always in a lousy mood and missing fun in life due to digestion problems like constipation, and bloating?
But now comes the good times as hyacinth leaves and seeds help treat all your digestive problems. Eating a diet with less fiber is one of the leading causes of digestive problems.
The University of Florida has found that hyacinth contains dietary fiber of 2.6 grams in 80 grams of beans.
Thus, hyacinth beans contain soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps prevent bloating and increases the efficiency of the digestion process.
Besides, Eichhornia crassipes or water hyacinth if converted into biomass briquette to regulate anaerobic digestion processes, Energy Procedia says.
Also, the hyacinth helps to slow down digestion and allows the body to process waste better. It beans contain other nutrients like potassium, which helps improve digestive health.
6. Helps with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
STDs are caused due to transitions of viruses, bacteria, or parasites through blood, semen, or body fluids.
Here, hyacinth can treat STDs by preventing or fighting against the diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.
According to Science direct, antioxidant compounds, biologically active compounds, phenols, etc., helps to fight against STDs causing virus and germs.
The compounds like phenols and Carotenoids help fight against STDs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, etc.
The hyacinth’s leaves and beans are mainly used to prepare infusions to treat bacterial STDs. Hence, it has an inhibitory effect on germs and infectious viruses.
7. Treats Inflammation and Sore Throat
Currently, our atmosphere is highly polluted due to vehicles, industries, etc, and air quality gets worsened every day.
So, problems like inflammation and sore throat have become common, and here is where hyacinth comes to the rescue.
An article by global research says hyacinth extracts contain anti inflammatory activity by inhibitiong albumin denaturation protein.
The juice extracted from the hyacinth leaves and flowers can be used to treat inflammation and relieve throat pain.
The plant’s antioxidant property helps block the cyclo-oxygenase’s chemical enzymes, which are responsible for producing pain and inflammations.
8. Natural Source of Fragrance
Imagine you are back home from a stressful day, and as you enter the room, you smell a sweet natural fragrance that freshens up your mood. What will be the experience?
Yeah, I know it sounds great, and hyacinth flowers are all you need to live up to the imagination. As these flowers have a soft natural fragrance that creates an aroma around them.
According to the National Garden Bureau, hyacinth flowers have creamy, velvety, and exotic smells that reflect the aroma of spring.
Due to this, several companies have formulated extracts from flowers to make perfumes and added fragrances to beauty products.
Hyacinth represents deep sorrow so its flowers also used at funerals.
9. Helps Regulate Periods
Hyacinth is native to tropical Africa, and women in the countries like Kenya and Uganda use this plant for problems like irregular periods.
According to research gate, water hyacinth helps to stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus and allows for regular menstruation.
The hyacinth plant also benefits women with its nutritional value and blood flow stimulation properties.
The beans of hyacinth are fed to women during and post-pregnancy as it provides instant energy loaded with proteins, fibers, and various vitamins.
Global Citizen has published that the students under the mentorship of Sarath KS, successfully made a sanitary pad out of water hyacinth, which can absorb water 12 times more than a regular sanitary pad.
10. Helps Tackle Respiratory Problems
Nowadays, even the air we intake is full of toxins and impurities, which are the leading cause of respiratory diseases.
Even at a very young age, we see many children struggling with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Bronchitis, etc. Here hyacinth comes as a lifesaver.
According to Science direct, the lectin extract of hyacinth that contains anti-influenza and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities, pontential to exclude the toxins in the air.
The beans of the hyacinth contain various minerals like selenium, manganese, and zinc which are effective against respiratory problems.
However, if you think you have got a free pass to smoke, assuming eating hyacinth beans can counter all your problems, drop that idea immediately.
11. Reduces Bad Cholesterol
Cholesterol represents a waxy substance that is naturally available in the blood. Generally, we perceive them as bad for our body, but cholesterol benefits built cells and hormones.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) represents the bad cholesterol and the hyacinth is what every heart deserves as it keeps your heart safe from a high level of bad cholesterol.
According to Ascendens Asia Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Abstracts, hyacinth leaves have hypocholesterolemia properties, which helps prevent cholesterol absorption by preventing sterols from passing across the intestinal wall.
This shows that induced Water hyacinth leaves extract has controlled the cholesterol level in Swiss Mice (Mus musculus).
So, consuming this plant with an appropriate measure can be beneficial if you have high cholesterol.
Health Considerations To Keep In Mind
Hyacinth is undoubtedly an all-rounder medicinal herb that provides natural fragrance and health benefits.
Despite all the benefits, hyacinth can be toxic to humans and pets.
According to ASPCA, hyacinth’s bulb makes the plant toxic as it contains toxins like lycorine alkaloids, allergenic lactones, and calcium oxalate rachides.
Here is the brief information on the toxicity level of the toxins present in hyacinth:
| Toxins | Toxicity level |
|---|---|
| lycorine alkaloids | highly poisonous if ingested in certain quantity |
| Allergenic lactones | High consumption shows clinical sign |
| calcium oxalate rachides | Mild to moderately toxic |
The plant’s bulb is toxic when the plant is mature and raw. You can even face redness, irritation, and burnings when touching the toxic bulbs.
Similarly, in the case of intake of toxic bulbs, the following symptoms are apparent in both humans and pets:
- Bloody Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Depression and lethargic
- Nausea
- Low blood pressure
Here are some of the helplines in case of emergency:
- In case of pet poising, contact the ASPCA poisoning center at 888-426-4435
- In case of human poisoning, contact the American Association of poisoning control at 800-222-1222
Where to Buy a Hyacinth?
Now, if you have understood the hyacinth benefits, you must be wondering where you can buy it. You can consider the following places where you can take one plant for yourself!
| Shops | Delivery Period |
|---|---|
| Holland Bulb Farms | 3-5 business days |
| Lowe's | 1-7 business days |
| Breack's | 4-7 business days |
| Michigan Bulb | Within 5 business days |
| Whole Blossoms | 1-2 business days |
Conclusion
Hyacinth is an exotic plant with various benefits but also can be harmful consequences if not handled with care.
With the proper information about handling the plant, you can also plant this beautiful, multipurpose flower indoors and enjoy its smooth aroma.
If you want to read more, you can visit “10 Science-Backed Benefits of Indoor Plants.”
Keep growing the hyacinth and enjoy hyacinth benefits!
