What is it?
An extract of the flowers of frangipani, Plumeria rubra, a small ornamental tree from tropical America grown in warm places around the world for its highly perfumed flowers, which range from white and yellow to pink and red. The flowers are eaten in some dishes and used in herbal tea. Like the rest of the plant, they contain a milky sap. In cosmetics the extract is listed as a skin-conditioning ingredient.
Key information
- Queensland's poisons information service lists frangipani's milky sap as a skin irritant that can cause rash and blistering in sensitive people.
- Frangipani flowers are part of a traditional cooling herbal drink called Five Flower Tea, and the petals of many Plumeria species are eaten as edible flowers.
- A 2024 analysis of food-grade frangipani flower and leaf extracts found mainly polyphenols and iridoids, along with terpenoids, fatty acids and alkaloids.
- We found no safety assessment of frangipani flower extract by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review or the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety.
More information
Frangipani belongs to the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). Its name comes from the French word for coagulated milk, a reference to the white latex found in every part of the plant. It grows wild or naturalized in many tropical areas and is planted in warm places such as Sicily. Its flowers have medicinal, cosmetic and food uses: they are part of Five Flower Tea, a traditional cooling drink, and the petals of many Plumeria species are eaten in various dishes.
A 2024 study of frangipani grown in Sicily made food-grade water-and-alcohol extracts of the flowers and leaves. It found mainly polyphenols and iridoids, along with terpenoids, fatty acids and alkaloids, and both extracts showed antioxidant activity in test-tube assays. The authors note that no mortality or signs of toxicity have been recorded for extracts of frangipani leaves, pods and flowers in animal tests at the doses used.
The best-documented hazard is the sap. Queensland’s poisons information service lists frangipani as potentially toxic and an irritant to skin and eyes: the milky sap can cause rash and blistering in sensitive people, and eating the sap or bark can cause vomiting and diarrhea. We found no safety assessment of the flower extract by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) or the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, and no published skin irritation or allergy studies or reports of reactions to it in cosmetics.
On labels it appears as Plumeria Rubra Flower Extract.
Sources: Plants (2024): Beyond the Scent: New Evidence about Micromorphological, Phytochemical and Biological Features of Plumeria rubra ‘Tonda Palermitana’ (Apocynaceae); Queensland Poisons Information Centre: Frangipani (Plumeria)
