← The ApothecaryNymphaeaceaeflowersFact-checked 24 October 2026

EvidenceTraditional use

SafetyUse with caution

PregnancyInsufficient data

Actions

psychoactive · mild sedative

What the regulators say

Name: kept as Nymphaea caerulea Savigny; GBIF and many floras treat it as Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea (Savigny) Verdc. (synonymous with N. capensis), though phylogenetic studies question that placement. Legal status: not a controlled substance in the USA but on the US Department of Defense prohibited supplement list; illegal in Latvia (since 2009), Poland (2009) and Russia (2009). Chemistry is contested: a 2023 survey found apomorphine and nuciferine virtually absent from authentic industrial extracts, while UC Berkeley researchers found authentic flowers richer in nuciferine than flowers sold online. Wild populations along the Nile have become rare since the Aswan Dam; Least Concern on the South African Red List; an environmental weed in Australia.

Blue lotus

Nymphaea caerulea

Also calledEgyptian blue lotus · Blue water lily · Sacred blue lily of the Nile · Cape blue water lily

In older monographsNymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, Nymphaea capensis, Nymphaea coerulea

The sacred blue water lily of ancient Egypt, painted on temple walls and laid in pharaohs' tombs, and now sold online as a relaxing or mildly psychoactive tea, tincture and vape. It has never been tested in a clinical trial; emergency doctors have reported sedation and perceptual disturbances after use, and many products are mislabelled or adulterated, some with synthetic cannabinoids.

What it is used for

Anxiety and nervous tension
Traditional
Modern users drink it as a tea or tincture to induce relaxation and 'heightened spiritual awareness'. Two volunteers in a 1998 television experiment reported euphoria, calm, disinhibition and drowsiness; there are no clinical trials.^1,2
Sexual function and libido
Traditional
It has been suggested that ancient Egyptians used it as an aphrodisiac, linked to the reported presence of apomorphine, but its active constituents and mechanism are unknown and the suggestion is speculative.¹
Sleeplessness
Traditional
Sedation and drowsiness are among the effects reported by users and in emergency case reports; no studies have examined it as a sleep aid.^1,3

How it is prepared

infusion

Dried flowers steeped in water or in wine or spirits, the common modern form. Products vary greatly in content and identity.

inhalation

Extracts are vaped in electronic cigarettes, which delivers higher doses faster; most US military case reports followed vaping, and many seized vape products contained synthetic cannabinoids.

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy: Insufficient data
Breastfeeding: Insufficient data
Children: No data; not for children.

Do not use if

Vaping products of unknown origin (frequently contain synthetic cannabinoids)
Driving or operating machinery after use

Side effects

Sedation, disorientation and perceptual disturbances (US case series of five patients)
Fast heart rate and anxiety
Priapism (one case)
Next-day headache

Toxicity

In a 2021 case series all five patients recovered with supportive care within 3–4 hours. Standard urine drug screens do not detect it. In US Army cases between 2020 and 2023, 90% of seized 'blue lotus' or 'valerian' vaping exhibits contained synthetic cannabinoids, which may explain some severe reactions blamed on the plant. Interactions with medicines have not been studied.

In the healing traditions

Ancient Egyptian religion
Sacred blue lily
Symbol of the sun and rebirth, because the flower opens in the morning and closes at night; associated with the sun god Ra and the deity Nefertem; petals covered several pharaohs' mummies, including in Tutankhamun's tomb. Possibly soaked in wine in rites such as Hathor's Festival of Drunkenness. A 2nd-century BCE ritual Bes-vase held traces of it with Syrian rue (Peganum harmala).
African traditional medicine
Blue water lily
In the western Cape of South Africa around 1800 the rootstock was eaten raw or in curries, especially by Cape Malay and farming communities; the practice has died out. Medicinal uses in African traditions were not verified for this entry.

Active compounds

nuciferine: aporphine alkaloid; 5-HT2A antagonist and partial dopamine agonist in pharmacology studies; found in all tested commercial products in one survey
apomorphine: dopamine agonist, used today to treat erectile dysfunction; found in only a few products
flavonoids and aurones (7-hydroxyflavone, 4,7-dihydroxyaurone): identified in earlier chemical work

History

Blue lotus appears constantly in Egyptian art, from the temple of Karnak to funerary stelae showing the dead sniffing the flower, and it was grown in special farms for votive offerings. In 1998 Andrew Sherratt and colleagues tested it on two volunteers for the television series Sacred Weeds, reporting a short euphoric, tranquil state. Since 2009 several countries have banned it.

Sources

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.