Lavender Oil Studies
Scientific and clinical studies that have involved lavender essential oil:
Aerosolized essential oils and individual natural product compounds as brown treesnake repellents.
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 La Porte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Ambient odors of orange and lavender reduce anxiety and improve mood in a dental office.
"These findings support the previous opinion that odors are capable of altering emotional states and may indicate that the use of odors is helpful in reducing anxiety in dental patients."
University Clinic of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Department of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Private Office, Bochum, Germany.
University Witten/Herdecke, Germany.
The analgesic effect of odour and music upon dressing change.
"This supports the use of these complementary therapies, which are inexpensive, easy to administer and have no known side effects, as adjunctive analgesia in this patient population. … Further research is required to ascertain why certain complementary therapies are more effective than others at relieving pain."
Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Stirling, UK.
Analysis of the volatile components in lavender from supercritical CO2 extraction by GC-MS
Chinese journal of chromatography / Zhongguo hua xue hui.
Anticonflict effects of lavender oil and identification of its active constituents.
"Thus, we concluded that linalool is the major pharmacologically active constituent involved in the anti-anxiety effect of lavender oil."
Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0053, Japan.
"Lavender oil shows both fungistatic and fungicidal activity against C. albicans strains. At lower concentrations, it inhibits germ tube formation and hyphal elongation, indicating that it is effective against C. albicans dimorphism and may thus reduce fungal progression and the spread of infection in host tissues."
Department of Public Health, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
"Its antimutagenic property makes lavender oil a promising candidate for new applications in human healthcare."
Department of Human Physiology and Pharmacology, University La Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy.
"The study has demonstrated that low (< or = 1%) concentrations of L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia oil can completely eliminate T. vaginalis, G. duodenalis and H. inflata in vitro. At 0.1% concentration, L. angustifolia oil was found to be slightly more effective than L x intermedia oil against G. duodenalis and H. inflata. The potential applications are discussed."
School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 2678, Australia.
Anxiolytic effects of Lavandula angustifolia odour on the Mongolian gerbil elevated plus maze.
"In conclusion exposure to lavender odour may have an anxiolytic profile in gerbils similar to that of the anxiolytic diazepam. In addition, prolonged, 2-week lavender odour exposure increased exploratory behaviour in females indicating a further decrease in anxiety in this sex."
Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Anxiolytic effects of lavender oil inhalation on open-field behaviour in rats.
"Together, these experiments suggest that lavender oil does have anxiolytic effects in the open field, but that a sedative effect can also occur at the highest doses."
School of Psychology, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland BT52 1SA, UK.
Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK.
Aromatherapy and reducing preprocedural anxiety: A controlled prospective study.
"Although this study did not show aromatherapy to be effective based on statistical analysis, patients did generally report the lavender scent to be pleasant. Lavender is an inexpensive and popular technique for relaxation that can be offered to patients as an opportunity to promote preprocedural stress reduction in a hospital setting."
Delnor-Community Hospital, Geneva, Illinois 60134, USA.
Aromatherapy for travel-induced excitement in dogs.
"Traditional treatments for travel-induced excitement in dogs may be time-consuming, expensive, or associated with adverse effects. Aromatherapy in the form of diffused lavender odor may offer a practical alternative treatment for travel-induced excitement in this species."
Autonomic and cardiovascular responses to scent stimulation are altered in cry KO mice.
Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 1-7 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Niigata University School of Medicine, 757 Asahimachi-Dori Ichiban-Cho, Niigata 951-8510, Japan.
Radiation Biology Center, Kyoto University, Yoshida Konoe-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
Autonomic nervous function and localization of cerebral activity during lavender aromatic immersion.
"These results suggested that lavender aromatic treatment induced not only relaxation but also increased arousal level in these subjects."
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Clinical trial of aromatherapy on postpartum mother’s perineal healing.
"In conclusion, these findings indicate that postpartum aromatherapy for perineal care could be effective in healing the perineum."
School of Nursing, Eulji University, chunggu, Daejeon, Korea.
"The inhibitory effect of heat and oils was also observed against mycelia of T. rubrum and conidia of T. mentagrophytes. Thermotherapy combined with essential oils and salt would be promising to treat tinea pedis in a foot bath."
Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, Tokyo, Japan.
"Combined modality treatment consisting of aromatherapy, footsoak, and reflexology appears to be effective for alleviating fatigue in terminally ill cancer patients. To confirm safety and effectiveness of this combined modality treatment, further investigation including randomized treatment assignment is warranted."
Department of Internal Medicine, Palliative Care Unit, National Sanyo Hospital, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan.
Seirei Hospice, Seirei Mikatabara Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan.
Deon V. Canyon PhD, MPH, Rick Speare BVSc, MBBS, PhD (2007)
International Journal of Dermatology 46 (4), 422–426.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2007.03132.x
A controlled trial of aromatherapy for agitation in nursing home patients with dementia.
Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies, Health Services Research and Development Service, Michael E.Debakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Bay-lor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
Copper Ridge Institute, Sykesville, MD.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.Dr. Snow conducted this study as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The dispersion of natural oils in de-gassed water.
Department of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
Stephanie Kunz, Michael Schulz, Miriam Lewitzky, Martin Driessen, Harald Rau (2007)
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31 (3), 436–442.
doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00333.x
The effect of aroma inhalation method on stress responses of nursing students.
"Nursing educators should play an important role in contributing to college students’ physical and psychological health by helping enhance their recognition of stress management and effectively relieving their stress using essential oils."
Department of Nursing, Nambu University, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju city, Korea.
"These findings suggest that aromatherapy using topically applied lavender, clary sage, and rose [rose maroc] is effective in decreasing the severity of menstrual cramps. Aromatherapy can be offered as part of the nursing care to women experiencing menstrual cramps or dysmenorrhea."
School of Nursing, Wonkwang Public Health College, Iksan, Korea.
Effect of essential oil concentration on the pH of nutrient and Iso-sensitest broth.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia.
The effect of essential oils on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using a dressing model.
"This study demonstrates the potential of essential oils and essential oil vapours as antibacterial agents and for use in the treatment of MRSA infection."
Department of Biological Sciences, the Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M15GD, UK.
Burns Centre, Acute Block, Wythenshawe Hospital, Southmoor Road, Manchester, M239LT, UK.
"A Lavender aromatherapy hand massage program is effective on emotions and aggressive behavior of elderly with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type."
Department of Nursing, Kongju National University, Korea.
"Although lavender is a sedative-type aroma, use during recess periods after accumulation of fatigue seems to prevent deterioration of performance in subsequent work sessions."
Faculty of Human and Social Services, Yamanashi Prefectural University, 5-11-1 Iida, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan.
Faculty of Global Policy Management and Communications, Yamanashi Prefectural University, 5-11-1 lida, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan.
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Tamaho, Yamanashi, Japan.
Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City Minato Red Cross Hospital, 3-12-1 Shin-Yamashita, Nakaku, Yokohama, Japan.
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
"These results suggest that aromatherapy acupressure exerts positive effects on hemiplegic shoulder pain, compared to acupressure alone, in stroke patients."
Department of Oriental Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, South Korea.
The effects of aromatherapy on pain, depression, and life satisfaction of arthritis patients
"The result of this study clearly shows that aromatherapy has major effects on decreasing pain and depression levels. Based on our experiment’s findings, we suggest that aromatherapy can be a useful nursing intervention for arthritis patients."
College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.
Effects of lavender aromatherapy on insomnia and depression in women college students
"According to the study results, it can be concluded that the lavender fragrance had a beneficial effect on insomnia and depression in women college students. Repeated studies are needed to confirm effective proportions of lavender oil and carrier oil for insomnia and depression."
Department of Nursing, Keukdong College, Chungcheongbuk-Do, Korea.
"The results suggest that the inhalation method using essential oils can be considered an effective nursing intervention that reduces psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension."
Department of Nursing, Geochang Provincial College, Geochang-gun, Gyungnam, Korea.
"In summary, lavender is effective as an adjunctive therapy in alleviating agitated behaviours in Chinese patients with dementia. In a patient population particularly vulnerable to side effects of psychotropic medications, aromatherapy using lavender may offer an alternative option."
Department of Occupational Therapy, Castle Peak Hospital, and Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Evaluating Effects of Aromatherapy Massage on Sleep in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study
"The results suggest that the use of aromatherapy massage with lavender oil has no beneficial effect on the sleep patterns of children with autism attending a residential school. It is possible that there are greater effects in the home environment or with longer-term interventions."
School of Psychology, University of Reading and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust UK.
Evaluation of Aromatherapy in Treating Postoperative Pain: Pilot Study
Jung T. Kim MD, Michael Wajda MD, Germaine Cuff BS, David Serota MD, Michael Schlame MD, Deborah M. Axelrod MD, Amber A. Guth MD, Alex Y. Bekker MDPhD (2006)
Pain Practice 6 (4), 273–277.
doi:10.1111/j.1533-2500.2006.00095.x
"Our results show that eight sessions of acupressure with aromatic lavender oil were an effective method for short-term neck pain relief."
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, PR China.
Immunological and Psychological Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage
"The paucity of such differences after carrier oil massage suggests that aromatherapy massage could be beneficial in disease states that require augmentation of CD8(+) lymphocytes. While this study identifies the immunological benefits of aromatherapy massage, there is a need to validate the findings prospectively in a larger cohort of patients."
Department of Microbiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Japan.
Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Japan.
Department of Epidemiology for Community Health and Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Japan.
Graduate School of Science for Human Services, Ritsumeikan University Japan.
Department of Research and Development, Hyper Plants Co., Ltd Japan.
Cancer Care Centre, St George Hospital, Kogarah, Australia.
Lavender Fragrance Cleansing Gel Effects on Relaxation
"The data suggest that a specific cosmetic fragrance can have a significant role in enhancing relaxation."
Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33101, USA.
Colgate-Palmolive Company. Piscataway, New Jersey. USA.
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Miller).
Natural Standard Research Collaboration, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Lavender oil compress: gentle help from blue flowers
Krankenschwester und am Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf in der Psychiatrie.
Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. 48(1):850-856, July 2006.
Department of Biosystem Regulation, Institute of Biomaterials & Bioengineering, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical & Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
"In conclusion, fatty oils and essential oils may serve as alternative organic phase in LPME, eliminating the use of hazardous organic solvents."
School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Niigata 951-8122, Japan.
Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2005 Aug 10;94(32):1236.
"Brief lavender odor presentation may serve as a nonphotic method for altering mood in young depressed and nondepressed adults particularly during the fall, a time of heightened discriminability."
Department of Psychology, 207 High St., Judd Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA.
"Thus, scent of lavender oil and its active component, linalool, affect autonomic nerves, suppress lipolysis through a histaminergic response, and enhance appetite and body weight."
Division of Protein Metabolism, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2, Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata 951-8122, Japan.
"Thus, it was concluded that scent of lavender oil and its active component, linalool, affects autonomic neurotransmission and reduces blood pressure through the central histaminergic nervous system and the SCN [suprachiasmatic nucleus]."
Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Niigata 951-8122, Japan.
An Olfactory Stimulus Modifies Nighttime Sleep in Young Men and Women
"Thus, lavender serves as a mild sedative and has practical applications as a novel, nonphotic method for promoting deep sleep in young men and women and for producing gender-dependent sleep effects."
Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University. Middletown, Connecticut. USA.
Patented antiinflammatory plant drug development from traditional medicine
National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110 012, India.
Prepubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils.
“We conclude that repeated topical exposure to lavender and tea tree oils probably caused prepubertal gynecomastia in these boys.”
Receptor Biology Section, Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
The Psychological Effects of Aromatherapy-Massage in Healthy Postpartum Mothers
"Our results suggest that aromatherapy-massage might be an effective intervention for postpartum mothers to improve physical and mental status and to facilitate mother-infant interaction." [appears lavender and citrus oils were used?]
Department of Developmental Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongoh, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata.
Department of Dermatology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Scotland.
"The formulation and commercial development of budding strips impregnated with lavender oil is discussed."
Plant Research International, Wageningen-UR, PO Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Repelling properties of some plant materials on the tick Ixodes ricinus L.
University of Stockholm, Department of Zoology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Biodiversity Centre, Uppsala, Sweden.
Role of suggestion in odor-induced mood change.
"These data further support the notion that expectations play a significant role in mediating odor-evoked mood changes."
Marywood University, Psychology and Counseling, Scranton, PA 18509, USA.
Scent and mood state following an anxiety-provoking task.
"These results suggest that, when individual perception of scent pleasantness is controlled, scent has the potential to moderate different aspects of mood following an anxiety-provoking task."
Psychology Division, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR 97361, USA.
Sensory and Affective Pain Discrimination After Inhalation of Essential Oils
"Therefore, given the minimal side effects of this intervention, aromatherapy may be helpful in treatment settings associated with both pain and heightened affective arousal, such as dental care or the outpatient treatment setting."
Division of Public Health Services and Research, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, FL.
"The methodology for this pilot study appeared to be appropriate. Outcomes favor lavender, and a larger trial is required to draw definitive conclusions."
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Complementary Medicine Research Unit, Primary Medical Care, Aldemoor Health Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom.
"These findings clarify that lavender and rosemary enhance FRSA [free radical scavenging activity] and decrease the stress hormone, cortisol, which protects the body from oxidative stress."
Department of Oral Physiology, Meikai University, School of Dentistry, 1-1, Keyaki-dai, Sakado-shi, Saitama 350-0283, Japan.
Suppression of neutrophil accumulation in mice by cutaneous application of geranium essential oil
"Cutaneous application of several essential oils, especially geranium oil, to mice suppressed the cellular inflammation induced by curdlan dose-dependently, as monitored by the MPO activity of peritoneal cavity and skin. This suggests that essential oils using in aromatherapy massage may suppresses the inflammatory symptoms related with neutrophil accumulation and edema."
Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, 359 Otsuka, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan.
Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Technology, Teikyo University, 1-1, Toyosato-dai, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 320-0003, Japan.
"(-)-Linalool induced deactivation with respect to physiology, that is, a decrease of systolic blood pressure and a smaller decrease of skin temperature, compared to a corresponding control group receiving a placebo, but had no effects on subjective evaluation of well-being."
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Center of Pharmacy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, 256 Otsuka, Hachioji, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan.
Teikyo Association of Medical Mycology, Tokyo, Japan.
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Also see the True Lavender Essential Oil Profile page for more information on lavender essential oil.
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