Skip to content
BY-NC-ND 3.0 license Open Access Published by De Gruyter June 2, 2014

Aromatherapy: Evidence for Sedative Effects of the Essential Oil of Lavender after Inhalation

  • Gerhard Buchbauer , Leopold Jirovetz and Walter Jäger

The sedative properties of the essential oil of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Miller) and of its main constituents - linalool and linalyl acetate - were investigated in mice followed up in a series of experimental procedures. The significant decrease in the motility of female and male laboratory animals under standardized experimental conditions is found to be closely dependent on the exposure time to the drugs. Nevertheless after an injection of caffeine into mice a hyperactivity was observed which was reduced to nearly a normal motility only by inhalation of these fragrance drugs. In particular the correlation of the motility of the animals to linalool in serum is experimentally proven, thus furnishing evidence of the aromatherapeutical use of herbal pillows employed in folk medicine since ancient times in order to facilitate falling asleep or to minimize stressful situations of man.

Received: 1991-3-27
Revised: 1991-8-8
Published Online: 2014-6-2
Published in Print: 1991-12-1

© 1946 – 2014: Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Downloaded on 28.3.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/znc-1991-11-1223/html
Scroll to top button