Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a eficácia de aromaterapia na diminuição de níveis de estresse e ansiedade (traço e estado) de alunos de graduação de cursos na área da saúde. Participaram do estudo 36 sujeitos, com idade entre 18 e 29 anos, que foram divididos entre os que receberam tratamento (grupo aroma, n=18) e o grupo controle (n=18). Os sujeitos foram avaliados quanto a níveis de estresse e ansiedade antes e após o período de intervenção, pela Lista de Sintomas de Estresse e pelo Inventário de Ansiedade Traço e Estado. O tratamento de aromaterapia consistiu em sete sessões (duas vezes por semana) de dez minutos de inalação com uma sinergia de óleos essenciais elaborada especificamente. Os escores de estresse e ansiedade antes e depois do tratamento foram comparados estatisticamente, com nível de significância de 5% (p<0,05). O grupo aroma apresentou redução significativa dos níveis de estresse (de 24%) e ansiedade (de 13% e 19%, p<0,05), enquanto no grupo controle houve uma diminuição significante, embora menor (de 11%), apenas no nível de estresse. A aromaterapia mostrou-se eficaz na redução dos níveis de estresse e ansiedade em estudantes da área da saúde. No entanto, ainda são necessários mais estudos para identificar as causas dos níveis medidos e, também, os mecanismos de ação dos óleos essenciais em sua redução.

The sense of smell allows animals to discriminate a large number of volatile environmental chemicals. Such chemical signaling modulates the behavior of several species that depend on odorant compounds to locate food, recognize territory, predators, and toxic compounds. Olfaction also plays a role in mate choice, mother-infant recognition, and social interaction among members of a group. A key assay to assess the ability to smell odorants is the buried food-seeking test, which checks whether the food-deprived mice can find the food pellet hidden beneath the bedding in the animal's cage. The main parameter observed in this test is the latency to uncover a small piece of chow, cookie, or other pleasant food, hidden beneath a layer of cage bedding, within a limited amount of time. It is understood that foodrestricted mice which fail to use odor cues to locate food within a given time period are likely to have deficits in olfactory abilities. Investigators who used the buried food test, or versions of the buried food test, demonstrated that it is possible to evaluate olfactory deficits in different models of murine studies

No abstract

The olfactory system can discriminate a vast number of odorants. This ability derives from the existence of a large family of odorant receptors expressed in the cilia of the olfactory sensory neurons. Odorant receptors signal through the olfactory-specific G-protein subunit, Gαolf. Ric-8b, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, interacts with Gαolf and can amplify odorant receptor signal transduction To explore the function of Ric-8b, we generated a tissue specific knock-out mouse by crossing OMP-Cre transgenic mice to Ric-8b floxed mice. We found that olfactory-specific Ric-8b knock-out mice of mixed sex do not express the Gαolf protein in the olfactory epithelium. We also found that in these mice, the mature olfactory sensory neuron layer is reduced, and that olfactory sensory neurons show increased rate of cell death compared with wild-type mice. Finally, behavioral tests showed that the olfactory-specific Ric-8b knock-out mice show an impaired sense of smell, even though their motivation and mobility behaviors remain normal. Ric-8b is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) expressed in the olfactory epithelium and in the striatum. Ric-8b interacts with the olfactory Gαolf subunit, and can amplify odorant signaling through odorant receptors However, the functional significance of this GEF in the olfactory neurons remains unknown. We report that deletion of Ric-8b in olfactory sensory neurons prevents stable expression of Gαolf. In addition, we demonstrate that olfactory neurons lacking Ric-8b (and consequently Gαolf) are more susceptible to cell death. Ric-8b conditional knock-out mice display impaired olfactory guided behavior. Our results reveal that Ric-8b is essential for olfactory function, and suggest that it may also be essential for Gαolf-dependent functions in the brain.

The sense of smell allows animals to discriminate a large number of volatile environmental chemicals. Such chemical signaling modulates the behavior of several species that depend on odorant compounds to locate food, recognize territory, predators, and toxic compounds. Olfaction also plays a role in mate choice, mother-infant recognition, and social interaction among members of a group. A key assay to assess the ability to smell odorants is the buried food-seeking test, which checks whether the food-deprived mice can find the food pellet hidden beneath the bedding in the animal's cage. The main parameter observed in this test is the latency to uncover a small piece of chow, cookie, or other pleasant food, hidden beneath a layer of cage bedding, within a limited amount of time. It is understood that foodrestricted mice which fail to use odor cues to locate food within a given time period are likely to have deficits in olfactory abilities. Investigators who used the buried food test, or versions of the buried food test, demonstrated that it is possible to evaluate olfactory deficits in different models of murine studies