Essential Oil of Lavender Inhibited the Decreased Attention during a Long-Term Task in Humans

Shimizu, Kuniyoshi; Gyokusen, Mayumi; Kitamura, Shingo; Kawabe, Takahiro; Kozaki, Tomoaki; Ishibashi, K.; Izumi, Ryosuke; Mizunoya, Wataru; Ohnuki, Koichiro; Kondo, Ryuichiro

doi:10.1271/bbb.70835

Cited by 36 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Previous studies suggested (−)-bornyl acetate or pine essential oil including (−)-bornyl acetate had a sedative effect by breathing (1, 11). The olfactory stimulation with sedative-type essential oils or a compound could improve the performance (8,18,21,27). These information together with our results suggested that the dose of volatile compound is important for performance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(-)-Bornyl acetate induces autonomic relaxation and reduces arousal level after visual display terminal work without any influences of task performance in low-dose condition

et al. 2011

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ABSTRACT(−)-Bornyl acetate is the main volatile constituent in numerous conifer oils and has a camphoraceous, pine-needle-like odor. It is frequently used as the conifer needle composition in soap, bath products, room sprays, and pharmaceutical products. However, the psychophysiological effects of (−)-bornyl acetate remained unclear. We investigated the effects of breathing air mixed with (−)-bornyl acetate at different doses (low-dose and high-dose conditions) on the individuals during and after VDT (visual display terminal) work using a visual discrimination task. The amounts of (−)-bornyl acetate through our odorant delivery system for 40 min were 279.4 μg in the low-dose and 716.3 μg in the high-dose (−)-bornyl acetate condition. (−)-Bornyl acetate induced changes of autonomic nervous system for relaxation and reduced arousal level after VDT work without any influences of task performance in low-dose condition, but not in high-dose condition.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(-)-Bornyl acetate induces autonomic relaxation and reduces arousal level after visual display terminal work without any influences of task performance in low-dose condition

et al. 2011

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“…A low concentration of the volatile compounds from the roots of V. zizanioides could be used to reduce the negative effects of workloads during performing a visual discrimination work. Several studies have suggested that volatile compounds emitted from aromatic herbs are useful in improving alertness while performing tasks (10,28).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatiles emitted from the roots of Vetiveria zizanioides suppress the decline in attention during a visual display terminal task

et al. 2012

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The perennial grass Vetiveria zizanioides (vetiver) is mainly cultivated for its fragrant essential oil. Although the components of the oil and their biological activities have been studied extensively, the effect of the volatiles emitted from the roots of V. zizanioides on humans has so far remained unexplored. We investigated the effects of volatile compounds emitted from the cut roots of V. zizanioides (1.0 g, low-dose conditions; 30 g, high-dose conditions) on individuals during a visual display terminal task. Participants who breathed the volatile compounds emitted under low-dose conditions showed faster reaction times and stimulation of sympathetic nerve activity as measured by electrocardiography. These effects were not observed under high-dose conditions. The total amount of volatiles emitted during the experiment was 0.25 μg under low-dose conditions and 1.35 μg under high-dose conditions. These findings indicate that volatile compounds emitted from the roots of V. zizanioides under low-dose conditions may have helped subjects to maintain performance in visual discrimination tasks while maintaining high sympathetic nerve system activity.The perennial grass Vetiveria zizanioides is widely cultivated, especially in Southeast Asia. The roots of V. zizanioides (Fig. 1) contain many volatile compounds; the essential oil, collected by steam distillation of the roots, is a viscous liquid that varies in color from amber to dark brown (4, 26), and in general, its odor is described as earthy and woody (2). Because of its excellent fixative properties, V. zizanioides is one of the most important raw materials in perfumery (16,23). The authors of most of the previous studies of V. zizanioides have aimed to identify the compounds of the essential oil prepared from the roots of V. zizanioides and elucidate the activities of this essential oil (3,5,8,11,15,18,35). The qualities of the essential oil prepared from the roots of V. zizanioides depend on genetic, environmental and technological factors (17,25). Although the roots of V. zizanioides have been used as described above since ancient times, and impressions of the volatiles of the roots were different from those of the essential oil, the effects of the volatiles directly emitted from the roots of V. zizanioides have not been explored. We previously established an experimental method to evaluate the effects of aromatic herbs in relation to the performance of a visual discrimination task (19)(20)(21)(22). Aromatic herbs act through olfactory pathways in the brain, including the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and amygdala, which are different from the visual transduction and processing path-

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“…Lavender oil has anxiolytic, relaxing and sedative properties (9,10,16,18,39,50). Finally, eucalyptus oil was chosen as it is generally rated as a pleasant odor (similarly to the other two) but has no considerable pharmacological impact on vigilance and alertness (59,62). EOs were used in very low doses for three minutes in a direct inhalation paradigm.…”

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Role of expectations and pleasantness of essential oils in their acute effects

Köteles¹,

Babulka²

2014

Acta Physiologica Hungarica

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Effects of inhaled essential oils (EOs) cannot be explained by pharmacological mechanisms alone. The study aimed to investigate the effects of pleasantness of and expectancies evoked by EOs. A double-blind experiment with a within-subject design was carried out with the participation of 33 volunteering adults (15.2% male; mean age 37.7 ± 10.90 years). Participants were exposed to three EOs (rosemary, lavender, and eucalyptus) for three minutes in a quasi-random order, expectations were simply assessed prior to exposure. Subjective (perceived) changes in alertness, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP), and objective changes in HR, BP, and indices of heart rate variability were recorded. Significant group-level differences in changes in alertness and no differences for the cardiovascular variables were found. Participants' expectations predicted changes in alertness in the case of rosemary and lavender oils but had no impact on cardiovascular variables. EOs' pleasantness had no effect on any assessed variable. Perceived changes in BP and HR were not related to the respective objective changes but were connected to perceived changes in alertness. Expectancies play an important role in the subjective effects of inhaled EOs. Perceived subjective changes are used to estimate changes in non-conscious (e.g., visceral) states.

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Essential Oil of Lavender Inhibited the Decreased Attention during a Long-Term Task in Humans

Cited by 36 publications

References 9 publications

(-)-Bornyl acetate induces autonomic relaxation and reduces arousal level after visual display terminal work without any influences of task performance in low-dose condition

(-)-Bornyl acetate induces autonomic relaxation and reduces arousal level after visual display terminal work without any influences of task performance in low-dose condition

Volatiles emitted from the roots of Vetiveria zizanioides suppress the decline in attention during a visual display terminal task

Role of expectations and pleasantness of essential oils in their acute effects

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