Human absorption of monoterpenes after a 2-h forest exposure: A field experiment in a Mediterranean holm oak forest

Bach, Albert; Maneja, Roser; Zaldo-Aubanell, Quim; Romanillos, Teresa; Llusià, Joan; Eustaquio, Alba; Palacios, Òscar; Peñuelas, Josep

doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114080

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 2015, Japanese scholars found that the serum concentration of α-pinene, but not of other monoterpenes, increased by several folds after walking in a conifer forest for one hour [66]. In 2021, Spanish scholars found that the blood concentration of α-pinene, but not of other monoterpenes, increased by a much slighter extent and only in subjects starting from the lowest baselines levels after walking in an evergreen broadleaf forest (holm oak as the most representative species) for two hours [67].…”

Section: Analysis Of Presented Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although very important and innovative, both studies [66,67] were affected at least by small sample sizes, by the unknown individual levels of metabolic transformation rates and by the limited exposure time. Moreover, the health effects produced by MTs could follow pathways other than by systemic absorption, such as direct effects on the upper respiratory tract and on the central nervous system through brain absorption [25].…”

Section: Analysis Of Presented Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Short-Term Effects of Forest Therapy on Mood States: A Pilot Study

Meneguzzo

Albanese

Antonelli

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Immersion in forest environments was shown to produce beneficial effects to human health, in particular psychophysical relaxation, leading to its growing recognition as a form of integrative medicine. However, limited evidence exists about the statistical significance of the effects and their association with external and environmental variables and personal characteristics. This experimental study aimed to substantiate the very concept of forest therapy by means of the analysis of the significance of its effects on the mood states of anxiety, depression, anger and confusion. Seven forest therapy sessions were performed in remote areas and a control one in an urban park, with participants allowed to attend only one session, resulting in 162 psychological self-assessment questionnaires administered before and after each session. Meteorological comfort, the concentration of volatile organic compounds in the forest atmosphere and environmental coherence were identified as likely important external and environmental variables. Under certain conditions, forest therapy sessions performed in remote sites were shown to outperform the control session, at least for anxiety, anger and confusion. A quantitative analysis of the association of the outcomes with personal sociodemographic characteristics revealed that only sporting habits and age were significantly associated with the outcomes for certain psychological domains.

show abstract

Section: Analysis Of Presented Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Analysis Of Presented Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Term Effects of Forest Therapy on Mood States: A Pilot Study

Meneguzzo

Albanese

Antonelli

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most of the included studies adopted cross-over designs to investigate the difference in the therapeutic effects in different forest settings. Only Bach et al [85] and Elsadek et al [86] assigned controls to urban sites, but their results were excluded with some reasons. Bach et al [85] investigated blood levels of natural volatile organic compounds that have not been investigated in other studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Different Forest Structures Lead to Different Levels of Therapeutic Effects? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent decades, forests have expanded from natural resources for conservation and production to health-promoting resources. With the growing body of evidence supporting the therapeutic effects of forests, the number of investigations on the relationship between forest characteristics and therapeutic effects have increased. However, quantitative synthesis of primary studies has rarely been conducted due to a limited number of health studies including forest description and high heterogeneity of forest variables. In this study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between the forest structure and the therapeutic effect. We systematically searched the studies examining the therapeutic effects of forests with different stand density and canopy density and synthesized the results. As a result of subgroup analysis, we found that stand density modifies the therapeutic effects. Emotional and cognitive restoration showed greatest improvement in low-density forests with a stand density of less than 500/ha and the therapeutic effects diminish as the stand density increases. The impact of canopy density was not found due to a lack of studies reporting canopy density. Although some limitations remain, the findings in this study have great significance in providing the basis for establishing management strategies of forests for therapeutic use.

show abstract

“…In 2015, Japanese scholars found that the serum concentration of -pinene, but not of other monoterpenes, increased by several folds after walking in a conifer forest for 1 hour [68]. In 2021, Spanish scholars found that the blood concentration of -pinene, but not of other monoterpenes, increased by a much slighter extent and only in subjects starting from the lowest baselines levels, after walking in an evergreen broadleaves forest (holm oak as the most representative species) for 2 hours [69].…”

Section: Overall Psychological Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although very important and innovative, both studies [68] and [69] were affected at least by small sample sizes, by unknown individual levels of metabolic transformation rates and by limited exposure time. Moreover, the health effects produced by MTs could follow pathways other than by systemic absorption, such as direct effects on the upper respiratory tract and on the central nervous system through brain absorption [23].…”

Section: Overall Psychological Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term Psychological Effects of Forest Therapy: Early Evidence in Italy

Meneguzzo¹,

Antonelli²,

Baraldi³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Immersion in forest environments was shown to produce beneficial effects to human health, in particular psychophysical relaxation, so much that this practice is increasingly recognized as a form of integrative medicine. Limited evidence exists about both statistical significance and size of the effects conditioned on personal characteristics, as well as on the main external variables. The primary purpose of this study was to substantiate the very concept of forest therapy by means of the quantification and significance of the psychological effects, stratified by gender, age groups and place of residence. A preliminary qualitative analysis of the main determinants, in particular the method of conducting, the meteorological comfort and the concentration of volatile organic compounds in the forest atmosphere, was afforded. Seven forest therapy sessions were performed in late summer though early fall, resulting in 150 psychological self-assessment questionnaires administered before and after each session. The results were comparable or even better than others reported in the international literature. Moreover, preliminary evidence arose about different functionality towards specific psychological indexes conditioned at least on gender and age groups, as well as meteorological comfort, structured programs and, possibly, volatile organic compounds showed an impact on the outcomes.

show abstract

Human absorption of monoterpenes after a 2-h forest exposure: A field experiment in a Mediterranean holm oak forest

Cited by 14 publications

References 28 publications

Short-Term Effects of Forest Therapy on Mood States: A Pilot Study

Short-Term Effects of Forest Therapy on Mood States: A Pilot Study

Can Different Forest Structures Lead to Different Levels of Therapeutic Effects? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Short-term Psychological Effects of Forest Therapy: Early Evidence in Italy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About