Lavandula angustifolia Essential Oil and Linalool Counteract Social Aversion Induced by Social Defeat

Abstract

Many vegetable extracts, essential oils, and their main constituents are active on the Central Nervous System (CNS). In fact, they have been used as sedatives, hypnotics, or tranquilizers for their activity in treating CNS disorders. In this research, we studied the possible activities of Lavandula angustifolia (LA) essential oil and of its main constituent, linalool, as anti-stress compounds on anxiety and social interaction and their in vitro effects on proteins (pERK and PKA) involved in the transmission of the signal. An acute intraperitoneal injection of linalool (100 mg/kg) and of LA essential oil (200 mg/kg) reduced motor activity without any anxiolytic effect, but significantly increased social interaction. Stressed mice, after being exposed to a social defeat encounter, showed heightened anxiety and social avoidance. Acute administration of LA essential oil blocked stress-induced anxiety, while linalool showed no effects. However, both compounds were capable of reversing social aversion, acting as antidepressant agents. Our results showed that linalool inhibits pERK and PKA expression in the SH-SY5Y cell, but no effect was detected with the LA essential oil. Therefore, the LA essential oil and linalool may be considered as useful alternative tools to the available traditional treatments for social stress-induced mental illnesses.

Recent Advances in the Analysis of Rosmarinic Acid From Herbs in the Lamiaceae Family

“…), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), marjoram (Origanum majorana L.), oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), sage (Salvia officinalis L.), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). 2,3 Lamiaceae species have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of depression, headache, asthma, 4 stress, 5 and respiratory 6 and Alzheimer's diseases. 7,8 In addition, these plants have antioxidant, 9 antiallergic, 10 antimicrobial, 11 anticarcinogenic, 12 anti-inflammatory, 13 astringent, 14 and antiHIV-1 effects.…”

Anti‐Arrhythmic Effects of Linalool via Cx43 Expression in a Rat Model of Myocardial Infarction

“…However, L. angustifolia Mill. (lavender) is the most popular plant that contains linalool as its main ingredient (Ciobanu et al, 2012;Caputo et al, 2018). This plant is traditionally used as a natural remedy for palpitation, the most important symptom of arrhythmias (Ershadifar et al, 2014).…”

“…Linalool is a naturally occurring monoterpene that comprises a key constituent of various aromatic plant essential oils (Kolouri et al, 2016), including that of the Lavandula angustifolia Mill., which is commonly known as the lavender (Caputo et al, 2018). This plant is traditionally named "Ostokhodus" in Persian medicine (Nasiri Lari et al, 2020), where it has been utilized as a natural remedy for various heart symptoms, including palpitation (Ershadifar et al, 2014).…”

Citrus limon (L.) Burm f. Essential Oil Has Anxiolytic and Sedative Properties by Modulating GABAA-Receptors

“…Studies report that monoterpenes present in these plants and their synthetic derivatives have several pharmacological properties in the central nervous system (CNS), such as anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, and neuroprotective. Some of these substances are: linalool [12,13], limonene, and α-pinene [14,15]. This last compound, for example, displayed anxiolytic and sleep-increasing behaviors by direct binding to GABAA-Benzodiazepine receptors (GABAA-BZD) and forcing as a partial modulator at BZD binding site, in a molecular docking model [16].…”