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Effects of aromatherapy massage with lime essential oil on stress
Abstract
Aromatherapy is an alternative treatment for many psychiatric problems including stress. Lime essential oil (LEO) is widely used in aromatherapy although there are a few systemic investigations reporting different effects of LEO. A behavioural animal study showed that the main compounds of LEO had sedative effects while the signs of alertness associated with restlessness were found in a human study.Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the effect of i) a single LEO massage on the physical parameters of saliva Cortisol, arterial blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature and ii) repeated LEO massage (one hour a week for 4 weeks) on mental parameters evaluated by the Thai General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28). Forty women volunteers, selected from GHQ-28 (>= 6) for stress status (mean + SEM = 13.19 + 0.90), were randomly divided into LEO and control (carrier oil) group. Before and after the single treatment, physical parameters were examined. GHQ-28 was evaluated after receiving repeated treatments. The single LEO massage significantly decreased systolic blood pressure compared to controls (p <0.05). Repeated LEO massage (one hour a week for 4 weeks) reduced the GHQ-28 score similar to the control treatment. The single LEO massage attenuated systolic blood pressures, suggesting the stimulation of parasympathetic activity.
Aromatherapy is a medical practice that uses aromatic compounds or essential oils to influence mood and health. Essential oils used in aromatherapy are created from a wide variety of medicinal plants, flowers, herbs, roots, and trees that are found all over the world and have significant, well-documented benefits on enhancing physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.
This book is a comprehensive reference on aromatic compounds present in essential oils and their therapeutic use. Starting from fundamentals of essential oil biosynthesis the book guides the reader through their basic biochemistry, toxicology, profiling, blending and clinical applications. The concluding chapters also present focused information about the therapeutic effects of essential oils on specific physiological systems, plant sources, skin treatment and cancer therapeutics.
The combination of basic and applied knowledge will provide readers with all the necessary information for understanding how to develop preclinical formulations and standard clinical therapies with essential oils. This is an essential reference for anyone interested in aromatherapy and the science of essential oils.
The administration of essential oils or their constituents in aromatherapy, complementary medicine, and folk medicine has been known for a long time, and its relevance is steadily growing. In the last few years, many scientific studies were conducted to investigate the effect and the mechanisms of action of these compounds on the central nervous system. The aim of this article is to summarize the literature on this topic published in the period 2008–2010, upgrading a comprehensive review. The major actions discussed are pain, anxiety, learning, memory, attention, arousal, relaxation, sedation and sleep. Furthermore, the effects on mood, behaviour and perception as well as the application of essential oils in the treatment of epilepsy, stress, dementia and Alzheimer's disease are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mature rats were given lesions of the hippocampus (HIPPO), subiculum (SUBIC) or fimbria-fornix (FIFO) and then received the mild chronic stressors of food deprivation and isolation housing for ten months prior to testing. Group differences in circadian activity were investigated along with locomotion elicited by amphetamine (AMP 1.0-2.0 mg/kg i.p.) alone, and following the corticosterone (CORT) synthesis inhibitor, metyrapone (MET 10.0-25.0 mg/kg i.p.). Basal levels of plasma CORT, (ng/ml), plasma glucose (GLUC, mmol/l), thymic and splenic wet weights were subsequently determined along with complete blood counts (CBC). In comparison to age matched, unoperated controls, selective SUBIC lesions altered the circadian periodicity of locomotion, while rats with FIFO lesions were spontaneously hyperactive. Both HIPPO and FIFO animals showed significantly higher levels of amphetamine-induced locomotion. In all groups metyrapone significantly enhanced locomotion elicited by amphetamine, probably due to a pharmacokinetic interaction between these drugs. In comparison to controls, animals in the HIPPO group showed significant reductions in plasma glucose levels, decreased thymic wet weights and reductions in lymphocyte numbers, indicating lesion-related immuno-suppression. These findings highlight a functional difference among the effects of these specific hippocampal lesions on neural regulation of the HPA axis, under conditions of chronic mild stress, suggesting that the modulatory influence of the hippocampus on the stress axis is dependent on the neuroanatomical location and total extent of cell loss within this structure. They further suggest that the heightened response to amphetamine occurs independently of any lesion-induced changes in modulation of the HPA axis.
Postpartum depression affects an estimated 13% of women who have recently given birth. This article discusses several alternative or complementary therapies that may serve as adjuncts in the treatment of postpartum depression. The intent is to help practitioners better understand the treatments that are available that their clients may be using. Complementary modalities discussed include herbal medicine, dietary supplements, massage, aromatherapy, and acupuncture. Evidence supporting the use of these modalities is reviewed where available, and a list of resources is given in the appendix.
Directors of care and aromatherapy care planners from 28 residential aged care facilities were surveyed about their practices and perceptions of aromatherapy in their facility. A total of 1032 (59%) residents in these facilities received aromatherapy, with 47% receiving daily treatments. The treatments were applied by assistants in nursing in most facilities, with activities officers and registered nurses also applying the treatments. The one essential oil used by all facilities was lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) followed by most facilities using tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and bergamot (Citrus bergamia). Commercial blends were used by 15/28 facilities. The choice of individual essential oils and blends suggests that aromatherapy is considered effective for both behavioural/psychological symptoms and physical ailments like arthritic pain. Nearly all facilities used foot baths and hand, foot, limb and neck-and-shoulders massage. The average monthly cost of materials per person was AUD 4.50. Directors of care also perceived that aromatherapy moderately reduces the amount of pharmaceuticals used. The main types of pharmaceuticals perceived to be reduced by aromatherapy were sedatives and analgesics. Considering all these findings, it appears as though aromatherapy is being used extensively in aged care facilities to manage symptoms of dementia and age-related physical discomfort. It is clear from this survey however, that further research is required to determine a 'best practice' for aromatherapy in dementia and aged care.
The monoterpene d-limonene has been shown to an effective, non-toxic chemopreventive agent in mammary and other rodent tumor models. The studies
reported here investigated structure-activity relationships among limonene and three hydroxylated derivatives in the prevention
of dimethyl-benz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary cancer. Rats were fed control or 1% limonene, carveol, uroterpenol or sobrerol diets from
2 weeks before to one week after carcinogen administration. Carveol, uroterpenol and sobrerol significantly prolonged tumor
latency and decreased tumor yield. Sobrerol was the most potent of the monoterpenes tested, decreasing tumor yield to half
that of the control, a level previously achieved with 5% limonene diets. Excretion of radioactivity from [3H]DMBA was doubled in rats fed 5% limonene and nearly tripled in rats fed 1% sobrerol. Sobrerol is thus 5-fold more potent
than limonene in both enhancing carcinogen excretion and in preventing tumor formation. These data demonstrate that hydroxylation
of monoterpenes affects chemopreventive potential, with 2 hydroxyl groups > 1 > 0. Sobrerol, carveol and uroterpenol are novel
cancer chemopreventive agents with little or no toxicity.
Synopsis
In many patients clinical care in general medical settings is complicated by the presence of psychiatric disorders in addition to the presenting physical symptoms. In the present study the prevalence and type of psychiatric disorders was assessed in relation to the medical diagnostic findings in a general internal medicine out-patient clinic. The Present State Examination, a standardized psychiatric interview, was used to detect psychiatric disorders in 191 newly referred patients. Psychiatric disorders were found to be particularly prevalent among patients with medically ill-explained or unexplained symptoms. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 15% for patients with a medical explanation for their presenting symptom, 45% for patients with ill-explained and 38% for those with unexplained symptoms. Approximately 40% of the patients with psychiatric disorders met DSM-III-R criteria for somatization disorder or hypochondriasis, suggesting that these disorders contributed in particular to general medical out-patient referrals.
The high-speed GC separation and MS characterization of lime oil and lemon oil samples using programmable column selectivity and time-of-flight mass spectrometry is described. The volatile essential oils are separated on a series-coupled (tandem) column ensemble consisting of a polar trifluoropropylmethyl polysiloxane column and a nonpolar 5% phenyl dimethyl polysiloxane column. Both columns are 7 m long. A 50 degrees C/min linear temperature ramp from 50 to 200 degrees C is used, giving an analysis time of approximately 2.5 min. A time-of-flight MS with time array detection and automated peak finding and characterization software was used to identify 50 components in lime oil samples and 25 components in lemon oil samples. Despite numerous cases of extensive peak overlap, spectral deconvolution software was very successful in the characterization of most overlapping peaks. For cases where a more complete chromatographic separation is desirable, the tandem column ensemble is operated in the first-column stop-flow mode to enhance the separation of selected overlapping clusters of peaks. A valve between the junction point of the tandem column ensemble and a source of carrier gas at the GC inlet pressure is opened for 2-5-s intervals to stop the flow of carrier gas in the first column. This is used to increase the separation of target component groups that overlap in the ensemble chromatogram without first-column stop-flow operation. This procedure is used to isolate the peak for limonene, the largest peak in the analytical-ion chromatogram of both the lime and lemon oil samples.
Two controlled trials of aromatherapy to decrease agitation in persons with dementia have recently produced promising results. However, both studies combined the use of essential oils with massage. Thus, it is unclear if the effect of the aromatherapy intervention was the result of smelling or the cutaneous absorption of the oils. The purpose of this study was to determine whether smelling lavender oil decreases the frequency of agitated behaviors in patients with dementia.
The study design was within-subjects ABCBA (A = lavender oil, B = thyme oil, C = unscented grapeseed oil): 4 weeks of baseline measurement, 2 weeks for each of the five treatment conditions (10-week total intervention time), and 2 weeks of postintervention measurement. Oil was placed every 3 hours on an absorbent fabric sachet pinned near the collarbone of each participant's shirt.
A long-term care facility specifically for persons with dementia.
Seven agitated nursing home residents with advanced dementia.
Agitation was assessed every 2 days using a modified Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Olfactory functioning was assessed with structured olfactory identification and discrimination tasks, and with qualitative behavioral observation during those tasks.
Split-middle analyses conducted separately for each patient revealed no treatment effects specific to lavender, no treatment effects nonspecific to pleasant smelling substances, and no treatment effects dependent on order of treatment administration. There were no differences between participants with more and less intact olfactory abilities.
There is significant evidence in the neurologic and neuropsychologic literature that persons with dementia have impaired olfactory abilities. Concordant with this literature, this study found no support for the use of a purely olfactory form of aromatherapy to decrease agitation in severely demented patients. Cutaneous application of the essential oil may be necessary to achieve the effects reported in previous controlled studies.
The effects of inhaling the vapor of Lavandula burnatii super-derived essential oil and one of the main components of lavender oil, linalool on plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), catecholamine and gonadotropin levels in menopausal model rats under ether-inhalation were studied. The increased plasma ACTH levels induced by ether-inhalation tended to decrease by pre-inhalation of Lavandula burnetii super and linalool vapor was induced the decrease of ACTH level. The decrease in adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine levels induced by ether-inhalation tended to recover, especially, the dopamine level significantly recovered to the normal level by the inhalation of Lavandula burnetii super and linalool vapor. However, the increased plasma gonadotropin levels in ovariectomized retired female rats (menopausal model rats) was significantly decreased by the inhalation of linalool. These results suggest that lavender oil or one of the main components, linalool may contribute to relieving tension and may be applicable to the treatment of menopausal disorders in human beings.
We assessed the stress relief effect of spa bathing by measuring sensitive salivary stress markers, cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA). From 12 healthy males, saliva samples were collected immediately before and after spa bathing, and 30 min after that. Salivary cortisol and CgA levels were determined by ELISA. Salivary cortisol levels decreased after spa bathing. This tendency was more pronounced in individuals with higher levels of stress. The high-stress group showed lower salivary CgA levels after spa bathing, while the low-stress group higher salivary CgA levels in the same condition. These findings suggest that the spa bathing has a moderate affect on the stress relief.