Lavender Essential Oil Research

Lavender has a long history of use in herbal folk medicine as well as being an important essential oil in current
aromatherapy and herbal medicine practice. Lavender essential oil is felt to have antiseptic and
anti-inflammatory properties, assist with headache relief, and aid in sleep and general relaxation. It is also used
to treat skin burns and inflammatory conditions. While many claims have been made historically regarding the
efficacy of lavender essential oil, below are several scholarly study results which can scientifically conclude that
lavender is of benefit in various applications.

1. Effectiveness of Aroma on Work Efficiency: Lavender Aroma during Recesses Prevents Deterioration of Work
Performance, Yamanashi Prefectural University. Lavender aroma provided in a recess period appears to
improve concentration in contrast to the use of jasmine or the absence of aroma. Although lavender is typically
considered a sedative-type aroma, the results of this study indicate the possibility that the described effects of
lavender used during recesses are effective for maintaining work efficiency for a certain time period.

2. Effect of Lavender Aroma on Salivary Endocrinological Stress Markers, Department of Social and
Environmental Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. These findings sugges that lavender
aroma can have a stress relief effect. Consequently, aromatherapy may be clinically useful for treating mental
stress.

3. Sensory and Affective Pain Discrimination After Inhalation of Essential Oils, Division of Public Health Services
and Research, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville, FL. This study found that retrospectively,
subjects’ global impression of treatment outcome indicated that both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness
were reduced after treatment with lavender and marginally reduced after treatment with rosemary. These
findings suggest that aromatherapy may not elicit a direct analgesic effect but instead may alter affective
appraisal of the experience and consequent retrospective evaluation of treatment-related pain.

4. University of Maryland Medical Center Article, 2010. Scientific evidence suggests that aromatherapy with
lavender may slow the activity of the nervous system, improve sleep quality, promote relaxation, and lift mood in
people suffering from sleep disorders. Studies also suggest that massage with essential oils, particularly lavender,
may result in improved sleep quality, more stable mood, better concentration, and reduced anxiety. In one
recent study, people who received massage with lavender felt less anxious and more positive than those who
received massage alone. Several small studies suggest that lavender aromatherapy may help reduce agitation
in patients with dementia. Lavender flowers have also been approved in Germany as a tea for insomnia,
restlessness, and nervous stomach irritations.

5. Antiparasitic activity of two Lavandula essential oils against Giardia duodenalis, Trichomonas vaginalis and
Hexamita inflata. School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales,
Australia. In this study, two essential oils derived from Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia were
investigated for any antiparasitic activity against the human protozoal pathogens Giardia duodenalis and
Trichomonas vaginalis and the fish pathogen Hexamita inflata: all of which have significant infection and
economic impacts. The study has demonstrated that low (< or = 1%) concentrations of L. angustifolia and L. x
intermedia oil can completely eliminate T. vaginalis, G. duodenalis and H. inflata in vitro. At 0.1% concentration, L.
angustifolia oil was found to be slightly more effective than L x intermedia oil against G. duodenalis and H.
inflata.