Overview
On my friend's farm in central Colorado grows rows of lavender, and by mid-summer its flowers fragrantly scent nearby fields. While working on the farm, I find my spirits lifted and happy despite the intense heat and my tiring muscles. It is no wonder that for much of history, lavender has been used in sachets and oils alike to bring pleasure as well s reduce stress and anxiety. Other traditional therapeutic uses include as a sleep-aid, relief from pain and headaches, an anti-inflammatory, treatment for cough and respiratory infection, and as an insect repellent as well as a perfume. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians alike have all recorded using lavender in various remedies. Today, lavender is mostly used in the same way - widely used to dress wounds, induce sleep, ease depression and reduce stress. It can also be found in ingredients of teas and culinary dishes and of course the delightful scent in perfume. Current research is investigating the antimicrobial as well as anti-cancer properties of lavender essential oil.
A general tem of just lavender oil is a bit misleading, for one could misconstrue that all lavender is the same. This is far from the case. The lavenders (genus Lavendula) are characterized as having 39 species of flowering plants (as well as countless variations within individual species) classified under the mint family Lamiaceae. Traditionally indigenous to mountain zones of the Mediterranean, today lavender is also successfully cultivated in parts of France, Italy, England as well as Australia and the United States. Aromatherapists distinguish Lavendula species based upon their medicinal properties and thus their uses. Most noted are species collectively called true lavender (L. angustifolia, L. vera, L. officinalis) which can be grown and distilled at higher altitudes and thus gained a reputation as being the best quality. Properties of the true lavender include calming, sedative, analgesic (relieves pain), antibacterial, immune-system enhancer as well as good for burns. The other two commonly used groups are spike lavender (L. latifolia, L. spica), a high-yielding essential oil used for respiratory infections, muscular aches and pains and as an insect repellent and Maritime Lavender (L. stoechus), used for its mucolytic (expectorant) and antimicrobial properties and known for being high in ketones (characterized as having wound healing properties; derived from an alcohol).
Easing Anxiety Quickly and Easily
Lavender is well recognized as an agent able to support a reduction in anxiety, mainly due to its high linalool levels. The physiological process of reducing anxiety through the use of essential oils is quite phenomenal. Once the diffused molecules of essential oil enter the nasal cavity, they bind to receptor sites of the olfactory neurons which then trigger a cascade of events. In short, the olfactory neurons send messages to the olfactory nerve and then onto the olfactory bulb (located just three inches from the brain) where messages are initially processed. Within the olfactory bulb are input and output stations, the glomeruli and M/T (mitral and tufted) cells respectively. The olfactory output from the bulb to the brain has several targets, mainly the primary olfactory cortex and the higher olfactory associated areas where olfactory discrimination, perception and memories take place. The other is the limbic system, sometimes referred to the 'nose' brain comprising a complex system of 122 regions and associated areas which together is heavily responsible for the expression of emotion. Main structures of the limbic system (LS) are the amygdala, septum, hippocampus, anterior thalamus, and hypothalamus.
Diffused essential oil of lavender has been shown to alter reactions in the limbic system - a system that includes the amygdala and hippocampus, both of with are vital to our behavior, mood and memory. Recent studies have found lavender to reduce levels of cortisol (a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands). High and prolonged levels of cortisol have been shown to have a deleterious effect on the body, such as higher blood pressure, lowered immunity and decrease in bone density. A 2008 study published by the International Journal of Cardiology (Sep 26; 129(2): 193-7)found that lavender aromatherapy reduced serum cortisol and improved coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR ) in healthy men after stress was induced and concludes that lavender aromatherapy has relaxation capabilities and may be beneficial for cases concerning coronary circulation. Another study from the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan (Archives of Oral Biology 2008 Oct; 53(10): 964-8) found that salivary cortisol levels decreased in stressed subjects (via a series of mathematical tasks) after being exposed to air-borne lavender essential oil; cortisol levels did not decrease in the control group. Lavender essential oil has also been found to help babies as well. The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida (Early Human Development 2008 Jun; 84(6): 399-41) found that babies bathed with essential oil of lavender cried less and spent more time in deep sleep than babies who were not bathed with the oil.
Other Applications for Lavender
A rather haphazard discovery of lavender in the use of tissue regeneration was made by the late Dr. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse (a French cosmetic chemist) who after he severely burned his hands in a laboratory accident, submerged them in a container of lavender essential oil and noted the remarkable speed at which they healed. More recent research has newly discovered the possible antimutagenic (inhibits mutations) effect of lavender. In this study (Food and Chemical Toxicology 2005 Sept; 4319: 1381-7) scientists noted antimutagenic effects of lavender oil (L. angustifolia) on a strain of Salmonella bacteria, concluding that such uses of lavender may be promising for applications in modern human healthcare. Other uses, such as antimicrobial and antiviral have been recognized and supported on the University of Maryland Medical Center website (www.umm.edu).
Conclusion
Lavender, highly regarded for centuries for its medicinal and sedative properties, is finding its way into modern medical facilities. It is encouraging to read of increased laboratory research that is uncovering the active chemical properties of lavender and their possible uses in human healthcare. Yet, it must be duly noted that clinical research often looks at single constituents of an essential oil rather than the synergistic properties of the plant's oil as a whole. Also, many research studies are limited to in vitro testing verses looking at the effects of human beings as an entire being (which often is outside the parameters of analytical research analyses). It is recognized here that evidence from promising clinical and laboratory results on uses of lavender is opening doors for modern medicine to look for solutions outside conventional settings. The aromatherapy use of lavender might just be a welcomed addition in many medical facilities in the near future. Centuries-old knowledge and modern laboratory investigations are well to go hand in hand in finding beneficial approaches in supporting health and healing.
On my friend's farm in central Colorado grows rows of lavender, and by mid-summer its flowers fragrantly scent nearby fields. While working on the farm, I find my spirits lifted and happy despite the intense heat and my tiring muscles. It is no wonder that for much of history, lavender has been used in sachets and oils alike to bring pleasure as well s reduce stress and anxiety. Other traditional therapeutic uses include as a sleep-aid, relief from pain and headaches, an anti-inflammatory, treatment for cough and respiratory infection, and as an insect repellent as well as a perfume. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians alike have all recorded using lavender in various remedies. Today, lavender is mostly used in the same way - widely used to dress wounds, induce sleep, ease depression and reduce stress. It can also be found in ingredients of teas and culinary dishes and of course the delightful scent in perfume. Current research is investigating the antimicrobial as well as anti-cancer properties of lavender essential oil.
A general tem of just lavender oil is a bit misleading, for one could misconstrue that all lavender is the same. This is far from the case. The lavenders (genus Lavendula) are characterized as having 39 species of flowering plants (as well as countless variations within individual species) classified under the mint family Lamiaceae. Traditionally indigenous to mountain zones of the Mediterranean, today lavender is also successfully cultivated in parts of France, Italy, England as well as Australia and the United States. Aromatherapists distinguish Lavendula species based upon their medicinal properties and thus their uses. Most noted are species collectively called true lavender (L. angustifolia, L. vera, L. officinalis) which can be grown and distilled at higher altitudes and thus gained a reputation as being the best quality. Properties of the true lavender include calming, sedative, analgesic (relieves pain), antibacterial, immune-system enhancer as well as good for burns. The other two commonly used groups are spike lavender (L. latifolia, L. spica), a high-yielding essential oil used for respiratory infections, muscular aches and pains and as an insect repellent and Maritime Lavender (L. stoechus), used for its mucolytic (expectorant) and antimicrobial properties and known for being high in ketones (characterized as having wound healing properties; derived from an alcohol).
Easing Anxiety Quickly and Easily
Lavender is well recognized as an agent able to support a reduction in anxiety, mainly due to its high linalool levels. The physiological process of reducing anxiety through the use of essential oils is quite phenomenal. Once the diffused molecules of essential oil enter the nasal cavity, they bind to receptor sites of the olfactory neurons which then trigger a cascade of events. In short, the olfactory neurons send messages to the olfactory nerve and then onto the olfactory bulb (located just three inches from the brain) where messages are initially processed. Within the olfactory bulb are input and output stations, the glomeruli and M/T (mitral and tufted) cells respectively. The olfactory output from the bulb to the brain has several targets, mainly the primary olfactory cortex and the higher olfactory associated areas where olfactory discrimination, perception and memories take place. The other is the limbic system, sometimes referred to the 'nose' brain comprising a complex system of 122 regions and associated areas which together is heavily responsible for the expression of emotion. Main structures of the limbic system (LS) are the amygdala, septum, hippocampus, anterior thalamus, and hypothalamus.
Diffused essential oil of lavender has been shown to alter reactions in the limbic system - a system that includes the amygdala and hippocampus, both of with are vital to our behavior, mood and memory. Recent studies have found lavender to reduce levels of cortisol (a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands). High and prolonged levels of cortisol have been shown to have a deleterious effect on the body, such as higher blood pressure, lowered immunity and decrease in bone density. A 2008 study published by the International Journal of Cardiology (Sep 26; 129(2): 193-7)found that lavender aromatherapy reduced serum cortisol and improved coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR ) in healthy men after stress was induced and concludes that lavender aromatherapy has relaxation capabilities and may be beneficial for cases concerning coronary circulation. Another study from the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan (Archives of Oral Biology 2008 Oct; 53(10): 964-8) found that salivary cortisol levels decreased in stressed subjects (via a series of mathematical tasks) after being exposed to air-borne lavender essential oil; cortisol levels did not decrease in the control group. Lavender essential oil has also been found to help babies as well. The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida (Early Human Development 2008 Jun; 84(6): 399-41) found that babies bathed with essential oil of lavender cried less and spent more time in deep sleep than babies who were not bathed with the oil.
Other Applications for Lavender
A rather haphazard discovery of lavender in the use of tissue regeneration was made by the late Dr. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse (a French cosmetic chemist) who after he severely burned his hands in a laboratory accident, submerged them in a container of lavender essential oil and noted the remarkable speed at which they healed. More recent research has newly discovered the possible antimutagenic (inhibits mutations) effect of lavender. In this study (Food and Chemical Toxicology 2005 Sept; 4319: 1381-7) scientists noted antimutagenic effects of lavender oil (L. angustifolia) on a strain of Salmonella bacteria, concluding that such uses of lavender may be promising for applications in modern human healthcare. Other uses, such as antimicrobial and antiviral have been recognized and supported on the University of Maryland Medical Center website (www.umm.edu).
Conclusion
Lavender, highly regarded for centuries for its medicinal and sedative properties, is finding its way into modern medical facilities. It is encouraging to read of increased laboratory research that is uncovering the active chemical properties of lavender and their possible uses in human healthcare. Yet, it must be duly noted that clinical research often looks at single constituents of an essential oil rather than the synergistic properties of the plant's oil as a whole. Also, many research studies are limited to in vitro testing verses looking at the effects of human beings as an entire being (which often is outside the parameters of analytical research analyses). It is recognized here that evidence from promising clinical and laboratory results on uses of lavender is opening doors for modern medicine to look for solutions outside conventional settings. The aromatherapy use of lavender might just be a welcomed addition in many medical facilities in the near future. Centuries-old knowledge and modern laboratory investigations are well to go hand in hand in finding beneficial approaches in supporting health and healing.
About the Author:
Vibrational healing tinctures, in addition to essential oils, are magificent botanical medicines. For more of both, visit www.anandaapothecary.com browse the extensive library and product selection.
