Oral lavender oil for anxiety

[Alchemica]

A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the lavender oil preparation silexan in comparison to lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder.

"Generalized and persistent anxiety, accompanied by nervousness and other symptoms (Generalised Anxiety Disorder, GAD) is frequent in the general population and leads to benzodiazepine usage. Unfortunately, these substances induce sedation and have a high potential for drug abuse, and there is thus a need for alternatives.

As the anxiolytic properties of lavender have already been demonstrated in pharmacological studies and small-scale clinical trials, it was postulated that lavender has a positive effect in GAD. A controlled clinical study was then performed to evaluate the efficacy of silexan, a new oral lavender oil capsule preparation, versus a benzodiazepine.

In this study, the efficacy of a 6-week-intake of silexan compared to lorazepam was investigated in adults with GAD. The primary target variable was the change in the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A-total score) as an objective measurement of the severity of anxiety between baseline and week 6. The results suggest that silexan effectively ameliorates generalized anxiety comparable to a common benzodiazepine (lorazepam). The mean of the HAM-A-total score decreased clearly and to a similar extent in both groups (by 11.3 [+ or -] 6.7 points (45%) in the silexan group and by 11.6 [+ or -] 6.6 points (46%) in the lorazepam group, from 25 [+ or -] 4 points at baseline in both groups). During the active treatment period, the two HAM-A subscores "somatic anxiety" (HAM-A subscore I) and "psychic anxiety" (HAM-A subscore II) also decreased clearly and to a similar extent in both groups.

The changes in other subscores measured during the study, such as the SAS (Self-rating Anxiety Scale), PSWQ-PW (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), SF 36 Health survey Questionnaire and Clinical Global Impressions of severity of disorder (CGI item 1, CGI item 2, CGI item 3), and the results of the sleep diary demonstrated comparable positive effects of the two compounds. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that silexan is as effective as lorazepam in adults with GAD. The safety of silexan was also demonstrated. Since lavender oil showed no sedative effects in our study and has no potential for drug abuse, silexan appears to be an effective and well tolerated alternative to benzodiazepines for amelioration of generalised anxiety."

So, has anyone here tried capping up lavender oil? Any special reason to avoid oral ingestion of ~80mg/day of standard lavender oil not mentioned below?

See also the patent:

Use Of Lavender Oil For The Prophylaxis And Treatment Of Neurasthenia, Somatization Disorders And Other Stress-Associated Diseases

Safety evaluation:

No serious adverse events occurred during the study. During the screening period, 5 patients suffered from 6 adverse events. A total of 20 patients treated with silexan suffered from 26 adverse events compared to 18 patients (19 adverse events) treated with lorazepam. In the silexan group, a causal relationship to the study medication could not be ruled out for 11 adverse events (10 patients), and 7 adverse events (7 patients) in the lorazepam group were judged to be potentially related to the study medication. Nine of the eleven adverse events that occurred in the silexan group were gastrointestinal disorders (nausea: 4 adverse events, eructation/breath odour: 3 adverse events, dyspepsia: 2 adverse events). In the reference group, 1 patient suffered from nausea and 6 patients suffered from fatigue, which is a known adverse drug reaction of lorazepam.

On internal use of the volatile lavender oil, nausea (Atanasso-va-Shopova and Roussinov 1970) and drowsiness after excessive intake have been reported (Leung and Foster 1996). In this study, the adverse events of silexan were mostly gastrointestinal disorders and no serious adverse events occurred in the silexan group. This demonstrates the good tolerability of the new lavender oil capsule preparation. Owing to the favourable safety profile of lavender oil at the recommended doses (Drug Monograph 1984), the risk-benefit ratio for silexan appears to be very good. In the lorazepam group 6 patients suffered from fatigue, a symptom of the sedative properties of the benzodiazepine or possibly a kind of a hangover effect.

Other findings:

Allergic reactions to lavender have been reported. Acute facial allergies have been reported by two adults using lavender facial pillows. Acute airborne contact dermatitis occurred in one man receiving lavender aromatherapy. There are several case reports of contact and/or photocontact dermatitis from benzydamine hydrochloride, a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic prepared with lavender fragrance. Allergic reactions have likewise been reported when products containing lavender are repeatedly used by hairdressers and in proprietary creams. At least four cases of contact dermatitis have been reported in association with use of Madecassol, an herbal extract that contains lavender. Five reports of acute contact dermatitis have been reported from the use of a muscle-relaxant ointment containing lavender oil. People allergic to one member of the mint family may cross-react to lavender. Potentially toxic compounds in lavender: D-limonene, geraniol, linalool and linalyl acetate. Acute toxicity: Although present in teas and as a flavoring in some foods, lavender oil is toxic ifingested in large quantities. Most of the medicinal benefits of lavender can be obtained through its use as an inhalant in aromatherapy or by topical application of the essential oil in massage. Because essential oil preparations are very concentrated, it is easy to overdose. We therefore do not recommend taking the essential oil orally or by direct injection. In one study, cats that licked off products containing the lavender compounds D-limonene and linalool developed signs of acute toxicosis, including hypersalivation, muscle tremors, ataxia, depression and hypothermia. Nausea was reported by some patients who received 20-30 capsules a day of 250mg perrilyl alcohol (POH, a metabolite of limonene) in soy oil as part of a Phase I study evaluating POH as a chemopreventive agent.

Toxicological Data on Ingredients: Lavender oil: ORAL (LD50): Acute: 4250 mg/kg [Rat]. DERMAL (LD50): Acute: 5000mg/kg [Rabbit].

Edited January 16, 2015 by Alchemica

[Auxin]

An often undervalued herb, to be sure. I'd be careful about long term daily internal use of the essential oil tho, it could be hard on the liver and kidneys in the long run.

[Quill]

My lady used to put a few drops of lavende roil on my pillow when i was having problems getting to sleep. Knocked me the fuck out. As Auxin says definitely an underrated herb

[Torsten]

Greeks use lavender in cooking so it can't be too bad for you. I've personally used it as a blend in calming teas etc so this study result does not surprise me.

This study wasn't done blind, was it? How would you hide the lavender burps?

[nabraxas]

just ordered some lavender flavoured tobacco snuff. hopefully that will be a nice combo.

[planter]

iirc lavender has strong estrogenic activity

wouldnt want to be takin this daily probably.....

[Alchemica]

Just an update:

Examine.com once again has an excellent review on lavender

Recently, capping up ~300mg of Lavandula angustifolia pure essential oil [a dose higher than the generally recommended 80-160mg] has become my main anxiolytic. Subjectively, it is quite effective. I've tried quite a few anxiolytics from the conventional to the exotic Russian varieties and feel lavender should be considered as a viable alternative to the pharmaceuticals available and used more widely. The effects are not 'intoxicating' (nor are they particularly sedating), there has been no issues with tolerance and/or withdrawal and it feels somewhat similar to lower doses of pregabalin [both sharing a similar MoA]

Above 300mg it can become quite nauseating but other than that [...and the occasional lavender scented burp (which may have additional benefits)], it's quite friendly to use. Since quitting drinking, a capsule of lavender oil has been reasonably effective for taking the edge off any anxiety and preventing any cravings for a drink.

An orally administered lavandula oil preparation (Silexan) for anxiety disorder and related conditions: an evidence based review.

Lavender oil preparation Silexan is effective in generalized anxiety disorder – a randomized, double-blind comparison to placebo and paroxetine

Effects of Silexan on the serotonin-1A receptor and microstructure of the human brain: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over study with molecular and structural neuroimaging.

[Meditator]

Being a member of DoTerra I get the highest quality lavender essential oil from France.
Totally drops you if you have enough. In lower doses it just seems to relax and sedate you slightly.

If I am correct Linalool is responsible for NMDA receptor action and GABA action.

I personally do not like lavender that much though but these studies do not suprise me at all.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Thanks for resurrecting!!

[courage]

Wow thanks everyone for sharing info on this herb. It was recently recommended to me by a friend, I didn't realise it's potency!

[Change]

http://www.hormones.gr/691/article/article.html

These clinical case reports, coupled with the link between gynecomastia and disrupted sex steroid signaling, prompted studies to characterize the effects of lavender oil and tea tree oil on estrogen and androgen signaling. Estrogenic activity was assessed by conducting dose-response experiments in MCF-7 cells transfected with the estrogen-inducible 3x-ERE-TATA-Luc reporter plasmid. Both lavender oil and tea tree oil induced ERE-dependent luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner, with maximal activity observed at 0.025% vol/vol for each oil that corresponded to approximately 50% of the activity induced by 1nM estradiol (Figure 7).⁶⁸ This effect was attenuated in the presence of the pure ER antagonist fulvestrant, indicating that the estrogenic activity of the oils is ER-dependent. Further studies showed that both lavender oil and tea tree oil modulate the endogenous expression of the estrogen-responsive genes MYC, CTSD, and IGFBP-3 in MCF-7 cells in a manner similar to that observed with 1nM estradiol with respect to both the magnitude and timing of the response (Figure 8).⁶⁸ These responses were ER-dependent as well, as they were attenuated in the presence of fulvestrant. The estrogenic activity of tea tree oil has been independently confirmed in a separate study that examined the effect of tea tree oil in MCF-7 proliferation assays.⁷² Results from these studies show that tea tree oil induced a significant dose-dependent estrogenic response in vitro, with the maximal proliferative response occurring at a concentration of 0.0125% that corresponded to 34% of the maximal estradiol response in the assays.

[Anodyne]

If linalool is responsible for most of the activity, as Meditator & papers like this one suggest http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10479772

...then surely there are better sources than lavender oil?

[waterboy 2.0]

came across this recently on linalool.... terpenes are interesting products

http://theleafonline.com/c/science/2014/09/terpene-profile-linalool/

Edited November 7, 2015 by waterboy 2.0

[Bigred]

lavender and milk its the bomb

Edited November 13, 2015 by Bigred

[wert]

try short term use of diazipam and deralin.

might need diazipam for two weeks but deralim for a few days. costs fa and really effective.

not plant stuff but pharmaceuticals are really underrated.

[miss-meander88]

Careful with diazepam - it is highly addictive and even after two weeks you'd probably wanna be careful to reduce off slowly... suddenly stopping benzos can have serious complications, even to the point of seizures and worst case scenario death :/

Great stuff tho, like all things one must be cautious