Aromatherapy has no effect on immunity, pain sensitivity and wound healing speed. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Ohio, who studied the effects of aromas of lemon and lavender oil on healthy volunteers.
For three days, 56 men and women were fastened under their noses with a cotton ball moistened with lemon, lavender oil or distilled water. All participants were regularly measured by pressure and pulse, and blood samples were taken for analysis. To assess their mood, special psychological tests were conducted.
The rate of wound healing was assessed using a test with a band of adhesive plaster, after removal of which there were small defects of the epithelium. To determine the pain sensitivity, the volunteers dipped their feet into the icy water. To assess the effect of aromatherapy on immunity, the study leader Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and her colleagues determined the level of interleukins 6 and 10 in participants' blood, and the effect on the endocrine system was assessed by fluctuations in the concentration of stress hormones-cortisol, norepinephrine and other catecholamines.
It was found that aromatherapy had no effect on the level of stress hormones and immunity factors, did not have an analgesic effect and did not accelerate the healing of wounds. The only positive effect that we managed to fix - improvement in the mood of the participants under the influence of lemon (but not lavender) oil.
"The human body is a very complex mechanism, and if someone feels better when using aromatherapy, we are not going to persuade him.
However, until now we have not been able to detect any physiological effects of aromatic oils, "said Professor William Malarkey,.
sportzal. com.
Key words: Within three days 56 men and women were fastened under their noses with a cotton ball moistened with lemon, lavender oil or distilled water. All participants were regularly measured by pressure and pulse, and blood samples were taken for analysis. To assess their mood, special psychological tests were conducted.