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Lavender’s Soothing Scent Could Be More Than Just Folk Medicine
- phren0logy 8y agoI was also impressed by the studies out of Germany on Silexan, which is a lavender extract taken orally. The clinical trials took it head-to-head with lorazepam, which is a benzodiazepine like Valium. It held up remarkably well, with similar levels of anxiety relief. So the effects are not limited to olfactory use. I’m a psychiatrist, and I have prescribed it a few times for patients that I treat. There’s a version of it available in the US called CalmAid that is identified as the same isolate in Silexan. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice. 2013. 10.3109/13651501.2013.813555 Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2017. 10.1097/jcp.0000000000000615 Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2017. 10.3389/fphar.2017.00280 Edit: added info on an RCT, a meta-analysis, and some work on the mechanism of action
- lazerpants 8y agoGiven that Silexan seems to work on NMDA and SERT, are you aware of any studies regarding Silexan and depression? Edit: these are really interesting studies by the way, thanks.
- phren0logy 8y agoI haven’t seen any, but it’s a good thought.
- this2shallPass 8y agoLinks to the above articles: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13651501.2013.813555 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13651501.2013.81... https://journals.lww.com/psychopharmacology/Citation/2017/02000/Lavender_Oil_Preparation__Silexan__for_Treating.29.aspx https://journals.lww.com/psychopharmacology/Citation/2017/02... https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00280/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.0028... Also, more articles relating to lavender oil preparation and treatment of anxiety: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20512042 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20512042 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24456909 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24456909
- njarboe 8y agoA neat fact is that you can put any DOI at the end of doi.org/ and it will (never has failed me) redirect you right to the landing page of the paper the the DOI is a reference for. So a paper with a DOI of 10.3109/13651501.2013.813555 can be reached by going to: doi.org/10.3109/13651501.2013.813555
- makmanalp 8y agoRe: Silexan, I'm noticing a lot of stuff that seems very off. "Kasper" seems to be the author of almost every study around silexan, like article #1 above (doi 10.3109/13651501.2013.813555) and this meta-analysis [0] where Kasper et al seems to be analyzing three of their own papers! Article #2 (doi 10.1097/jcp.0000000000000615) is a meta-analysis that seems to not have Kasper in the author list, but then if you read the full article you'll see that every single one of the studies they analyze minus one are all Kasper's! Isn't this super shady? How is any of this kosher???? ---- And the Kasper meta-analysis I mention above was funded by the makers of Silexan: > The research presented in this paper was funded by Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, manufacturer of Silexan, who was also the sponsor of the trials included in the meta-analysis. The statistical analysis plan for the meta-analysis was conceived and the analyses were performed by the biostatistical department of Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG under the responsibility of co-author SS. The company also provided the raw data of the trials included into the analyses. A first draft of the manuscript was prepared by Andreas Völp, Ph.D., an independent medical writer who was reimbursed by Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, who also independently performed the risk of bias assessments. Open access funding provided by Medical University of Vienna. And of the other authors: > Hans-Jürgen Möller has received grant/research support, consulting fees and honoraria within the last years from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Cilag, Lundbeck, MSD, Novartis, Organon, Otsuka, Pfizer, Schwabe, Sepracor, Servier, and Wyeth. Hans-Peter Volz has served as a consultant or on advisory boards for Astra/Zeneca, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck, Pfizer, Schwabe, Janssen, Otsuka, Merz, Wyeth, neuraxpharm and has served on speakers’ bureaus for Astra/Zeneca, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck, Schwabe, Janssen, Merz, Wyeth, Lichtwer, Steigerwald, Hormosan, neuraxpharm and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Angelika Dienel and Sandra Schläfke are employees of Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, manufacturer of Silexan. Siegfried Kasper received grants/research support, consulting fees and/or honoraria within the last 3 years from Angelini, AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Janssen, KRKA-Pharma, Lundbeck, Neuraxpharm, Pfizer, Pierre Fabre, Schwabe and Servier. [0] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-017-0852-4 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-017-0852-4
- phren0logy 8y agoSadly that’s the state of the world - most research is funded by those who stand to gain from it. It’s not good, but the study designs are. Assuming they aren’t just falsifying data (which does happen, but is rare), then good study design limits the ability to influence results. Also, this is an inexpensive, over-the-counter treatment for mild to moderate anxiety. So I am comfortable considering a treatment with more modest research support, particularly if the patient has tried and failed other better-supported interventions, or refuses to try them.
- tyu1000 8y agoWow, a small-sample-size mouse study.
- slashink 8y agoWhile I’m not particularly hopeful for actual positive outcome of a larger study I must ask: isn’t this how studies are supposed to be done? You devise a hypothesis, you confirm it as good as you can in an experiment and document the procedure. Someone else then peer reviews your study and finds any potential mistakes, if the research looks promising enough an independent research team will devise a larger study with more funding to verify the claims, repeat this X times until some sort of conclusion can be made. Again, I’m partial against this study but at least it’s a study.
- bluntfang 8y ago>if the research looks promising enough I would replace promising with profitable.
- abakker 8y agobeing dismissive of basic research is counter-productive. Would you like to suggest that their methodology or that their conclusions are suspect? Would you prefer a large-n tracking study of experiments on humans over many years? Yeah, so would we all, but studies like this are how researchers build up a hypothesis and funding to do larger more powerful studies. This Hacker News meme of being dismissive of research is pointless and should stop. Cynicism and snark don't add to the discussion.
- sprucely 8y agoSoothing? I have a disgust of all things lavender, and I don't appreciate being subjected to the aroma when colleagues use lavender products. I wonder if there's a connection between my visceral reaction and my general lack of ability to relax.
- sp332 8y agoThere is a related plant called "lavendin" which is often marketed as lavender but actually has a stimulant effect. https://www.thelavenderfields.co.uk/news/article/lavender-and-lavandin-what-is-the-difference https://www.thelavenderfields.co.uk/news/article/lavender-an... Just a possibility.
- IndrekR 8y agoSame here, can not stand the smell of lavender. Never found it relaxing. Do not know why. At the same time I can not smell fish-sauce at all which many people do find revolting.
- bfuller 8y agofish sauce is delicious
- XalvinX 8y agomy mom used to use a type of fish sauce as fertilizer for her house plants. i think it was called "emulsion" but probably about the same stuff. smelled horrible but the plants enjoyed it, and we enjoyed the plants. what do you put it on? i know they use it in the Phillipines and some other SE Asian countries, right?
- Raphmedia 8y agoEntirely possible. Think of cilantro that tastes and smells like soap for some people. Contrary to popular belief, we do not all perceive the world in the same ways. "This may be traced to the OR6A2 gene, an olfactory receptor able to bind many of the aldehydes implicated in the herb's very particular smell. Perhaps those with a specific variation in the gene are particularly sensitive to its soapiness." http://mentalfloss.com/article/91060/why-does-cilantro-taste-soap-some-people http://mentalfloss.com/article/91060/why-does-cilantro-taste... https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-8 https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/20...
- wazoox 8y agoI can tell you that cutting lavender, bowing with a blade under a flaming sun, isn't soothing at all :) Ditto throwing tons of lavender with a fork in the distillation tank next to the blazing fire :)
- synaesthesisx 8y agoTerpenes like linalool are also found in other popular plants. I hope to see our understanding of these substances continue to grow.
- pcmaffey 8y agoIncluding cannabis, which contributes to the variety of strains with differing smells, tastes, and psychoactive effects.
- uxp100 8y agoAnd the origin of the lawsuit against La Croix, iirc. I saw headlines describing insecticide in La Croix, and read them and went, oh, that's in beer.
- XalvinX 8y agois that what produces the citrusy and/or piney scents? god i love that smell, when you open up the jar...i literally salivate from it.....sooooo good.
- quizme2000 8y agoMy wife had a very stressful and painful delivery with our first. During her 3 day recovery at Kasier, our nurses provided a lavender treatment (oil on a cotton ball) to help reduce her stress and calm her heart-rate. Our nurses had provided us with a patient information sheet that Kaiser had prepared specifically for this situation. The key here is this was a very targeted and prescribed treatment performed by trained professional staff with a lavender oil product intended for use in a hospital. Not some huckster MLM agent that selling good knows what.
- joncrane 8y agoCan't there be an in-between? I shouldn't have to be admitted to a hospital to experience the beneficial effects of lavender treatment.
- quizme2000 8y agoYes, I was posting this in the context of a clinical study. A good study will try to account for its controls, that was my point. The only problem is in the wide variability of the actual product to be used. There needs to be information on a manufacturer/producer and the form of the lavender oil/extract and application. Taking a bath, topical application, alcohol based mist etc..
- colechristensen 8y agoThe in-between shouldn't be health enthusiasts or exclude the scientific method. Upthread is someone linking research that lavender includes compounds which significantly impact endocrine function in a way that is just starting to be studied. It is hard to tell which is worse, if these non-pharmaceuticals are completely ineffective or potent medicines.
- analognoise 8y agoGiven lavender's known negative effects on developing boys, I think it should only be available in a medical environment, or extensively labeled and regulated. If this destroys the oily-MLM huns, that would be a side benefit.
- gmnash 8y agoCurious if it could be related to the hormone disruption properties of lavender. https://www.endocrine.org/news-room/2018/chemicals-in-lavender-and-tea-tree-oil-appear-to-be-hormone-disruptors https://www.endocrine.org/news-room/2018/chemicals-in-lavend...
- MithrilTuxedo 8y agoI was a little disappointed not to see that mentioned in the NYT article. I fear to think how many overactive little boys are going to start getting dosed with lavender to calm them down.
- Raphmedia 8y agoWell, there's the whole "could make breast grow on boys" fear going on too. This might stop some of the people who jump on bandwagons from using it without talking with a doctor first. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-tea-tree-oils-may-cause-breast-growth-boys https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-tea-t...
- scythe 8y agoThe dose from aromatherapy ought to be much lower than that from topical or oral exposure. Several studies mention gynecomastia after rubbing lavender oil on the skin or drinking tea: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=20&q=lavender+antiandrogenic&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=20&q=lavender+antia... but merely smelling it should be a much smaller exposure. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, I just like to read a lot.
- Raphmedia 8y agoI wonder if topical application of lavender oil could help in the case of MTF hormone replacement therapy. The articles say that it doesn't increase serum estrogen levels but I wonder if it might help the skin to achieve more "female" properties.
- 8y ago
- creep 8y agoI was in the psych ward a little while back and had an absolute breakdown while I was there. They had security put me in the observation room behind the nurse's station, which is just like a room with thick glass on three sides and curtains on the outside and a mattress on the floor. I was losing my shit. When I finally calmed down around 2 AM, a nurse came in with a little bottle of lavender essential oil. She asked if she could put it on my pillow. I had the best sleep of my time spent on the ward, and started using it when I was discharged. I had wonderful dreams, I was calm in the morning, I was comforted, I felt safe.
- bfuller 8y agoIf anyone is interested in experiencing this (sans psych ward melt down) lavender sachets to put in your pillow are really very nice.
- toomanybeersies 8y agoHops (as in the beer ingredient) are also a traditional sleep aid to put in your pillow.
- accrual 8y agoOn the topic of traditional sleep aids, I found chamomile capsules [0] to be a safe and effective sleep aid. I previously worked exclusively overnight and tried many herbal supplements, finally settling on chamomile as my favourite. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Chamomile-Flowers-Capsules/dp/B0006U3QJQ https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Chamomile-Flowers-Capsule...
- ghostbrainalpha 8y agoThat's terrible, but great Lavender is helping. Did the Psych Ward cause your breakdown or make it worse? I always that people were having the breakdown first, and then you would go to the ward after. How long do they take to discharge you after a breakdown?
- 8y ago
- chiefalchemist 8y agoI understand why there are drug and medical experiments / studies using mice, but why is something like this done with mice and not humans?
- rmm 8y agoWhen i was working on a project in Tunisia, i saw lots of the locals walking around in the morning with little sprigs of rosemary (which grows everywhere there) and taking sniffs of it as they commuted. When I asked about it, they mentioned it was like a morning coffee, they felt it woke them up, and "got their brain firing". I gave it a go, and (n=1) it definitely felt like a pick me up. I grow rosemary in my garden now, and every morning as I am getting ready for work I will grab a bit and smell away.
- bfuller 8y agoAlso a popular remedy in Chinese medicine.
- XalvinX 8y agohere's another idea...why not just hook someone up to some electrodes and put them in a place with some lavendar and see how their blood pressure, brain activity, respiration, etc. respond. of fucking course lavender relaxes people. people have known this for thousands of years and don't need some overpaid scientists to tell them it does, and nobody needs to extract a single molecule (out of hundreds or thousands) and turn it into a pill...although i wouldn't mind doing a few rails of it just for kicks! lol
- haley6688 8y agoDr. Angie Lillehei from Minnesota also studied lavender and sleep in her 2014 study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26133206 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26133206 She now sells sleep patches: https://www.noctilessence.com/ https://www.noctilessence.com/