Lavender Essential Oil with scientific name of(Lavandula Angustifolia) is traditionally used and approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as herbal medicine to relieve stress and anxiety.
Some clinical studies reveal positive results in models of anxiety and depression although very little research has been done on molecular mechanisms.
The work consisted of evaluating the effects of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil on central nervous system well-established targets, such as MAO-A, SERT, GABAAand NMDA receptors as well as in vitro models of neurotoxicity.
The results showed that Lavender Essential Oil and its main components exert affinity for the glutamate NMDA-receptor in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 0.04 μl/mL for lavender oil. In addition, lavender and linalool were also able to bind the serotonin transporter (SERT) whereas they did not show affinity for GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor.
In three different models of neurotoxicity, Lavender Essential Oil did not enhance the neurotoxic insult and improved viability of SH-SY5Y cells treated with hydrogen peroxide.
According to the data, the anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects attributed to Lavender Essential Oil may be due to an antagonism on the NMDA-receptor and inhibition of SERT.
The study suggests that Lavender Essential Oil may exert pharmacological properties via modulating the NMDA receptor, the SERT as well as neurotoxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide.