Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation

<b>Background:</b> Anxiety disorders have a 7.3% worldwide prevalence and, considering the long period of treatment, developing new efficient and safer pharmacological tools is critical. Essential oils consist of highly concentrated lipophilic compounds from plants with therapeutic poten...

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Main Authors: Sol Micaela Angulo, Victoria Belén Occhieppo, Cristian Moya, Rosana Crespo, Claudia Bregonzio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Pharmaceuticals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/5/624
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author Sol Micaela Angulo
Victoria Belén Occhieppo
Cristian Moya
Rosana Crespo
Claudia Bregonzio
author_facet Sol Micaela Angulo
Victoria Belén Occhieppo
Cristian Moya
Rosana Crespo
Claudia Bregonzio
author_sort Sol Micaela Angulo
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background:</b> Anxiety disorders have a 7.3% worldwide prevalence and, considering the long period of treatment, developing new efficient and safer pharmacological tools is critical. Essential oils consist of highly concentrated lipophilic compounds from plants with therapeutic potential effects, such as <i>Lavandula burnatii</i>, produced in Córdoba, Argentine, with high levels of active pharmaceutical ingredients in its essential oil (linalyl acetate and linalool). The evidence indicates that lavender essential oil could induce anxiolytic effects; however, more systematic studies are needed. <b>Methods:</b> To test the anxiolytic attributes of <i>Lavandula burnatii</i>, male Wistar rats (200–260 g) were injected intraperitoneally with two different doses of essential oil (30/80 mg/kg) or vehicle (Myritol 318, a high-purity vegetable oil), once (acute) or for 7 days. One hour after the last administration, the anxiolytic effects were evaluated using the following behavioral tests: the dark–light test and the elevated plus maze test. The open-field test was used to assess locomotor activity. <b>Results:</b> Our results showed that the lower dose of lavender essential oil induces anxiolytic effects since it increases the time spent in the aversive compartment in each evaluation. The acute administration has no impact on the behaviors evaluated. The higher dose is comparable with the control group and does not show significant differences. <b>Conclusions:</b> More studies are needed to better characterize the beneficial effects of this essential oil for anxiety disorders and to establish an adequate dosage range.
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spelling doaj-art-4d97ec814a8b4ae8a47dec1daec74dec2025-08-20T03:47:58ZengMDPI AGPharmaceuticals1424-82472025-04-0118562410.3390/ph18050624Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender CultivationSol Micaela Angulo0Victoria Belén Occhieppo1Cristian Moya2Rosana Crespo3Claudia Bregonzio4Instituto de Farmacología Experimental Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología Otto Orsingher, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000, ArgentinaInstituto de Farmacología Experimental Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología Otto Orsingher, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000, ArgentinaAsociación Civil Foro de los Ríos, Villa General Belgrano, Córdoba X5194, ArgentinaInstituto de Farmacología Experimental Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología Otto Orsingher, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000, ArgentinaInstituto de Farmacología Experimental Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Departamento de Farmacología Otto Orsingher, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000, Argentina<b>Background:</b> Anxiety disorders have a 7.3% worldwide prevalence and, considering the long period of treatment, developing new efficient and safer pharmacological tools is critical. Essential oils consist of highly concentrated lipophilic compounds from plants with therapeutic potential effects, such as <i>Lavandula burnatii</i>, produced in Córdoba, Argentine, with high levels of active pharmaceutical ingredients in its essential oil (linalyl acetate and linalool). The evidence indicates that lavender essential oil could induce anxiolytic effects; however, more systematic studies are needed. <b>Methods:</b> To test the anxiolytic attributes of <i>Lavandula burnatii</i>, male Wistar rats (200–260 g) were injected intraperitoneally with two different doses of essential oil (30/80 mg/kg) or vehicle (Myritol 318, a high-purity vegetable oil), once (acute) or for 7 days. One hour after the last administration, the anxiolytic effects were evaluated using the following behavioral tests: the dark–light test and the elevated plus maze test. The open-field test was used to assess locomotor activity. <b>Results:</b> Our results showed that the lower dose of lavender essential oil induces anxiolytic effects since it increases the time spent in the aversive compartment in each evaluation. The acute administration has no impact on the behaviors evaluated. The higher dose is comparable with the control group and does not show significant differences. <b>Conclusions:</b> More studies are needed to better characterize the beneficial effects of this essential oil for anxiety disorders and to establish an adequate dosage range.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/5/624anxietylavender essential oilbehavior<i>Lavandula burnatii</i>
spellingShingle Sol Micaela Angulo
Victoria Belén Occhieppo
Cristian Moya
Rosana Crespo
Claudia Bregonzio
Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
Pharmaceuticals
anxiety
lavender essential oil
behavior
<i>Lavandula burnatii</i>
title Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
title_full Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
title_fullStr Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
title_full_unstemmed Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
title_short Anxiolytic-like Effect Characterization of Essential Oil from Local Lavender Cultivation
title_sort anxiolytic like effect characterization of essential oil from local lavender cultivation
topic anxiety
lavender essential oil
behavior
<i>Lavandula burnatii</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/5/624
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AT cristianmoya anxiolyticlikeeffectcharacterizationofessentialoilfromlocallavendercultivation
AT rosanacrespo anxiolyticlikeeffectcharacterizationofessentialoilfromlocallavendercultivation
AT claudiabregonzio anxiolyticlikeeffectcharacterizationofessentialoilfromlocallavendercultivation