You wash your dishes with citrus detergent and take baths in lavender suds. But are those stress-busting scents really having an effect?
A new Japanese study suggests they are. The research, recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is the first to find certain fragrances have the power to alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels.
In tests conducted on lab rats, Akio Nakamura and his colleagues at food manufacturing company T. Hasegawa Co. saw major changes in the blood and gene levels of stressed rodents that inhaled scents such as citrus, mango and lavender.
Linalool, a chemical compound with a floral scent found in teas and foods such as oranges, tomatoes and basil, was key in returning elevated signs of stress in the immune system to near-normal levels.
Researchers split 12 rats into three groups and tested them for a week. One group was stressed and exposed to the odour, one was just stressed and one was exposed to neither. Inhaling linalool reduced the activity of more than 100 genes that are aggravated by stress and upped the level of immune cells in the blood.
Dr. Nakamura and his colleagues believe the scents would have a similar effect in humans.
True, Our ancestors have long used aromatherapy to ease tension. It's doubtful, however, that rats did the same.
