Abstract
Background/purposeChemotherapy is important for cancer treatment, but patients’ physical and mental stress may lead to unfavorable pain control, an increase in the risk of relapse, and a reduction in the quality of life (QOL). Recently, aromatherapy has been performed in addition to palliative care in many countries, such as Japan and the United States, but scientific evidence remains insufficient. To investigate the usefulness of aromatherapy as complementary and alternative medicine, we evaluated its influence on the immune and autonomic nervous systems.MethodsWe instructed healthy volunteers to inhale aroma oil at bedtime for 6 weeks, and measured changes in the salivary level of secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA). Furthermore, blood was collected in addition to saliva in some healthy volunteers, and the blood level of noradrenaline (NA) was measured to examine its relationship to changes in the salivary s-IgA level.ResultsAromatherapy with lavender and grapefruit oils significantly increased the salivary s-IgA level: lavender oil increased 3.5-fold (p = 0.03), and grapefruit oil increased 2.55-fold (p = 0.04). On lavender oil inhalation, there was a weak, positive correlation between changes in the salivary s-IgA level and those in the blood NA level (R2 = 0.24).ConclusionThe results showed that aromatherapy with lavender and grapefruit oils reduced stress by acting on the immune and autonomic nervous systems in healthy volunteers. In the future, its clinical usefulness must be investigated through similar examination in patients in whom the stress level may be high.
Highlights
Chemotherapy is important for cancer treatment, but adverse reactions are marked despite potent therapeutic effects, increasing patients’ physical and mental stress
We investigated changes in stress marker levels related to long-term aromatherapy in healthy adults to scientifically examine the stress-relieving effects of aromatherapy, as chemotherapy-related stress persists over a long period
We examined the usefulness of aromatherapy as complementary and alternative medicine by adopting saliva, which can be collected with low-level invasiveness, as a sample and measuring the salivary level of secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA)
Summary
Chemotherapy is important for cancer treatment, but adverse reactions are marked despite potent therapeutic effects, increasing patients’ physical and mental stress. A study indicated that several factors, including mental stress, in addition to hereditary and environmental factors were involved in carcinogenesis [1]. In cancer treatment, mental stress may lead to unfavorable pain control, an increase in the risk of relapse, and a reduction in the quality of life (QOL) [2]. Cortisol, catecholamine, amylase, and secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) were reported to be stress markers that reflect mental stress. Most stress markers are associated with the autonomic nervous or immune systems. S-IgA, which is secreted on the mucosa, contributes to protection against influenza virus
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