Abstract
Many vegetable extracts, essential oils, and their main constituents are active on the Central Nervous System (CNS). In fact, they have been used as sedatives, hypnotics, or tranquilizers for their activity in treating CNS disorders. In this research, we studied the possible activities of Lavandula angustifolia (LA) essential oil and of its main constituent, linalool, as anti-stress compounds on anxiety and social interaction and their in vitro effects on proteins (pERK and PKA) involved in the transmission of the signal. An acute intraperitoneal injection of linalool (100 mg/kg) and of LA essential oil (200 mg/kg) reduced motor activity without any anxiolytic effect, but significantly increased social interaction. Stressed mice, after being exposed to a social defeat encounter, showed heightened anxiety and social avoidance. Acute administration of LA essential oil blocked stress-induced anxiety, while linalool showed no effects. However, both compounds were capable of reversing social aversion, acting as antidepressant agents. Our results showed that linalool inhibits pERK and PKA expression in the SH-SY5Y cell, but no effect was detected with the LA essential oil. Therefore, the LA essential oil and linalool may be considered as useful alternative tools to the available traditional treatments for social stress-induced mental illnesses.
Highlights
Essential oils are natural complex mixtures of volatile compounds considered as multifunctional agents
Our results showed that linalool inhibits pERK and PKA expression in the SH-SY5Y cell, but no effect was detected with the Lavandula angustifolia (LA) essential oil
We reported that Lavandula angustifolia, Coriandrum sativum, and Laurus nobilis essential oils and their main components, i.e., linalool and 1,8-cineole, influenced adenylate cyclase 1 (ADCY1) expression [22,23]
Summary
Essential oils are natural complex mixtures of volatile compounds considered as multifunctional agents. Among their properties, they stimulate human smell since the olfactory information reaches a number of cortical areas without being relayed in the thalamus [1]. Aromatherapy is a complementary medical practice involving the therapeutic use of essential oils to treat various physical or psychological conditions [2]. Different studies have been carried out to evaluate the effects of essential oils and aromatic species on the Central Nervous System (CNS), reporting effects on learning, memory, and attention. Essential oils have been proposed for the treatment of stress [3], which is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders in developed countries, leading to other clinical features, such as anxiety, insomnia, or depression. Anxiety is among the most common forms of psychopathology worldwide, characterized by shortness of breath, heart palpitations or pale skin
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