Lavender Essential Oil Inhalation Shown to Suppress Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Murine Model of Asthma

July 29, 2014

Researchers at the Okayama University Graduate School of Health Sciences have shown that inhalation of Lavender essential oil suppresses allergic airway inflammation in a murine model of asthma.

The findings were published on June 5, 2014 in the journal Life Sciences.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320514005177

Essential oil is a volatile organic compound from a plant. There are many kinds of essential oils that were used as traditional remedies for a long time. However, the efficacy of essential oil is not yet scientifically well-known.

M. Shibakura and her colleagues used a murine model of asthma that shows asthmatic symptoms such as constriction of airways and an increase in the numbers of eosinophils in the presence of stimuli. They have found that Lavender essential oil inhibits allergic inflammations through the observation of the decrease of eosinophils in airways and alveolars.

The findings are expected to lead to the development of new drugs and methods for asthma treatment.


Contact Information:
Mototaka Senda, Ph.D.
US Representative
Intellectual Property Office, Organization for Research Promotion and Collaboration, Okayama University
Fremont, California USA
TEL: 1-510-797-0907
Email: takasenda@okayama-u.ac.jp

Misako Shibakura, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama Japan