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Certain essential oils such as lavender, neroli, jasmine, roman chamomile, clary sage, and Indian sandalwood can potentially increase oxytocin concentrations in postmenopausal women.
2020 The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine The Effects of Essential Oil on Salivary Oxytocin Concentration in Postmenopausal Women Tarumi W, Shinohara K
Randomised Controlled Trial Chamomile Clary Sage Jasmine
In this study, fifteen postmenopausal women were subjected to the effects of ten different essential oils one at a time. The oils exposed to included rose otto, sweet orange, lavender, neroli, frankincense, jasmine absolute, ylang ylang, roman chamomile, clary sage, and Indian sandalwood. Initially, they were exposed to a control for 20 minutes, followed by exposure to an essential oil for 20 minutes. Each woman was exposed to only a single kind of essential oil per day. Saliva was collected immediately before and after both control exposure and essential oil exposure. The oxytocin levels in the saliva were then measured.
The findings revealed an increase in salivary oxytocin concentrations following exposure to six out of the ten essential oils. Specifically, lavender, neroli, jasmine absolute, roman chamomile, clary sage, and Indian sandalwood were associated with a significant increase in salivary oxytocin when compared to the control odor. This study implies that olfaction stimulation with the listed essential oils might help counter the reduction of muscle mass and function caused by aging in women.
Blended essential oils, including lavender, sage, and marjoram, show potential in relieving menstrual cramps and reducing pain duration in women with primary dysmenorrhea.
2012 Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research Pain relief assessment by aromatic essential oil massage on outpatients with primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized, double‐blind clinical trial Ou MC, Hsu TF, Lai AC, Lin YT, Lin CC
Randomised Controlled Trial Aromatherapy Clary Sage Lavender
For the methodology, the researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 48 outpatients suffering from primary dysmenorrhea. These patients’ discomfort was rated above five on a 10-point numeric scale. Participants were divided evenly into two groups: one was treated with a cream blending lavender, clary sage, and marjoram essential oils, while the other received a synthetic fragrance. All participants massaged the cream onto their lower abdomen daily, from the end of one menstrual cycle to the start of the next.
In the discussion of results, it was found that the treatment provided relief and decreased pain duration for patients in the essential oils group following a single menstrual cycle. Among the blended oils, four key analgesic components—linalyl acetate, linalool, eucalyptol, and β-caryophyllene—were principally credited for pain reduction, constituting up to 79.29% of the blend. Thus, these findings propose that this mixed formula might be a valid alternative and complementary medicine approach for primary dysmenorrhea.