Premium
The Effects of Lavender Essential Oils on the Anxious Behavior of Zebrafish
Author(s) -
Moore Jennifer Lindsey,
Kasper Sherry Oden
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.738.15
Subject(s) - lavender , zebrafish , anxiety , lavender oil , psychology , medicine , essential oil , biology , psychiatry , food science , biochemistry , gene
In the United States, anxiety disorders are becoming increasingly prominent, affecting as many as 30% of Americans with more cases found each year. Currently, lavender essential oils are being utilized by people to relieve anxiety symptoms although there is little research to validate the scientific basis for the relief of symptoms. Some research has indicated that lavender in essential oils can inhibit the serotonin reuptake transporter similar to the mechanism of action for many oral antidepressants. Zebrafish have become an accepted model for anxious behavior due to their visible and inherent diving behavior when presented with negative stimuli. In addition, zebrafish share 82% of the genes associated with mental disorders in humans and have similar endocrine responses such as the release of cortisol. To test the effect of lavender essential oil on the anxious behavior, zebrafish were exposed to a stressful stimulus and given varying doses of lavender oil to determine their shoaling behavior. In addition, to determine the effects on endocrine response, cortisol levels were tested in each condition. We have found that lavender essential oils decrease diving behavior in zebrafish compared with those who are untreated. Therefore, the goal of the research was to exhibit the relief of anxious symptoms with the treatment of lavender oil in zebrafish by documenting their behavioral changes when treated with lavender essential oils compared with anxious behavior in those with no treatment. Support or Funding Information None This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .