Lavender is also grown for the production of its essential oil, which comes from the distillation of the flower spikes of certain lavender species.
The oil has cosmetic uses, and it is believed to have some medicinal uses.
Lavender essential oil, in contrast to the plant form, is toxic when swallowed.
Fast facts on lavender
- Lavender is grown in northern Africa and the Mediterranean mountains, often for extraction of its essential oils.
- The medicinal benefits of using lavender to treat anxiety, fungal infections, hair loss, and wounds have been demonstrated.
- Evidence does not yet support the use of lavender to treat depression,high blood pressure, nausea, menstrual pain, or eczema, among other conditions.
- Lavender is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and should not be taken in place of approved and prescribed medicines.
Uses
Lavender can be distilled into an essential oil, and has a range of medical applications.
The herb is highly regarded for skin and beauty and is commonly used in fragrances and shampoos to help purify the skin. It can be purchased over-the-counter (OTC) from drugstores, and some versions are used to add flavor to baked goods and foods.
There are also many medicinal properties associated with lavender.
Benefits
Lavender oil is believed to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to heal minor burns and bug bites.
Research suggests that it may be useful for treating anxiety, insomnia, depression, and restlessness.
Some studies suggest that consuming lavender as a tea can help digestive issuessuch as vomiting, nausea, intestinal gas,upset stomach, and abdominal swelling.
In addition to helping with digestive problems, lavender is used to help relieve pain from headaches, sprains, toothaches, and sores. It can also be used to prevent hair loss.
Fungal infections
A study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology found that lavender oil could be effective in combating antifungal-resistant infections.
The researchers found that the oil was lethal to a range of strains that can cause disease in the skin.
In the study, the essential oils distilled from the Lavandula genus of the lavender plant seemed to work by destroying the membranes of fungal cells.
The study showed that Lavandula oil is potent and demonstrates antifungal activity on a wide spectrum.
Wound healing
A study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine compared the effects of several treatments for wound healing.
The researchers compared the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), saline solution, povidone-iodine, and lavender oil. These were applied to laboratory rats.
The study authors noted that wounds closed faster in the TENS and lavender oil groups than the control groups. These findings suggest that lavender has an acceleratory effect on wound healing.
Hair loss
Lavender is possibly effective for treatingalopecia areata. This is a condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body.
Research from 1998 shows that lavender can promote hair growth by up to 44 percent after 7 months of treatment.
In a more recent study, researchers found that applying lavender oil to the backs of mice helped to promote hair growth over the course of 4 weeks.
Anxiety disorder and related conditions
Lavender scents have been shown to reduce anxiety before a dental appointment.
A review article in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice evaluates how effective Silexan might be for patients with different anxiety disorders. Silexan is a lavender-oil preparation available in 80-milligram (mg) gelatine capsules.
The team found that Silexan had an anxiolytic, or anxiety-reducing, effect on patients with generalized or subsyndromal anxiety within 2 weeks.
Researchers have also found that lavender scent may help anxious dental patients.
The investigators measured the dental anxiety levels of 340 adult patients during their wait at the dentist's waiting room for their appointment.
Half the patients were exposed to lavender scent, while the other half were not.
The team found that those exposed to lavender scent reported lower levels of anxiety compared to the other patients. The calming effect of lavender was present regardless of the type of scheduled dental appointment.
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