• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.129-143
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• 2012

Objectives : To evaluate the neuroprotective effects of the essential oil from Sohaphwangwon (SH), a Chinese traditional medicinal prescription in a Parkinson's disease mouse model. Methods : 1. The neuroprotective effect of SH on primary neuronal cells was examined by using 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+). 2. The neuroprotective effect of SH was examined in a Parkinson's disease mouse model. C57BL/6 mice treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 30 mg/kg/day), intraperitoneal (i.p.) for 5 days. SH inhalation was applied before MPTP treatment for 7 days and continued until 12 days after the first MPTP treatment. 3. To find out the intracellular target signal molecule(s) regarding the neuroprotective effect of SH essential oil, brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and synaptic protein SNAP25 were examined by Western blot analysis. Results : 1. MPP+ induced a concentration-dependent decrease in cell viability. However, in the presence of 3 and 5 ug/ml of SH, MPP+-induced cell death was significantly reduced. 2. SH inhalation in MPTP mice led to the restoration of behavioral impairment and rescued tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurodegeneration. 3. In SH / MPTP mice, BDNF and SNAP25 increased. Conclusions : This experiment suggests that the neuroprotective effect of SH essential oil is mediated by the expression of BDNF. Furthermore, SH essential oil may serve as a potential preventive or therapeutic agent regarding Parkinson's disease.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.1123-1134
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of aromatherapy on blood pressure and stress responses of clients with essential hypertension. Method: There were fifty-two subjects divided into an essential oil group, placebo group, and control group by random assignment. The application of aromatherapy was the inhalation method of blending oils with lavender, ylangylang, and bergamot once daily for 4 weeks. To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy, blood pressure and pulse were measured two times a week and serum cortisol levels, catecholamine levels, subjective stress, and state anxiety were measured before and after treatment in the three groups. Data was analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and $X^2-test$ using the SPSS 10.0 program. Results: The blood pressure, pulse, subjective stress, state anxiety, and serum cortisol levels among the three groups were significantly statistically different. The differences of catecholamine among the three groups were not significant statistically Conclusion: The results suggest that the inhalation method using essential oils can be considered an effective nursing intervention that reduces psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.357-365
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to examine the effects of aromatherapy on stress and stress responses in adolescents. Methods: A two-group cross-over design was used for this study. The experimental treatment was aroma essential oil inhalation and the placebo treatment was carrier oil inhalation using a necklace. The sample included 36 female high school students. Fisher's exact test, t-test, and paired t-test using SPSS/WIN program were used to analyze the data. Results: Stress levels were significantly lower when the students received the aroma treatment compared to when they received the placebo treatment. The stress responses except salivary IgA levels were significantly lower when the students received the aroma treatment. Conclusion: Aroma inhalation could be a very effective stress management method for high school students. Therefore, it is recommended that this program be used in clinical practice as an effective nursing intervention for high school students.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1230-1234
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• 2010

The effects of inhaling three essential oils (lavender [Lavendular angustifolia], silver fir [Abies alba], and grapefruit [Citrus paradise]) against restraint stress were investigated in mice. Serum cortisol levels were significantly increased in the 1h-restraint group. Also, silver fir and grapefruit oils prevented the elevation of cortisol levels under experimental conditions. Inhalation of 10% lavender oil for 30 min before inducing stress significantly inhibited restraint-induced hypothermia. We also investigated the effects of restraint stress on triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It was found that the concentration of triglycerides in the serum samples increased after restraint stress. Silver fir essential oil inhibited elevation of triglyceride levels. Taken all together, the correlation of herb essential oil inhalation against restraint stress in animals can partly be explained.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.33-39
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• 2020

Objectives : Increasing evidence supports the biological and pharmacological activities of essential oils on the central nervous system such as pain, anxiety, attention, arousal, relaxation, sedation and learning and memory. The purpose of present work is to investigate the protective effect and molecular mechanism of cypress essential oil (CEO) against scopolamine (SCO)-induced cognitive impairments in C57BL/6 mice. Methods : A series of behavior tests such as Morris water maze, passive avoidance, and fear conditioning tests were conducted to monitor learning and memory functions. Immunoblotting and RT-PCR were also performed in the hippocampal tissue to determine the underlying mechanism of CEO. Results : SCO induced cognitive impairments as assessed by decreased step-through latency in passive avoidance test, relatively low freezing time in fear conditioning test, and increased time spent to find the hidden platform in Morris water maze test. Conversely, CEO inhalation significantly reversed the SCO-induced cognitive impairments in C57BL/6 mice comparable to control levels. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of memory enhancing effect of CEO we have examined the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. CEO effectively elevated the protein as well as mRNA expression of BDNF via activation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Conclusions : Our findings suggest that CEO inhalation effectively restored the SCO-impaired cognitive functions in C56BL/6 mice. This learning and memory enhancing effect of CEO was partly mediated by up-regulation of BDNF via activation of CREB.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is difference in the effects of aromatherapy on dysmenorrhea by research design. Methods: Findings from the two different research designs (Nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest [NCG] design vs. two-group crossover design) were compared in regard to the effect of aromatherapy on dysmenorrhea. The subjects of the NCG design and the crossover design were a total of 58 female nursing students. The treatments (aroma essential oil inhalation and carrier oil inhalation) were given using a necklace. The data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test, t-test, Mann-Whitney test, paired t-test, and Shapiro-Wilk test using the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. The effect size for the two research designs was calculated. Results: In both research designs, the level of dysmenorrhea and menstrual pain after the aroma treatment were not significantly different from those after the placebo treatment. The effect size of the NCG design was higher than that of the crossover design. Conclusion: Aroma inhalation may not be effective in managing dysmenorrhea and menstrual pain. In order to further clarify the efficiency of research design and the effect of aromatherapy on discomfort during menstruation, replication studies are necessary. Future studies need to examine the effects of different research design on non-interval variables.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.756-764
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aromatherapy on dysmenorrhea, menstrual pain, anxiety, and depression in female college students. Methods: A two-group cross-over design was used. The sample included a total of 20 female students who were enrolled in a 3 year nursing program. The treatments(aroma essential oil inhalation and the placebo inhalation) were given using a necklace. The data were analyzed by $x^2$-test, paired t-test, and Mann-Whitney test using SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Results: The level of dysmenorrhea after the aroma treatment was not significantly different from the dysmenorrhea levels at pre-test and after the post-placebo treatment. The menstrual pain, anxiety and depression significantly improved after the aroma treatment. However, the levels of pain, anxiety, and depression after the aroma treatment were not significantly different from those after the placebo treatment. Conclusion: Aroma inhalation may be a effective in managing menstrual pain, anxiety, and depression. In order to further clarify the effect of aroma treatment on discomfort during menstruation, replication studies are necessary. Future studies need to examine the effects of different types of essential oils, administrating methods, and the lasting time of aroma treatment effect.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.153-160
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aromatherapy on stress, fatigue, mood, and vital signs of the nurses in the operating rooms. Methods: The data were collected from September 2007 to February 2008 in the operating room at K hospital located in Seoul, Korea. A total of 48 nurses were recruited. Among them, 25 nurses were randomly assigned to an experimental group and 23 were assigned to a control group. Experimental group was provided with aroma inhalation by necklace which had essential oil mixture of 0.2 cc. For aroma inhalation, Lavender, Zeranium and Mazoram were mixed in ratio of 5:3:2. In order to test the effectiveness of aroma inhalation, the pretest and posttest results for stress, fatigue, mood, and vital signs were compared between the experimental group and the control group. The data were analyzed by unpaired t-test and ANCOVA using the SPSS/WIN 15.0 program. Results: There were statistically significant decreases in the stress and fatigue scores, and increase in the mood scores and showed significant relaxation in the vital signs after the aroma inhalation. Conclusion: The aromatherapy had the positive effects on stress, fatigue, mood, and vital signs.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.74-80
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Lavender inhalation on sleep, depression and stress of institutionalized elderly. Methods: The methods used in the study follows a non-equivalent pre- and post-test design. 39 institutionalized elderly were recruited using a convenient sampling method that assigned them to the experimental or the control group. The experimental group were then provided with essential Lavender oil, as part of the aroma inhalation intervention, to inhale before sleeping for 7 days. The collected data were analysed with SPSS 18.0 (windows program), using frequency percentage (%), a Chi-square test and an independent t-test. Results: The results were that the experimental group had significantly higher sleep status scores(t=5.195, p=.000), and lower depression scores (t=-5.479, p=.000), physical stress scores (t=-5.741, p=.000) and psychological stress scores (t=-4.233, p=.000) than those in the control group. Conclusion: This study suggests that aroma inhalation, as part of aroma therapy, be applied and comprehensively adopted as a method of nursing intervention for improvement of sleep, depression and stress for institutionalized elderly.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the effects of aroma inhalation on subjective quality of sleep, state anxiety, and depression of mothers who underwent a Cesarean section delivery. Methods: This study was designed as a nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental study based upon data acquired through a pre-post test. The experimental group (n=33) was given general obstetric nursing care plus dry inhalation method using lavender essential oil, in which each mother put one drop on a tissue and breathe near it for 5 minutes before going to bed. Then they put 1~2 drops on their pillow for 6 nights. The control group (n=34) was only given general obstetric nursing care. Data were collected using a questionnaire for measures of subjective quality of sleep, state anxiety, and depression by self-report. ${\chi}^2$-test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and ANCOVA with SPSS/Win12.0 were used to analyze the data. Results: There were significant differences in subjective quality of sleep (p<.001), state anxiety (p=.049) and depression (p=.029). Conclusion: The results suggest that aroma inhalation method can be an effective nursing intervention to improve quality of sleep and decrease anxiety and depression in postpartum mothers suffering from stress related to a Cesarean section delivery.