• Yu Zhong, Qin Zheng, Pengyi Hu, Xiaoying Huang, Ming Yang, Guilin Ren, Qing Du, Jun Luo, Kenan Zhang, Jing Li, Haixia Wu, Yuanyuan Guo, and Shanshan Liu.
• Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, State Key Lab.of Innovation Drug and Effcient Energy-Saving Pharmaceutical Equipment, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330004, China.
• Bmc Complem Altern M. 2019 Nov 11; 19 (1): 306.

BackgroundsThe chemical composition of many essential oils indicates that they have sedative and hypnotic effects, but there is still a lack of systematic studies on the sedative and hypnotic effects of essential oils. In addition, aromatherapy does not seem to have the side effects of many traditional psychotropic substances, which is clearly worthwhile for further clinical and scientific research. The clinical application of essential oils in aromatherapy has received increasing attention, and detailed studies on the pharmacological activities of inhaled essential oils are increasingly needed.Hypothesis/PurposeAs insomniacs are usually accompanied by symptoms of depression and anxiety of varying degrees, based on the theory of aromatherapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this experiment is to study a Compound Anshen essential oil that is compatible with Lavender essential oil, Sweet Orange essential oil, Sandalwood essential oil and other aromatic medicine essential oils with sedative and hypnotic effects, anti-anxiety and anti-depression effects. To study the sedative and hypnotic effects of Compound Anshen essential oil inhaled and the main chemical components of Compound Anshen essential oil, and to compare and analyze the pharmacodynamics of diazepam, a commonly used drug for insomnia.MethodsThe Open field test and Pentobarbital-induced sleep latency and sleep time experiments were used to analyze and compare the sedative and hypnotic effects of inhaling Compound Anshen essential oil and the administration of diazepam on mice. The changes of 5-HT and GABA in mouse brain were analyzed by Elisa. The main volatile constituents of Compound Anshen essential oil were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).ResultsInhalation of Compound Anshen essential oil can significantly reduce the spontaneous activity of mice, reduce latency of sleeping time and prolong duration of sleeping time. The results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that Compound Anshen essential oil can increase the content of 5-HT and GABA in mouse brain. The main volatile chemical constituents of the Compound Anshen essential oil are D-limonene (24.07%), Linalool (21.98%), Linalyl acetate (15.37%), α-Pinene (5.39%), and α-Santalol (4.8%).ConclusionThe study found that the inhalation of Compound Anshen essential oil has sedative and hypnotic effect. This study provides a theoretical basis for further research and development of the sedative and hypnotic effects of Compound Anshen essential oil based on the theory of aromatherapy.

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