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"Lavender essential oil is traditionally used and approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as herbal medicine to relieve stress and anxiety. Some animal and clinical studies reveal positive results in models of anxiety and depression although very little research has been done on molecular mechanisms. Our work consisted of evaluating the effects of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil on central nervous system well-established targets, such as MAO-A, SERT, GABAA and NMDA receptors as well as in vitro models of neurotoxicity. The results showed that lavender essential oil and its main components exert affinity for the glutamate NMDA-receptor in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 0.04 μl/mL for lavender oil. In addition, lavender and linalool were also able to bind the serotonin transporter (SERT) whereas they did not show affinity for GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor. In three different models of neurotoxicity, lavender did not enhance the neurotoxic insult and improved viability of SH-SY5Y cells treated with hydrogen peroxide. According to our data, the anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects attributed to lavender may be due to an antagonism on the NMDA-receptor and inhibition of SERT. This study suggests that lavender essential oil may exert pharmacological properties via modulating the NMDA receptor, the SERT as well as neurotoxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide."essential oils, central nervous system, lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula officinalis, SH-SY5Y cells, glutamate receptor."Our study reveals for the first time that lavender exerts receptor binding affinities with a relevant activity on the NMDA receptor. According to our data, we can state that the anti-agitation and antidepressant activities of lavender may be attributed at least in part to the NMDA receptor modulation as well as an inhibition of the SERT. Lavender essential oil also protected SH-SY5Y cells from hydrogen peroxide induced neurotoxicity."ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE: Exploring Pharmacological Mechanisms of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) Essential Oil on Central Nervous System Targets. Víctor López, Birgitte Nielsen, Maite Solas, Maria J. Ramírez and Anna K. Jäger. Front. Pharmacol., 19 May 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2017.00280 (MedlinePlus): "Depression is a serious medical illness. It's more than just a feeling of being sad or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 19 million teens and adults in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life. Symptoms can include:*Feeling sad or "empty"*Loss of interest in favorite activities*Overeating, or not wanting to eat at all*Not being able to sleep, or sleeping too much*Feeling very tired*Feeling hopeless, irritable, anxious, or guilty*Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems*Thoughts of death or suicide... read more ".(Wikipedia): "Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India. Many members of the genus are cultivated extensively in temperate climates as ornamental plants for garden and landscape use, for use as culinary herbs, and also commercially for the extraction of essential oils. The most widely cultivated species, Lavandula angustifolia, is often referred to as lavender, and there is a color named for the shade of the flowers of this species... read more ".(Wikipedia): "The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (also known as the NMDA receptor or NMDAR), is a glutamate receptor and ion channel protein found in nerve cells. It is activated when glutamate and glycine (or D-serine) bind to it, and when activated it allows positively charged ions to flow through the cell membrane.[2] The NMDA receptor is very important for controlling synaptic plasticity and memory function.[3] The NMDAR is a specific type of ionotropic glutamate receptor.[4] The NMDA receptor is so named because the agonist molecule N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) binds selectively to it, and not to other glutamate receptors... read more ".(Wikipedia): "The serotonin transporter (SERT or 5-HTT) also known as the sodium-dependent serotonin transporter and solute carrier family 6 member 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC6A4 gene.[1] SERT is a type of monoamine transporter protein that transports serotonin from the synaptic cleft to the presynaptic neuron.[2] This transport of serotonin by the SERT protein terminates the action of serotonin and recycles it in a sodium-dependent manner. This protein is the target of many antidepressant medications of the SSRI and Tricyclic antidepressant classes.[3] It is a member of the sodium:neurotransmitter symporter family. A repeat length polymorphism in the promoter of this gene has been shown to affect the rate of serotonin uptake and may play a role in sudden infant death syndrome, aggressive behavior in Alzheimer disease patients, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression-susceptibility in people experiencing emotional trauma.[4]... read more ".Prof. Atanas G. Atanasov (Dr. habil., PhD)