Encyclopedia/Botanical/TEM · Folk medicine/encyclopedia-lavender

Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

Sources

7 listed

Best forFor adults interested in lavender as a traditional herb in an evening routine, for example as flower tea or a scented sachet.

Clinical evidence

Emerging

Real World Significance

56Established historical significance

Breadth 50 Depth 49 Density 53 Convergence 63 Continuity 80

SafetyUsually well toleratedLavender preparations are often well tolerated but can cause irritation or allergic reactions. Tea, topical oil and medicinal capsules have different precautions. The general rating does not cover swallowing fragrance oil or arbitrary home-made preparations.

Tradition

TEMFolk medicine

Common preparations

TeaTinctureessential oil (topical, diluted)capsule (Lasea, non-prescription medicine)pillow filling / sachetBath

In short

Summary of findings for quick reference

EMA monographs separately describe specified lavender flower and essential oil preparations for traditional relief of mild mental stress and exhaustion and to aid sleep. This recognition is based on long-standing use, rather than established clinical efficacy.

Clinical studies discussed here investigated oral Silexan capsules, including in generalised anxiety disorder. Their findings apply to that specific preparation and cannot be transferred to tea, scented pillows, baths or topical oil.

Preparation matters: tea, fragrance products and medicinal capsules have different doses and safety requirements. Do not swallow fragrance oil as a home remedy. Persistent restlessness or sleep problems warrant medical assessment.

Clinical evidence ↔ Historical significance

We display two separate evidence categories: clinical evidence from modern trials and historical significance from documented healing tradition. Both are valuable, but they answer different questions.

In every encyclopedia entry we evaluate two distinct categories of evidence. Clinical evidence as used in trials meets a narrower but scientifically essential bar. At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of plant species worldwide have only partially been captured and tested in modern studies.

Alongside the trial picture our researchers compile a comprehensive overview of where and since when a plant has been used across different traditions of natural medicine. When a plant has been used as a medicinal plant in many cultures across many generations, that historical significance deserves to be visible too.

Our position: a truly informative overview emerges only when both categories sit side by side. We communicate transparently what counts as what.

Overview

True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a small, fragrant shrub with violet flowers, native to the western Mediterranean. Its dried flowers are used in tea and scented sachets; essential oil is distilled from its flowering tops.

The EMA recognises traditional use of specified lavender flower and oil preparations for mild mental stress and exhaustion and to aid sleep. Clinical studies discussed here concern a specific oral lavender oil preparation; their results cannot be transferred to tea, scented pillows or baths.

History

Lavender species appear in ancient herbals. The descriptions by Dioscorides and Pliny are identified with Lavandula stoechas, a relative of true lavender. Medieval and Renaissance texts cannot always be assigned to a modern species. They do not establish continuous use of L. angustifolia as a sleep remedy.

Lavender tea, scented sachets and baths belong to European household practice. Modern monographs define specific preparations. Silexan is a specially produced oral lavender oil, marketed as the pharmacy-only, non-prescription medicine Lasea in Austria and Germany. Its Austrian indication is temporary anxious mood in adults.

Mechanism

Linalool and linalyl acetate are major constituents of lavender essential oil. Cell and animal experiments found effects of the tested oil on calcium channels involved in nerve signalling. These findings offer a possible mechanism but do not establish benefits from tea or scented pillows.

Smelling lavender involves olfactory signalling, whereas an oral oil capsule delivers constituents through the digestive tract. These are distinct applications. The contribution of individual constituents to noticeable effects on stress or sleep is not fully understood.

Kasper and colleagues (2014) studied 539 adults with generalised anxiety disorder over ten weeks, comparing Silexan 80 or 160 mg daily with placebo and paroxetine. Both Silexan doses reduced measured anxiety symptoms more than placebo. Woelk and Schläfke (2010) reported similar improvements with Silexan and lorazepam over six weeks, but that study had no placebo group.

These results support an effect of this specific oral oil on anxiety symptoms, not a general claim that lavender products treat anxiety disorders or replace other treatments. Research in generalised anxiety disorder must also be distinguished from the Austrian Lasea indication of temporary anxious mood in adults. The capsule trials do not establish efficacy of tea, scented pillows or topical oil.

Usage

Forms and preparation

For tea, infuse 1–2 g of dried lavender flowers in 150 ml boiling water. Keep covered, follow the product’s infusion time and strain. For skin use, follow the instructions of a preparation intended for topical use. A home-made dilution is not automatically safe because of its percentage. Dried flowers can also fill scented sachets. For a lavender bath, follow a suitable bath product’s instructions. Do not apply undiluted fragrance oil to skin or mucous membranes or swallow it. Use oral lavender oil only in medicinal products intended for ingestion, such as Silexan in Lasea capsules.

Dosage

The EMA flower monograph specifies 1–2 g in 150 ml water three times daily for adults and adolescents aged 12 and over. This traditional medicinal tea dose does not apply to essential oil. The cited capsule trials do not establish a general dose for skin or fragrance products; follow each product’s instructions. The Austrian Lasea leaflet specifies one 80 mg capsule daily for adults, for no more than three months. Seek medical advice if symptoms do not improve after one month or worsen. The higher dose studied in 2014 is not a self-treatment recommendation.

Safety

Safety profile

Avoid preparations to which you are allergic. Do not swallow fragrance oil or apply it to mucous membranes; undiluted oil can irritate skin. EMA medicinal flower and oil preparations are not recommended below 12 or during pregnancy or breastfeeding because of insufficient data. Lasea is for adults aged 18 and over. Do not drive if impaired. Full baths are contraindicated with open wounds, acute skin disease, high fever, severe infection, severe circulatory disorders or heart failure. Belching is a common Lasea adverse effect; gastrointestinal complaints and allergic reactions are also possible. It is contraindicated in impaired liver function and not recommended in severe renal impairment or pregnancy; it must not be taken during breastfeeding. As a precaution, avoid combination with alcohol, other anxiolytics or sedatives. Paediatric case reports and cell experiments raise questions about possible hormonal effects of lavender fragrance products, but causation is not established.

Look-alikes

Botany

Family

Lamiaceae

Native regions

Mediterranean basin, Provence, Italy, Iberian peninsula, cultivated worldwide

Harvest window

June to August at full flowering

Habitat

True lavender grows in sunny, dry sites with well-drained, often calcareous soil. Its native range extends from northeastern Spain through southern France to Italy. It is cultivated elsewhere and introduced in many countries, including Austria.

Identification & foraging

Aromatic woody perennial shrub thirty to sixty centimetres tall. Narrow, grey-green linear leaves arranged opposite on square stems (a Lamiaceae family marker). Spike inflorescences of small violet-blue flowers in summer; the whole plant is strongly aromatic when crushed between the fingers, with the characteristic clean, sweet, herbal lavender scent.

Similar plants and look-alikes

Unpleasant

Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia)

Lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia) is a hybrid of L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. It is generally larger and produces more oil with a different composition. It is also used as a fragrance plant. The EMA monographs and Silexan trials discussed here concern L. angustifolia.

FAQs

What is the difference between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandin?

True lavender (L. angustifolia) is the species covered by the EMA monographs and Silexan studies discussed here. Lavandin (L. × intermedia) is a hybrid of true lavender and L. latifolia, generally producing more oil with a different composition. It is also used for fragrance, but the oils are not automatically interchangeable medicinally.

What is Silexan?

Silexan is a specially produced oral lavender oil used in Lasea capsules, a pharmacy-only non-prescription medicine. In Austria, Lasea is indicated for temporary anxious mood in adults. Trials have also investigated generalised anxiety disorder and higher doses; these differ from labelled use. Home-made or fragrance oils are not substitutes.

Can I swallow lavender essential oil?

Only use a medicinal product specifically intended for ingestion and follow its leaflet. Do not swallow lavender fragrance oil or make your own capsules. Austrian Lasea contains 80 mg lavender oil per capsule, with one capsule daily for adults. Ask a pharmacist about a suitable product.

What time of day is best for lavender?

There is no established best time for using lavender tea or fragrance as part of an evening routine. For medicinal capsules, follow the leaflet: Lasea is taken once daily at about the same time, rather than only as needed at bedtime.

References

7 sources.

Siegfried Kasper; Markus Gastpar; Walter E Müller; Hans-Peter Volz; Hans-Jürgen Möller; Sandra Schläfke; Angelika Dienel. Lavender oil preparation Silexan is effective in generalized anxiety disorder--a randomized, double-blind comparison to placebo and paroxetine. 2014. doi:10.1017/S1461145714000017
H Woelk; S Schläfke. A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder. 2010. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2009.10.006
Anita M Schuwald; Michael Nöldner; Thomas Wilmes; Norbert Klugbauer; Kristina Leuner; Walter E Müller. Lavender Oil-Potent Anxiolytic Properties via Modulating Voltage Dependent Calcium Channels. 2013. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059998
J Tyler Ramsey; Yin Li; Yukitomo Arao; Ajanta Naidu; Laurel A Coons; Alejandro Diaz; Kenneth S Korach. Lavender Products Associated With Premature Thelarche and Prepubertal Gynecomastia: Case Reports and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Activities. 2019. doi:10.1210/jc.2018-01880
European Medicines Agency, HMPC. Community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, flos (EMA/HMPC/734125/2010). 2012. Source
European Medicines Agency, HMPC. Community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, aetheroleum (EMA/HMPC/143181/2010). 2012. Source
Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG. Lasea 80 mg Weichkapseln: Gebrauchsinformation, Österreich (Z.Nr. 138956). 2024. Source

Legal notice: The depiction of historical significance and traditional use is context within our encyclopedia and not a health claim for any product, not a treatment promise, and not a substitute for medical advice. What may be stated on product labels, product pages, or in advertising is governed by the applicable legal requirements.