Key result
Inhaled lavender and ylang-ylang oils significantly lower blood pressure and heart rate across 27 RCTs.
Why the study?
Ylang-ylang and lavender essential oils are known to exert hypotensive effects via inhalation, motivating an evaluation of their effects on arterial pressure and the autonomic nervous system.
Does inhalation of ylang-ylang and/or lavender essential oil reduce blood pressure and heart rate in healthy individuals and patients?
Meta-Analysis
Does inhalation of ylang-ylang and/or lavender essential oil reduce blood pressure and heart rate in healthy individuals and patients?
Inhalation of ylang-ylang and lavender essential oils significantly reduces arterial blood pressure and heart rate, supporting their potential as complementary cardiovascular interventions.
INTRODUCTION Essential oils (EOs) have garnered significant attention due to their several biological properties. Inhalation remains the most efficient and rapid delivery method. Ylang-ylang (YEO) and lavender (LEO) EOs are known to exert hypotensive effects. This study evaluates the YEO and LEO effects on arterial pressure and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). METHODS Database searches yielded 42 and 176 articles testing, respectively, YEO and LEO. Two randomised clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating YEO+LEO, three RCTs evaluating YEO, and 22 RCTs evaluating LEO were selected. RCTs were stratified according to the presence and type of stress (mental or physical and mental), the moment of inhalation of the EOs (before, during, or after exposure to stress), age (children and adults), and health status (healthy and patients). We performed meta-analyses of the effects of YEO and/or LEO on systolic (SAP), diastolic (DAP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and HR variability. RESULTS Both EOs decrease arterial pressure. The YEO+LEO blend decreases both SAP (P<0.00001) and DAP (P<0.0001). YEO decreases SAP ( P =0.02). LEO decreases SAP ( P <0.0001), DAP (P<0.0001), MAP (P=0.006), and HR ( P <0.001). LEO decreases SAP in patients or healthy adults during mental stress and in individuals before physical and mental stress, and DAP and MAP in adult/elderly patients and HR in healthy adults, both during physical and mental stress. LEO does not affect the high-frequency band in adult women. DISCUSSION These data support the clinical potential of EOs as a complementary intervention for cardiovascular health, but modulation of the ANS requires further investigation.
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Silva et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiovascular health and stress-related blood pressure and heart rate modulation. Ylang-ylang and lavender essential oil inhalation was evaluated on Systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and HR variability (p=<0.0001). Lavender and ylang-ylang essential oil inhalation significantly reduced systolic and diastolic arterial pressure (P<0.0001) as well as heart rate (P<0.001 for lavender) across 27 RCTs.
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