The effects of inhalation of essential oil odour from Rosa damascena Mill. on gerbils in two models of anxiety

To investigate the anxiolytic effects of prolonged rose odour, mature gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were exposed to acute (24 hour), chronic (2 week) rose odour, or a no-rose condition. Their behaviour was assessed in the elevated plus maze and black white box. Results were compared with the effects of diazepam (1mg/kg) i.p. The Jonckheere-Terpstra test was used, with the Mann Whitney U-test to examine significant group differences.

In the elevated plus maze, spatiotemporal measures altered by diazepam, were unaffected by rose oil, whereas exploration, headdip frequency increased (acute U=100, p<0.001; chronic U=13, p<0.001).

In the black white box rose oil had anxiolytic effects: latency to move from the white to the black compartment (acute U=182, p<0.01, chronic U=179, p<0.05), percentage time in the white compartment (acute U=168, p<0.01, chronic U=149, p<0.01) and exploration, rear-sniff frequency white (acute U=100, p<0.001; chronic U=99, p<0.001) increased. The percentage of time in the dark area decreased (acute U=160, p<0.01, chronic U=178, p<0.05). This anxiolytic profile strengthened after chronic exposure to rose odour, transitions between the compartments (U=167, p<0.01) and percentage of time moving around the arena (U=154, p<0.001) increased.

The anxiolytic profile of rose oil odour in these models was unlike diazepam's benzodiazepine profile and perhaps more representative of serotonergic type anxiolytics.

Acknowledgements: Thankyou to Dr Paul Pollard, Head of Department, The Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire for supporting this work.