Lavender, Lavandula spp.

Lavender

Lavandula spp.

warm, dry, relaxant

Taste: aromatic, bitter, sweet

Family: Lamiaceae

Medicinal parts: aerial parts, mainly flowers

Actions: antispasmodic, rubefacient, antiseptic/antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, vulnerary, carminative, mild cholagogue, anticatarrhal, anxiolytic, sedative, exhilarant, insect repellent, nootropic

Affinities: nervous & digestive systems

Notable constituents:volatiles (linalyl acetate, linalool, borneol, cineole, geraniol, nerol,myrcene), flavonoids, rosmarinic & ursolic acids, coumarins, tannins

Medicinal applications

• Lavender is suitable for relieving tension internally. Its potent essential oils have sedative and antispasmodic effects on the digestion and nervous systems. 

• Lavender supports a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. Lavender improves digestion by supporting the motility of the intestinal tract, increasing gastric juice production and allowing for better digestion. This increased movement of digestion, combined with its relaxing, pain relieving and anti-inflammatory properties make lavender an effective medicine for working with bloating and gas. Research has shown that lavender supports treating acute and chronic digestive ailments, such as colitis. Lavender has also shown to be effective at decreasing the growth of pathogens, allowing healthy gut bacteria to flourish. 

• Lavender's anti-inflammatory and relaxant properties have shown that it can be supportive to aid asthmatic states. Its antispasmodic properties, combined with decreasing inflammation and calming properties make lavender a suitable treatment for constricted asthmatic states. 

• Lavender is suitable for relieving muscle tension. Lavender essential oil can be worked with undiluted for topical applications, undiluted lavender can penetrate rapidly into the tissue and provide a release for tension. Be cautious when working with undiluted lavender essential oil as long term use can cause allergies or irritation, it is only suitable for acute applications.  Lavender possesses anti-inflammatory properties as well, making it suitable for a variety of topical applications. Research demonstrates that linalool, a major terpene in lavender, is also analgesic, meaning it helps relieve pain. Lavender is suitable topically for relieving tension, inflammation and pain. 

• Lavender is supportive for treat migraines. Lavender can decrease severity and frequency of headaches Lavender is most suitable for wet and stagnant headaches, tension that is dry and hot may be aggravated by lavender. 

• Lavender is suitable for first aid topical applications. Lavender's potent volatile oils contain a high concentration of linalool, which is well researched for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. This allows lavender to be useful for treating a wide variety of topical ailments. Consider its antimicrobial properties for treating infected wounds and eczema and anti-inflammatory properties for soothing sunburns, bug bites and bruising. Combined with its pain relieving and calming properties, lavender has many benefits for topical applications.  

• Lavender calms the nervous system, creating relief for stagnant emotional states and easing anxiety and depression. Lavender is considered a nootropic in herbal medicine, meaning it aids cerebral circulation, enhancing mental well being and mood. Lavender is suitable for working with insomnia, research shows that it improves quality of sleep as well as increases quality of alertness in the day. Consider working with lavender for stress related exhaustion. If a state of nervous tension and stress may be leading to depression, consider working with lavender for its uplifting properties. Research shows that linalool, a major terpene in lavender, can help produce an anti conflict effect, decreasing states of aggressive behavior and increasing social activity. Lavender preparations significantly reduce stress and uplift depressive mental states. Conclusive research displays that lavender is suitable for general anxiety disorder and has been shown to be as effective as 0.5mg of lorazepam. Lavender relaxes the body while strengthening and tonifying the nervous system. Studies demonstrate its useful for working with dementia as it calms the mood while promoting brain function. 

In practice:

• Lavender promotes healthy digestion for acute and chronic gastrointestinal disorders. Consider working with lavender as a tea for relief of gas, bloating and stomach pain. Lavender may also be an appropriate addition to a treatment plan for chronic digestive issues. 

• Lavender has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that make it very useful for muscle tension and pain. Consider working with infused lavender oil in a massage, adding lavender into a bath tea blend or applying a lavender salve to sore muscles.

• Lavender is suitable for the treatment of headaches or migraines, consider adding lavender into an aromatherapy blend or drinking a tea blend with lavender for relief. Lavender can also be worked with as a compress on the forehead, a steam or adding into a bath tea. 

• Lavender has many applications for first aid, consider keeping a lavender salve in your first aid kit. Its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties allow it to be useful for treating a variety of ailments including but not limited to infected wounds, burns, bruising and bug bites. 

• Lavender's affinity for the nervous system makes it suitable for working with symptoms of mental stress and exhaustion. Depression, anxiety and insomnia can be relieved by working with lavender. Consider trying aromatherapy, lavender tea or tinctures for uplifting stagnant and irritated mental states as well as helping improve quality of sleep. Lavender can be used in an uplifting room spray as well.

• Lavender's microbial properties are useful in a cleaning spray, try diluting essential lavender oil into a spray bottle.   

Cautions:

• Lavender is commonly used in cleaning products, this may lead to some people disliking lavender's scent or taste as it reminds them of soap. Consider working with a blend of herbs if this is a problem. 

• Lavender’s drying properties are potent and useful, but consider the energetics of the person you are working with. Lavender is not suitable for dry conditions and overuse of lavender can cause irritation. 

• If possible, get lavender essential oil from smaller batch artisan farms. Commercial large scale distillation often uses the most potent lavender and this low quality oil is more likely to be irritating.  

Friends:

betony, chamomile, catnip, skullcap, rose, rosemary

This is for research purposes and should not be taken as medical advice.

Cited works

Baker J, Brown K, Rajendiran E, Yip A, DeCoffe D, Dai C, Molcan E, Chittick SA, Ghosh S, Mahmoud S, Gibson DL. Medicinal lavender modulates the enteric microbiota to protect against Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2012 Oct;303(7):G825-36. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00327.2011. Epub 2012 Jul 19. PMID: 22821949.

Koulivand PH, Khaleghi Ghadiri M, Gorji A. Lavender and the nervous system. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:681304. doi: 10.1155/2013/681304. Epub 2013 Mar 14. PMID: 23573142; PMCID: PMC3612440.

“Lavender Benefits.” Indigo Herbs, Indigo Herbs, 7 Aug. 2020, www.indigo-herbs.co.uk/natural-health-guide/benefits/lavender?srsltid=AfmBOorcrh4GI1Ypq3WcGBfI14o5mfyhC6Ri5_ZjCtawprY4IaXRHrPa. 

“Lavender: Herbs.” Herbal Reality, 3 July 2024, www.herbalreality.com/herb/lavender/. 

Moorman Li R, Gilbert B, Orman A, Aldridge P, Leger-Krall S, Anderson C, Hincapie Castillo J. Evaluating the effects of diffused lavender in an adult day care center for patients with dementia in an effort to decrease behavioral issues: a pilot study. J Drug Assess. 2017 Jan 23;6(1):1-5. doi: 10.1080/21556660.2016.1278545. PMID: 28265482; PMCID: PMC5327916.

Pandur E, Balatinácz A, Micalizzi G, Mondello L, Horváth A, Sipos K, Horváth G. Anti-inflammatory effect of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) essential oil prepared during different plant phenophases on THP-1 macrophages. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021 Nov 24;21(1):287. doi: 10.1186/s12906-021-03461-5. PMID: 34819075; PMCID: PMC8611982.

Peana, Alessandra & Moretti, L.. (2008). Linalool in Essential Plant Oils: Pharmacological Effects. 10.13140/2.1.1015.2963. 

Ueno-Iio T, Shibakura M, Yokota K, Aoe M, Hyoda T, Shinohata R, Kanehiro A, Tanimoto M, Kataoka M. Lavender essential oil inhalation suppresses allergic airway inflammation and mucous cell hyperplasia in a murine model of asthma. Life Sci. 2014 Jul 17;108(2):109-15. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2014.05.018. Epub 2014 Jun 5. PMID: 24909715.

Sasannejad P, Saeedi M, Shoeibi A, Gorji A, Abbasi M, Foroughipour M. Lavender essential oil in the treatment of migraine headache: a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Eur Neurol. 2012;67(5):288-91. doi: 10.1159/000335249. Epub 2012 Apr 17. PMID: 22517298.

Shahram Rafie, Forough Namjoyan, Fereshteh Golfakhrabadi, Fatemeh Yousefbeyk, Alireza Hassanzadeh, Effect of lavender essential oil as a prophylactic therapy for migraine: A randomized controlled clinical trial, Journal of Herbal Medicine, Volume 6, Issue 1,2016, Pages 18-23, ISSN 2210-8033 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hermed.2016.01.003. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210803316300033)

Swift, Katja, and Ryn Midura. “Lavender - Materia Medica Entry Text.” Accessed 07 April. 2025.

Wang Y, Zou J, Jia Y, Zhang X, Wang C, Shi Y, Guo D, Wu Z, Wang F. The Mechanism of Lavender Essential Oil in the Treatment of Acute Colitis Based on "Quantity-Effect" Weight Coefficient Network Pharmacology. Front Pharmacol. 2021 Apr 22;12:644140. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.644140. PMID: 33981227; PMCID: PMC8107818.