Lavender Shows Broad Antidepressant Effects in an Innovative New Study
Depression is not monolithic. People struggling with depression have many different symptoms. This new study suggests that an oral lavender supplement can help depression and its many different symptoms.
Depression is usually discussed as an overall condition, but different people can have different depressive symptoms with different severities. This innovative, new study broke depression down into its several manifestations.
The double-blind study included 446 adults with mild to moderate depression. While one group was given the SSRI sertraline (Zoloft), a second group was given 80mg of lavender essential oil orally, and a third group was given a placebo. The study lasted 8 weeks.
Remarkably, lavender was as effective as Zoloft for overall depression. Total scores on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale decreased by 10 points on placebo but by a clinically and significantly better 12.1 points on lavender and 12.6 points on Zoloft. While 41.5% of people given a placebo saw their total score go down by at least 50%, that level was reached by 53.5% of the lavender group and 54% of the Zoloft group.
When it came to individual symptoms, lavender and Zoloft were significantly better than placebo for 5 of 9 items. For lavender, those items were apparent sadness, reported sadness, lassitude (fatigue), concentration difficulties, and reduced appetite. Inner tension and inability to feel also had clinically meaningful improvement that fell just short of clinical significance.
This study shows that a lavender essential oil supplement taken orally is similarly effective to the SSRI Zoloft both overall and for specific symptoms of depression.
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. September 2026;29 (9), September 2026:pyag041.
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For much more on preventing and treating depression naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.
For much more on lavender, see our book Healthy Herbs: Your Everyday Guide to Medicinal Herbs and Their Use.
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