Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia · Lavender oil · Silexan

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Anxiety^1–3 Depressive symptoms^{4, 5} Sleep quality^6–8 Preoperative anxiety^{3, 9–12} Postoperative pain^13–18 Postoperative pain^13–16	Pregnancy or breastfeeding¹⁹ Lavender allergy²⁰ Hormone-sensitive cancers²⁰

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is an aromatic plant whose flowering tops yield an essential oil, promoted orally and by aromatherapy for calming anxiety and stress²¹. Its calming effect is attributed to linalool and linalyl acetate acting on calcium channel and serotonin signaling²². Uses follow from that anxiolytic effect: anxiety first, then depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and perioperative anxiety and pain.

Trials of the standardized oral oil Silexan in generalized and subthreshold anxiety favored it over placebo, and a 2022 psychiatric guideline gave lavender modest support for anxiety disorders. A 2025 trial found Silexan superior to placebo in mild-to-moderate major depression. Inhaled evidence is heterogeneous and mostly at high risk of bias³. In hemodialysis patients, a 2024 meta-analysis found lavender aromatherapy lowered fistula needle-insertion pain and restless legs severity, but the pain effect was not significant against placebo²³. Products listing lavender number 430, mostly liquid extracts with some capsules and teas; Silexan findings do not generalize to other lavender oils; see Form comparison.

The hormonal caution rests on laboratory evidence of weak estrogenic and antiandrogenic activity and on case reports of breast enlargement in children using topical products, where causation is unclear²⁰. Per the NIH fact sheet, people taking any medicine are asked to talk with a health care provider before use, since sedative interactions are theoretical²¹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

55 sources, 45 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources