研究发现用香料按摩治病缺乏依据

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Aromatherapy Falls Short, Study Finds

WEDNESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- Aromatherapy: It may smell good, but is it actually good for you?

Researchers are reporting that two of the most commonly used scents in aromatherapy do nothing to heal wounds, relieve pain or enhance immune status, although one did briefly improve mood.

In fact, in some cases, distilled water showed more of a salutary effect, the study found.

\"Keep it in mind before spending a lot of money\" on aromatherapy, said study lead author Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Division of Health Psychology at Ohio State University. \"I buy perfume, because I like the smell. If you enjoy the smell, that's one thing, but don't buy perfume because you expect to change your physiology or to really influence your health.\"

The study results are published online in the April issue of the journalPsychoneuroendocrinology.

Used for thousands of years in countries such as India and Egypt, aromatherapy has many adherents who say the concentrated oils extracted from flowers improve health and emotional well-being, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Despite its widespread use, there's little scientific data on the effectiveness of the therapy, the study authors stated.

\"This is by far the largest and most comprehensive study of actual physiological outcomes,\" Kiecolt-Glaser said. \"There are different perspectives on why odors should work in terms of changing physiology, if they do. A lot of aromatherapy literature thinks of it as a drug-specific mechanism.\" In other words, that scents work much like drugs work, with very specific effects.

Using this point of view as a starting point, Kiecolt-Glaser and her colleagues, who included husband Dr. Ronald Glaser, looked at the two odors that have been most researched: lemon, which is purported to be stimulating and a mood enhancer, and lavender, which is supposed to be relaxing and is used as a sleep aid. Distilled water was used as a control.

Potential study participants were first screened to see if they had an adequate sense of smell. Fifty-six people were then admitted into the study. During three half-day sessions, half the group was handed an envelope that explained the scent they were about to smell and what to expect. The other participants were simply told they'd be smelling a variety of fruit and floral odors.

Then the researchers taped cotton balls laced with either lemon oil, lavender oil or distilled water below the volunteers' noses for the duration of the tests. The participants were monitored for blood pressure and heart rate, and the researchers took regular blood samples from each volunteer. The samples were analyzed for changes in different biochemical markers, including Interleukin-6 and Interleukin10, as well as the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine.

The researchers then tested the volunteers' ability to heal by using a standard test in which tape is applied and removed repeatedly on a specific site on the skin. The scientists also tested the volunteers' reaction to pain by placing their feet in 32-degree water. Finally, the participants filled out three standard psychological tests to assess mood and stress during each session.

While lemon oil showed a clear mood enhancement, lavender oil did not, the researchers said. Neither smell had any positive impact on any of thebiochemical markers for stress, pain control or wound healing.
用香料按摩：可能闻起来很好，但是会真正对你有益吗？

研究者报道了在香料按摩中最常用的两种香料对治疗创伤、减轻痛苦或提高免疫力状况没有作用，虽然其中一种确实可以改善人的心情。

这项研究发现事实上在某些情况下，蒸馏水显示出了更有益的作用

“在花费大量金钱在香料按摩前紧记”，研究组主要作者Janice Kiecolt-Glaser,俄亥俄州大学健康心理学分会主任。“我购买香水，因为我喜欢这种香味。如果你喜欢这种味道，那没有什么，但是不要因为你是期望改变你的生理或者实在的影响你的健康而购买香料。”

研究结果在线刊登在假设神经内分泌期刊第四期上。

香料按摩方法在印度和埃及等国已有上千年的历史，并拥有众多追随者，依据美国城市临床杂志，他们认为从鲜花中提取的浓缩油有改善健康状况和情感安宁功效。

尽管它有广泛的应用，但从目前的研究状况看，几乎没有关于这种治疗有效的科学数据。

“这是目前为止关于现行的生理学结果的最全面的研究，” Kiecolt-Glaser说，“如果他们做将发现在气味为什么能够改变生理方面目前有不同的观点，许多香料按摩文化认为它有特定的药物机理。”换句话说，气味的作用更像药物的作用，有它特定的作用。

用这种观点作为一个起始点，Kiecolt-Glaser和她的合作者，包括丈夫Ronald Glaser博士，调查了两种研究最多的气味：柠檬，传说有刺激和增强心情的功效，和熏衣草，认为有放松和帮助睡眠的功效。蒸馏水作为对照组。

首先筛查研究参与者的潜能来看他们是否有适当的嗅觉。56人之后被确认参与此项研究。通过三个半天的会议，半数的组得到了信封，其中解释了他们将闻到的气味和通过这种气味期望得到什么。其他参与者只是被简单告知他们将闻到各种水果和花的味道。

在测试期间，研究者分别将蘸有柠檬油，熏衣草或蒸馏水的棉线球放在志愿者的鼻子下。并测试参与者的血压和心律，常规采集每位志愿者的血样。分析标本不同生物化学标记物的变化，包括白细胞介素-6和白细胞介素-10，以及压力激素皮质醇和去甲肾上腺素。

研究者通过一个用棉线球反复擦拭皮肤特定部位的标准测试来测试志愿者的愈合能力。科学家也通过将志愿者的脚放在32摄氏度的水中来测试对痛的反应。最后，参与者完成三个标准心理测试来评估他们在每个过程中的情绪和压力。

研究者说，柠檬油有清楚地增强情绪的作用，熏衣草油没有。任何气味都没有任何对压力，控制痛觉和创伤愈合的生物化学标记物的正向作用。