Effect of essential oil of Nepeta cataria L. of two different chemotypes on the psychoemotional state, mental performance and function of cardiovascular system

To study the effect of essential oil of catnip nonpetalactone (Nepeta cataria L.) and citral (Nepeta cataria var. citriodora Beck.) chemotypes on the psychoemotional state, mental performance and functional state of the cardiovascular system. The subjects were 574 women aged 55-85 years. 3 series of studies were performed with an exposure duration of 10, 20 or 30 minutes. In each series, the subjects were divided into control (psychorelaxation) and experimental (psychorelaxation combined with inhalation of essential oil at a concentration of 1 mg/m³ of air) groups. Before and after the procedures, the psychoemotional state was assessed (Hospital scale of anxiety and depression, scale of self-assessment of psychoemotional state), mental performance (test of missing letters, correction test), blood pressure, heart rate, blood circulation efficiency coefficient and Robinson index were calculated. Essential oil of both citral and nonpetalactone chemotypes reduce anxiety almost equally after 10 and 20 minutes of exposure, improve the recognition of words with missing letters after 10 minutes of exposure, and have a positive effect on the function of the cardiovascular system. However, under the action of the nonpetalactone chemotype, the shifts are more pronounced. The essential oil of the nonpetalactone chemotype cat significantly increases the speed and accuracy of performing a correction test with a 30-minute exposure. The essential oil of citral chemotype with 20 and 30-minute exposure increased self-esteem of mindfulness. A 10-minute exposure to nonpetalactone chemotype essential oil had a negative effect on self-assessment of both psychological well-being and psychological tone. There are both common features and differences in the action of the two studied chemotypes due to the peculiarities of their compositions, which must be taken into account in their practical application.

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