The effect of marigold essential oil on the psychoemotional state and mental performance of the elderly

The article presents data on the effect of vapors of the essential oil of small marigolds (Tagetes minuta L.) of the breeding of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens – National Scientific Center RAS on the psycho-emotional state and mental performance of elderly people. The study involved 509 women aged 55-89 years. It has been established that the essential oil of small marigolds at a concentration of 1 mg/m³ has an anxiolytic effect in elderly people with clinically and subclinically pronounced anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), improves mental activity when performing both simple and complex mental work (the test of missing letters and the method of proof-reading with the Ivanov-Smolensky table). At the same time, it somewhat worsens the self-esteem of the psychoemotional state of the subjects, which may be due to their negative perception of the smell of the marigold essential oil.

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