Matsubara Eri, Tsunetsugu Yuko, Ohira Tatsuro, Sugiyama Masaki
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba 305-8687, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Jan 21;14(1):97. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14010097.
Employee problems arising from mental illnesses have steadily increased and become a serious social problem in recent years. Wood is a widely available plant material, and knowledge of the psychophysiological effects of inhalation of woody volatile compounds has grown considerably. In this study, we established an experimental method to evaluate the effects of Japanese cedar wood essential oil on subjects performing monotonous work. Two experiment conditions, one with and another without diffusion of the essential oil were prepared. Salivary stress markers were determined during and after a calculation task followed by distribution of questionnaires to achieve subjective odor assessment. We found that inhalation of air containing the volatile compounds of Japanese cedar wood essential oil increased the secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-s). Slight differences in the subjective assessment of the odor of the experiment rooms were observed. The results of the present study indicate that the volatile compounds of Japanese cedar wood essential oil affect the endocrine regulatory mechanism to facilitate stress responses. Thus, we suggest that this essential oil can improve employees' mental health.
近年来，由精神疾病引发的员工问题持续增加，并已成为一个严重的社会问题。木材是一种广泛可得的植物材料，人们对吸入木质挥发性化合物的心理生理影响的了解也有了显著增长。在本研究中，我们建立了一种实验方法，以评估日本雪松木材精油对从事单调工作的受试者的影响。准备了两种实验条件，一种是精油扩散的条件，另一种是精油不扩散的条件。在一项计算任务期间及之后测定唾液应激标志物，并发放问卷以进行主观气味评估。我们发现，吸入含有日本雪松木材精油挥发性化合物的空气会增加硫酸脱氢表雄酮（DHEA-s）的分泌。在对实验房间气味的主观评估中观察到了细微差异。本研究结果表明，日本雪松木材精油的挥发性化合物会影响内分泌调节机制，以促进应激反应。因此，我们认为这种精油可以改善员工的心理健康。
