Heo Seung-Jae, Park Sang-Kyun, Jee Yong-Seok
Department of Physical Education, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea.
Research Institute of Sports and Industry Science, Hanseo University, Seosan, Korea.
J Exerc Rehabil. 2023 Jun 28;19(3):170-180. doi: 10.12965/jer.2346150.075. eCollection 2023 Jun.
This study aimed to identify neuroendocrine substances and natural killer (NK) cells, including their subsets and receptors, to determine whether phytoncides scented in an urban hospital could help improve stress in cancer survivors. Fifty-five gynecological cancer survivors were assigned to either the control group (CG, n=28) or phytoncide group (PTG, n=27). The PTG meditated by lying down in a space scented with phytoncide for 1 hr a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Stress levels in both groups were high prior to the experiment and decreased by 9.31%±45.98% (=0.003) only in the PTG after the experiment. Although the parasympathetic nerve activity of the PTG increased, the epinephrine and cortisol levels were significantly (<0.001) decreased by 5.29%±25.5% and by 24.94%±11.62%. Moreover, the PTG showed a significant increase in the levels of NK cell subsets after 8 weeks, whereas there was no improvement in the CG. In conclusion, phytoncide fragrance reduces stress, increases the number of NK cells and their family even in a nonforest environment, and improves innate immunocytes in gynecological cancer survivors; parasympathetic nerve activity and cortisol hormones play critical roles in this process. That is, a phytoncide essential oil helps to stimulate changes in immunocytes' mobility by affecting the human nervous and endocrine systems, thereby providing relief for psychological stress among cancer survivors who previously had cancer cells.
本研究旨在识别神经内分泌物质和自然杀伤（NK）细胞，包括它们的亚群和受体，以确定城市医院中散发的植物精气是否有助于改善癌症幸存者的压力状况。55名妇科癌症幸存者被分为对照组（CG，n = 28）或植物精气组（PTG，n = 27）。PTG组的参与者每天在散发植物精气的空间中躺下冥想1小时，每周5天，持续8周。实验前两组的压力水平都很高，实验后仅PTG组的压力水平下降了9.31%±45.98%（P = 0.003）。虽然PTG组的副交感神经活动增加，但肾上腺素和皮质醇水平显著降低（P<0.001），分别下降了5.29%±25.5%和24.94%±11.62%。此外，8周后PTG组的NK细胞亚群水平显著增加，而CG组没有改善。总之，植物精气香味可减轻压力，即使在非森林环境中也能增加NK细胞及其亚群的数量，并改善妇科癌症幸存者的先天免疫细胞；副交感神经活动和皮质醇激素在这一过程中起关键作用。也就是说，植物精气精油通过影响人体神经和内分泌系统，有助于刺激免疫细胞活性的变化，从而缓解曾患癌症的幸存者的心理压力。
