It is said that Cleopatra anointed her body in lavender\u2019s passionate scent to seduce Mark Antony. During Roman times, lavender gained prestige-status, with one pound of the precious purple herb costing more than the average laborer\u2019s monthly wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lavender is also laced with medicinal\nhistorical tales. In the 16th century, French glove makers who perfumed their\nwares with lavender appeared to escape cholera. In the 17th<\/sup> century,\nduring London\u2019s Great Plague, wearing a lavender wrist corsage was said to\nprevent infection. Today, as the 21st<\/sup> century blooms, a ginormous\nspotlight illuminates lavender and its reported power to treat mental health issues, anxiety,\ninsomnia, high blood pressure, depression, headaches, hair loss, nausea, acne,\ntoothaches, and (ready for this one?) cancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Poppy cock and twoddle? Not all<\/em> the claims. A new study from University of California, Irvine supports lavender\u2019s ability to lower blood pressure \u2013 but more importantly, explains for the first time the molecular mechanisms at work.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The study, published September 2019 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)<\/em>,2<\/sup> illustrates\u00a0how lavender, along with other botanical plants traditionally used to lower blood pressure, activate KCNQ5, a specific potassium channel in blood vessels. KCNQ5, together with other potassium channels, including KCNQ1 and KCNQ4, is expressed in vascular smooth muscle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Giving credit where credit is due, the\nstudy researchers also found that fennel and chamomile activate KCNQ5 \u2013\nalthough less remarkably than lavender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the breakthrough. When activated, KCNQ5 relaxes blood vessels, making it a logical mechanism for at least part of the hypotensive actions associated with lavender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe found KCNQ5 activation to be a\nunifying molecular mechanism shared by a diverse range of botanical hypotensive\nfolk medicines. Lavandula\nangustifolia<\/em>, commonly called lavender, was among those we studied. We\ndiscovered it to be among the most efficacious KCNQ5 potassium channel\nactivators, along with fennel seed extract and chamomile,\u201d says senior\ninvestigator of the study Geoff Abbott, PhD, professor of physiology and\nbiophysics at the University of California, Irvine\u2019s School of Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Abbott is not suggesting that you\nprescribe lavender-infused lotions, potions, diffusers, and candles for\npatients with high blood pressure. He does, however, point to the fact that the KCNQ5-selective potassium\nchannel activation feature of the botanicals, like lavender, is lacking in the\nmodern synthetic pharmacopeia. Until now, it seems to have eluded conventional\nscreening methods utilizing chemical libraries, which may account for why it is\nnot a recognized feature of synthetic blood pressure medications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur discovery of these botanical KCNQ5-selective potassium channel openers may enable development of future targeted therapies for diseases including hypertension and KCNQ5 loss-of-function encephalopathy,\u201d Dr. Abbott concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources<\/p>\n\n\n\n