The in Vitro Anxiolytic Potential of Standardized Lavandula Angustifolia Oil and Humulus Lupulus Extract Combinations

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Demirci F., Kahya S. E.

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PHARMACY, vol.30, no.4, pp.1148-1154, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)

Abstract

Recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant rise in fatigue, depression, andnervous system disorders was observed. While conventional pharmacotherapy is the standard for neuropsychiatricconditions, the use of herbal preparations is gaining prominence. Within the scope of this study, the potential anxiolyticeffects of combined standardized herbal preparations were evaluated using the in vitro monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition assays. The essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. was analyzed and verified by GC/MS, where linalol (22.1%) and linalyl acetate (19.2%) was in compliance with European Pharmacopoeia. Whereas the Humulus lupulus L.flower aqueous ethanol extract contained 0.9% humulone according to the HPLC analyses. In vitro enzymatic assaysshowed that the H. lupulus extract inhibited MAO-A and MAO-B with IC50 values of 47.7 and 50 micro g/mL, respectively.Where the L. angustifolia essential oil showed IC50 69.4 and 55.1 micro g/mL inhibitions, respectively. Using the checkerboardmethod, the combination of H. lupulus (1:4 ratio) and L. angustifolia (1:3 ratio) showed 95.5% inhibition of MAO-A, suggesting a syergistic effect, to the best of our knowledge for the first time. These initial experiements suggest that the combinations of lavender oil and hop strobile preparations may be utilized with the potential for development ofstandardized nervous system targetted phytotherapeutics.