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- Title
The Effects of Oral Lavender Therapy on Wounding in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
- Authors
Magden, Elizabeth R.; Neal Webb, Sarah; Lambeth, Susan P.; Buchl, Stephanie J.; Schapiro, Steven J.
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) used as a therapeutic has been shown to alleviate anxiety and stress in humans but has yet to be studied in nonhuman primates (NHPs). In this study, we administered lavender in the form of oral capsules as a possible therapy to decrease wounding in a subset of chimpanzees, with the thought that decreasing anxiety and stress may also decrease conflict and, therefore, wounding. Overall, wounding did not decrease with lavender therapy; however, the percentage of wounds requiring medical intervention did decrease with lavender therapy. Lavender administration in humans has been shown to promote calmness without the side effects often observed with benzodiazepines. Studies in both humans and rodents have found that ingestion of oral lavender capsules resulted in significantly decreased anxiety. Additionally, mice developed an anti-conflict effect and humans increased socially inclusive behaviors. Given the safety of oral lavender oil and the observed benefits, we administered daily lavender capsules to six chimpanzees who exhibited conflict-instigating behaviors in an effort to further decrease our already low levels of wounding. We compared the total number of wounds in 25 chimpanzees housed with the six lavender-treated chimpanzees in five different social groups (1) prior to administration of daily oral lavender capsules to (2) total wounds during daily oral lavender capsule treatment. We hypothesized that lavender therapy treatment would reduce overall wounding in the social groups. Surprisingly, overall wounding was higher during the lavender treatment period (p = 0.01), yet the percentage of wounds requiring treatment significantly decreased during the lavender therapy period (36% vs. 21%, p = 0.02).
- Subjects
CHIMPANZEES; LAVENDERS; ORAL drug administration; MAGGOTS; WOUNDS &; injuries; SOCIAL groups; CALMNESS
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2023, Vol 13, Issue 8, p1382
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani13081382