Close your eyes and picture yourself in a field of lavender flowers. You breathe deep and stress melts away. Your heart rate drops, your mind clears and you are washed with a calming sense of well-being.
If you were in that field, the effects would be real, and linalool would be the reason why. Lavender has high concentrations of this compound, which creates the plant’s distinct and soothing aroma. Linalool is a common ingredient in perfumes for its fresh floral notes. Marijuana connoisseurs recognize linalool-rich strains by their sweet, spicy, and citrus-like scents.
And there’s a lot more to this unique terpene than just pleasant and soothing aromas. Linalool-rich lavender, rosewood, and coriander preparations were prized mainstays of traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic, Egyptian, and Roman healing traditions, providing mental and physical remedies for everything from anxiety, depression, and insomnia to infections, indigestion, and headaches. Modern medical research has confirmed many of these benefits, and new discoveries continue to shed light on its therapeutic potential.
What Is Linalool Made Of?
Linalool belongs to a class of natural organic compounds known as terpenes, the biological building blocks that give plants their scents, flavors, and certain bio-protective properties. There are more than 30,000 different terpenes found in nature, and marijuana contains more than 100 known terpenes.
Chemists classify linalool as a monoterpene, with a straightforward and relatively simple molecular structure. Like other major monoterpenes found in cannabis – such as limonene, myrcene, and pinene – linalool is highly bioactive, with a molecular simplicity that allows it to interact with a wide range of organic compounds that play a role in human health.
In addition to the lavender plant, linalool is found in oranges, rosewood trees, and spices such as coriander, mint, and cinnamon. It occurs in both the terpene state and as linalyl acetate. Without getting too deep into the chemistry of acetate esters, the takeaway is that these two closely related chemical forms work in complementary ways that increase their effectiveness and may allow them to enhance the beneficial effects of other terpenes and cannabinoids in marijuana. This phenomenon is known as the entourage effect.
What Does Linalool Do To Your Body?
Linalool-based products show therapeutic value in treatments ranging from clearing up acne to the treatment of epileptic seizures. Rather than list all of the benefits, this article focuses on the known and tangible therapies that linalool-based extracts and linalool-rich cannabis may provide. The list includes stress reduction, relaxation, help with depression, better sleep, pain relief, and enhanced mental clarity.
Promotes Relaxation
Lavender flowers, lavender baths, lavender balms. It’s all about relaxation, and scientific research confirms that a whiff of linalool-rich lavender oil promotes physical relaxation by increasing adenosine levels in the bloodstream. Adosene is a hormone that regulates important pulmonary functions. When adenosine levels rise, heart rates go down, blood vessels expand, and blood pressure drops.
Reduces Stress
A Japanese research group tracking cellular stress activity found that linalool-based aromatics significantly reduced the physiological changes caused by physical stress. When you are stressed out, the body’s sympathetic nervous system is in control, keeping things at a high level of alert known as the “fight or flight” response.
The parasynthetic nervous system is the yin to this yang, and linalool helps activate this system, which is often called the “rest and digest” response. When the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rates drop and digestion improves. The more time you spend in a state of parasympathetic relaxation, the better your overall health.
Helps With Depression And Anxiety
Depression is often caused by low levels of dopamine and serotonin. Linalool-based therapies have proven helpful in treating depression by interacting with the body’s monoaminergic system, which regulates both serotonin and dopamine levels. A study conducted by the
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México found that the linalool-rich essential oil used in Mexican folk medicine had significant antidepressant effects. Lead Silvia Guzman-Gutieres author wrote that their findings support “the use [of this oil] for the treatment of sadness.”
Linalool is also a promising treatment for anxiety. A collaborative study from Moscow State Medical University and La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science advocated for the use of linalool-based aromatics as an alternative to anti-anxiety drugs. In Germany, the lavender-based essential oil Silexan is now approved to treat mild anxiety. A report, in the journal Mental Health Clinician, on lavender oils for anxiety treatment stated:
Silexan exhibits many desirable properties of an anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) agent, including a calming effect without sedation, as well as a lack of dependence, tolerance, or withdrawal.
Improves Sleep Quality
Linalool-based aromatics can help you fall asleep faster, sleep better, and wake up feeling fresh. That’s the conclusion from a University of Minnesota survey of college students with sleep problems who were given a dose of aromatic lavender at bedtime. A majority of participants reported that the lavender essence helped them fall asleep faster but didn’t cause them to oversleep. In addition, they woke up feeling refreshed.
Laboratory research confirms this phenomenon. A Brazilian study showed that inhaled lavender oil lowered body temperatures to promote more restful sleep. It also reduced restless movement during sleep and didn’t cause any residual drowsiness or physical impairment, which is a common side effect of most prescription sleep drugs. Linalool-rich lavender aromatics also showed promise in treating sleep disturbance symptoms in elderly dementia patients.
Provides Pain Relief
Linalool has a proven track record for pain reduction; there are several ways that it can contribute to pain management.
Linalool helps balance acetylcholine levels in the brain. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that sends pain messages through the spinal cord. These pain-relieving effects are triggered by activating neural pathways that create a calming response to nerve cells known as acetylcholine receptor alpha-7.
Linalool can also influence the release of the hormone adenosine. Adenosine contributes to brain health by controlling blood flow and it can calm pain-signaling nerve cells in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.
When linalool-based aromatherapy was added to post-surgery recovery routines, patients used less morphine. Linalool-rich essential oils also reduced the need for acetaminophen drugs in young patients recovering from tonsil surgery.
Can Prevent Lung Damage
Linalool and linalyl acetate are known to have anti-inflammatory properties. Among the many health benefits this can provide, one is of particular interest to medical cannabis patients who prefer smoke-based therapies. A Chinese study demonstrated that administration of linalool-based compounds significantly reduces the inflammation of lung tissue caused by cigarette smoke. Linalool therapy also reduces the production of certain cell-damaging enzymes released in reaction to smoke exposure.
What Is The Best Way To Use Linalool?
The human body has a high affinity for linalool. It is absorbed quickly when inhaled or ingested in liquid or edible form. It is not absorbed into fatty tissues, metabolizes rapidly, and its effects are not debilitating or long-lasting.
Medical cannabis patients may want to factor these rapid response/rapid release properties into their therapy schedules. A single-dose administration may prove ideal for a quick relaxation break before returning to other activities, or for enjoying restful sleep without residual effects in the morning. At the other end of the spectrum, patients using linalool-rich formulas to manage anxiety and depression or for pain management may need to schedule more regular therapies to maintain desired effects.
Is Linalool Safe?
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration classifies linalool as a substance generally recognized as safe for human consumption. There is some evidence that lavender oil with a high linalool concentration can cause irritation or damage when applied to human skin at full strength. Currently, there are no indications that linalool-rich cannabis products have toxic effects.
What Cannabis Strains Have Linalool?
While it is rarely, if ever, the dominant terpene in any given cannabis strain, there are a growing number of products that provide elevated levels of linalool. An internet search for linalool-rich cannabis products yields a wide variety of choices, with new hybrid strains and oils constantly added to the list of familiar favorites.
Focusing on strains that provide lavender and floral notes is a good starting point, but the best way to get past the marketing claims is to look for a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). This certificate is generated by an accredited third-party lab and it lists the product’s certified levels of THC, CBD and additional cannabinoids and terpenes.
View a COA Example
One trusted third-party source for this information is ACS Laboratory, which provides full panel analysis for cannabinoids and terpenes. Information from their website lists the following strains that typically offer linalool-rich content:
- Amnesia Haze
- Lavender Kush
- LA Confidential:
- Granddaddy Purple (GDP)
- Do-Si-Dos (Dosi)
- Scooby Snacks
- Zkittlez
What Is The Best Way To Vape Linalool-Rich Cannabis?
Linalool has a higher boiling point than terpenes such as pinene, myrcene, and limonene. To unlock this terpene’s full benefits, vaporizers should be set to 198°C/388.4°F. For a complete list of terpenes and their optimal vaping temperatures, refer to CannaMD’s guide to The Best Temperatures to Vape.
Do You Have Questions About Linalool-Rich Medical Marijuana?
If you are looking for information on linalool-based cannabis therapies, CannaMD’s state-certified network of medical marijuana doctors is here to answer questions and provide advice. Contact the CannaMD team at (855) 420-9170 today. Ready to get your card and purchase legal cannabis products? You can find out if you qualify for medical marijuana treatment with our quick online application!