What is the dose of Lavender?

Silexan 80 mg/day orally for 10 weeks in meta analysis. Do not generalize to all lavender oils/teas/aromatherapy. | Proprietary oral lavender oil preparation (Silexan); separate from essential oil inhalation and topical lavender.

Herb Profile

Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

Oral lavender oil preparation Silexan has stronger anxiety evidence than generic lavender/aromatherapy claims; meta analysis of 5 placebo controlled trials used 80 mg/day for 10 weeks and showed anxiolytic effects with favorable tolerability.

Last reviewed: July 9, 2026•5 sources citedReport a correctionProfile-wide ·A Strong

Use extra caution — Oral standardized lavender oil may reduce anxiety symptoms in studied adult populations. Details

Evidence: Strong Evidence
Typical onset: Varies by prep
Safety rating: Moderate caution
Best for: Sleep, Stress
Avoid / review if: Caution With Sedatives

Generated profile category visual

At a glance

From this profile's structured data

Evidence: Grade A
Safety: Oral standardized lavender oil may reduce anxiety symptoms in studied adult populations.
Profile context: sleep, stress

Next stepsWhere to go next — guides & comparisons

If you want help sleeping → Sleep guides
If you want help with anxiety or stress → Anxiety & stress guides
If you want to browse more herbs → All herbs

Safety

Safety & Cautions

Oral standardized lavender oil may reduce anxiety symptoms in studied adult populations. | Do not imply any lavender product has the same evidence; do not sell essential oil ingestion advice.

Elevated caution

Caution level: Elevated. One caution category applies — read it before use.

Detailed safety fields

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and contraindications

Caution With Sedatives

Full safety note

Oral standardized lavender oil may reduce anxiety symptoms in studied adult populations. | Do not imply any lavender product has the same evidence; do not sell essential oil ingestion advice. | Make the page specifically distinguish Silexan/oral lavender oil from aromatherapy.

Evidence-based safety

Caution when combined

Severity and certainty are shown separately. A high-priority caution can still be theoretical: these pairings are screened from shared contraindication mechanisms and are not automatically documented clinical interactions. Provenance identifies the source fields that produced each flag; it does not upgrade the certainty of the pairwise claim.

Moderate Caution

68 flagged pairings

Sedation / CNS depression

Representative pairings are shown below. Large mechanism groups are intentionally summarized to keep profiles focused and crawl-efficient.

Sedation / CNS depressionCertainty: Theoretical

Data provenance recorded for 68 of 68 pairings in this mechanism group.

+56 more pairings share this mechanism. Use the Safety Checker to review a specific combination.

Evidence

Evidence Summary

Evidence lens

Most useful for practical interpretation when safety context also fits.

StrongStrong Evidence

Human clinical evidence: Present in source signals

Mechanistic / preclinical: Mechanism mapped — Stress Response Modulation

Research maturity: Established research — Long Term Human Evidence May Be Limited.

Safety boundary: Safety note available — Oral standardized lavender oil may reduce anxiety symptoms in studied adult populations.

This profile cites 5 human studies.

Study design details

Evidence Grade

Grade A: Strong Evidence

Evaluation of methodological rigor, population reach, and evidence alignment.

Design Match: Meta-analysis
Risk of Bias: Low
Consistency: Consistent

Strongest recorded design is a meta-analysis, drawn from 9 recorded studies, 8 in people. No disagreement is recorded across them.

How evidence grades work

Each grade reflects the strength and consistency of published human evidence — not marketing claims. Grades are based on study count, design quality, effect size, consistency, and recency.

Strong: Multiple RCTs, consistent direction, adequate effect size
Moderate: Some RCTs or consistent observational data in humans
Preliminary / Mixed: Animal or in-vitro only, or conflicting human data
Traditional / Theoretical: Traditional use only; no controlled human trials

Clinical Study Summaries (8)7 human evidence sources · 0 human trials · ~9,193 participants across 1 human evidence source with reported N · Consistency not yet classifiable

Filter by study class

Showing 8 of 8 studies.

What the evidence actually shows

This table contains 8 structured sources, including 7 human evidence sources; 0 are human trials. Across 1 human evidence source with a reported sample size, the approximate participant total is 9,193; overlapping publications may include some of the same people. Source-to-conclusion relationships are not classified in this structured set, so consistency is not yet classifiable.

Profile-wide evidence grade: see the profile grade above · Confidence: not separately assigned

What would change our conclusion?

Larger, well-controlled human trials using comparable populations, doses, preparations, and clinically meaningful outcomes could materially strengthen or weaken this conclusion. Replication in a different population or a high-quality synthesis resolving current disagreement could also materially change confidence.

Study	Design	N	Dose	Duration	Population	Outcome	Result & magnitude	Source
Effects of lavender on anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis Donelli D et al. · Phytomedicine · 2019 Background	Meta-analysis Statistically combines results from multiple eligible studies; confidence still depends on the quality, consistency, and directness of those studies.	n=9193	—	—	—	—	—	PubMed →
Efficacy of Silexan in patients with anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials M. Dold; L. Bartova; H. Volz; E. Seifritz; H. Möller; S. Schläfke; S. Kasper · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · 2023 Background	Meta-analysis Statistically combines results from multiple eligible studies; confidence still depends on the quality, consistency, and directness of those studies.	—	—	—	—	—	—	PubMed →
Effect of Lavender Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Fatigue in Hemodialysis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Background	Meta-analysis Statistically combines results from multiple eligible studies; confidence still depends on the quality, consistency, and directness of those studies.	—	—	—	—	—	Lavender aromatherapy reduced anxiety and fatigue in hemodialysis patients in pooled analyses.	PubMed →
Effect of Lavender Oil on Preoperative Anxiety: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Background	Meta-analysis Statistically combines results from multiple eligible studies; confidence still depends on the quality, consistency, and directness of those studies.	—	—	—	—	—	Lavender oil significantly reduced preoperative anxiety versus control across the pooled literature.	PubMed →
Herbal medicine for depression and anxiety: A systematic review with assessment of potential psycho-oncologic relevance Yeung KS et al. · Phytother Res · 2018 Background	Systematic review Uses a predefined method to find and evaluate relevant studies, but may or may not pool their results statistically.	—	—	—	—	—	—	PubMed →
Anxiety-Reducing Effects of Lavender Essential Oil Inhalation: A Systematic Review Background	Systematic review Uses a predefined method to find and evaluate relevant studies, but may or may not pool their results statistically.	—	—	—	—	—	Ten of eleven included clinical trials reported reduced anxiety after lavender essential-oil inhalation.	PubMed →

Show 2 more studies

Efficacy of Lavender Essential Oil in Reducing Stress, Insomnia, and Anxiety in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

Background

Systematic review

Uses a predefined method to find and evaluate relevant studies, but may or may not pool their results statistically.

—

All included studies reported improvement in their measured stress, anxiety, and/or sleep outcomes.

PubMed →

Biological activities of lavender essential oil

Cavanagh HM et al. · Phytother Res · 2002

Background

Narrative review

Summarizes selected literature without the full prespecified search and selection methods of a systematic review.

—

PubMed →

Dosing & Timing

Dose guidance: Silexan 80 mg/day orally for 10 weeks in meta analysis. Do not generalize to all lavender oils/teas/aromatherapy. | Proprietary oral lavender oil preparation (Silexan); separate from essential oil inhalation and topical lavender.

How Lavender works

Simplified mechanism pathway based on preclinical and pharmacological evidence. Does not confirm clinical efficacy.

Mechanism Pathway — How Lavender Works

CompoundTarget / ReceptorMechanismEffect / Outcome

Mechanisms & biological pathways

Preclinical pathways. Proposed mechanisms from in vitro and animal research; these do not confirm clinical outcomes in humans.

Stress Response Modulation

Active Compounds

Key constituents studied in Lavender, with full pharmacology and safety profiles.

Linalool — active compound in Lavender

Compare related active botanicals

Explore botanicals with similar chemistry, effects, or safety considerations in the Botanical Activity Atlas.

Guides that use Lavender

Condition guides

Compare & Sourcing

Compare side-by-side tradeoffs or verify active marker guidelines.

Review available sources for Lavender

Independent database mapping — evaluated separately from safety and efficacy scores.

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Safety first · Harm reduction

This information is educational and not medical advice. Start low, avoid risky combinations, and consult a licensed clinician before making health decisions—especially if you use medications, have diagnosed conditions, or are pregnant/breastfeeding.

Learn how we evaluate confidence, safety, and intensity on the methodology page.

Editorial Review

Checked against primary sources, cited evidence, and contraindication language before publication. Evidence claims, safety language, and affiliate modules are reviewed independently. Not personal medical advice.

Editorial Standards →

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Botanical profile context

How to interpret Lavender

Lavender herb profile with evidence context, key research topics, source notes, safety context, and references presented in an evidence-first format. Use this herb profile as a starting point for evidence review, not as a recommendation to start a new supplement. Botanical products can vary by plant part, extract ratio, standardization, dose, and contaminant testing, so two labels with the same common name may not behave the same way.

When reviewing Lavender, compare the traditional-use context against the human evidence, mechanism notes, and safety cautions. Pay special attention to pregnancy, breastfeeding, liver or kidney disease, blood-pressure effects, sedation, stimulation, anticoagulant use, antidepressants, and any prescription medication overlap.

For product decisions, prefer transparent labels, named extracts, clear serving sizes, and third-party quality testing. Avoid treating a long list of possible mechanisms as proof that an herb will solve a specific condition.