Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Dietary Supplementation with an Extract of Aloysia citrodora (Lemon verbena) Improves Sleep Quality in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study

Silvia Pérez-Piñero
ORCID logo ,
Juan Carlos Muñoz-Carrillo
* ORCID logo ,
Jon Echepare-Taberna
ORCID logo ,
Macarena Muñoz-Cámara
,
Cristina Herrera-Fernández
,
Ana I. García-Guillén
ORCID logo ,
Vicente Ávila-Gandía
ORCID logo ,
Pau Navarro
,
Nuria Caturla
ORCID logo ,
Jonathan Jones
,
Francisco Javier López-Román
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 16 April 2024 / Approved: 17 April 2024 / Online: 17 April 2024 (14:48:09 CEST)

How to cite: Pérez-Piñero, S.; Muñoz-Carrillo, J.C.; Echepare-Taberna, J.; Muñoz-Cámara, M.; Herrera-Fernández, C.; García-Guillén, A.I.; Ávila-Gandía, V.; Navarro, P.; Caturla, N.; Jones, J.; López-Román, F.J. Dietary Supplementation with an Extract of Aloysia citrodora (Lemon verbena) Improves Sleep Quality in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study. Preprints 2024, 2024041182. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.1182.v1 Pérez-Piñero, S.; Muñoz-Carrillo, J.C.; Echepare-Taberna, J.; Muñoz-Cámara, M.; Herrera-Fernández, C.; García-Guillén, A.I.; Ávila-Gandía, V.; Navarro, P.; Caturla, N.; Jones, J.; López-Román, F.J. Dietary Supplementation with an Extract of Aloysia citrodora (Lemon verbena) Improves Sleep Quality in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study. Preprints 2024, 2024041182. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.1182.v1

Abstract

A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with two arms was conducted in 71 healthy subjects suffering from sleep disturbances, which were treated with a dietary supplement based on an extract of Aloysia citrodora (or Lippia citriodora, lemon verbena) (n = 33) for 90 days. Subjects in the placebo group (n = 38) received capsules of microcrystalline and maltodextrin with the same organoleptic properties. Between-group significant differences in favor of the experimental group were found in the visual analogue scale (VAS) score rating sleep quality; overall score, sleep latency and sleep efficiency of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); and sleep latency, sleep efficiency, wakefulness after sleep onset and duration of awakening assessed by actigraphy. Plasma nocturnal melatonin levels also increased significantly in the experimental group. Changes in anthropometric parameters and physical activity levels were not found. This study shows that the administration of a dietary supplement comprised lemon verbena administered for 3 months was associated with a significant improvement of sleep quality as compared with placebo in a population of healthy subjects with sleep problems. Improvements were also apparent at the mid-study visit after 45 days of supplementation.

Keywords

sleep disorders; insomnia; Aloysia citrodora; lemon verbena; stress; melatonin; cortisol

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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