The findings of this study confirmed the antidepressant effect of geranium essential oil and suggested presynaptic mechanisms in the antidepressant effect of geranium essential oil.
In an uninformed double-blind clinical trial, 81 patients aged 18-50 years with depression were randomly divided into three groups: fluoxetine capsules (20 mg daily) and placebo drops; 10% geranium oral drops (20 drops twice daily) and placebo capsules; 5% geranium oral drops (20 drops twice daily) and placebo capsules were administered.The duration of the study was 12 weeks and the patients were visited by interview, clinical examination and Beck test at the beginning of the study, once every 2 weeks and at the end of the study.
Based on the results of this study; Although 10% geranium caused a statistically significant decrease in Beck test scores in stages 3 and 4 of the examination (p <0.03), but due to unfavorable taste, the shedding rate in this group was significantly higher than the other groups (p <0.001).Also, in all stages of the study, geranium drops worked 5% better than fluoxetine capsules, its effect started earlier than fluoxetine, and the percentage of improvement due to 5% geranium was reported to be 90.9% (compared to 71.4% improvement with fluoxetine) and This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.05).The researchers concluded that due to the faster and stronger effect of oral depot drops compared to fluoxetine and the possibility of preparing raw materials and its production in the country, the use of this drug is recommended in the treatment of depression.