Volume 4, Issue 1, Supplement, May 2015, Pages 84
Open Access
P2.018
The Influence of Bach Rescue Remedy on the Autonomic Response to Mental Challenge in Healthy Taiwanese Women
- Open Access funded by Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine
- Under a Creative Commons license
Purpose:
The Bach Rescue Remedy is generally considered as a stress relief
formula by practitioners of Bach flower remedies. The influences of Bach
Rescue Remedy on the autonomic response to mental challenge have not
been clarified. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of
Bach Rescue Remedy on the autonomic response to mental challenge using
heart rate variability in healthy women.
Methods:
A two-stage crossover study design was used to compare the effects of
Bach Rescue remedy and placebo on autonomic response to a mental
challenge in 30 women (mean age 30 years, SD 6 years). The Bach Rescue
Remedy consisted of four drops of five flower essences (cherry plum,
clematis, impatiens, rock rose and Star of Bethlehem) dissolved in
brandy and 250 mL of distilled water. The placebo consisted of four
drops of brandy in 250 mL of distilled water. The mental challenge was a
5-minute mental arithmetic task administered through Calcul 5.2 Win32
computer software. Percentage changes in heart rate variability were
calculated between baseline and after the mental challenge in both
groups.
Results:
The mean percentage changes of normalized low frequency power (nLF)
(p=0.046) and natural logarithm-transformed low frequency power to high
frequency power ratio [ln(LF/HF)] (p=0.041) were significantly lower in
the Bach Rescue Remedy group compared with the placebo.
Conclusion:
The decrease in the LF/HF ratio in the Bach Rescue Remedy group
indicated a change of the sympathovagal balance towards a
parasympathetic predominance. This finding suggested that the stress
relieving effect of Bach Rescue Remedy may operate through a modulation
of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activities.
Contact: Shih Wei Yang, carol057834180@yahoo.com.tw
Copyright © 2015 Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.
