Regulation of emotional states by volatile herbal extracts: Multisystem physiological evidence from Rosa rugosa, Acorus tatarinowii, and Cyperus rotundus

Abstract

Background: Traditional aromatic herbs Rosa rugosa Thunb. (R. rugosa), Acrorus tatarinowii Schott (A. tatarinowii) and Cyperus rotundus L. (C. rotundus) have been used for emotional state regulation, yet their underlying physiological mechanisms and clinical efficacy in modern applications remain underexplored. Objective: To systematically evaluate the emotional state regulatory effects of volatile extracts from R. rugosa, A. tatarinowii, and C. rotundus through multisystem physiological measurements and develop a data-driven quantitative assessment model. Methods: Sixty-six female participants underwent pre/post-intervention recordings of comprehensive biosignals, including 32-channel Electroencephalography (EEG), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Mean Blood Pressure (MBP), Pulse Rate (PR), Heart Rate (HR), Body Temperature (BT), Respiratory Rate (RR), and completed the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). A logistic regression model was used to integrate multisource biosignals and SCL-90 scores for constructing the emotional state scorecard. Results: The emotional state scorecard showed 82.51 %-97.23 % classification accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) > 0.90) across 11 emotional states. R. rugosa modulated the prefrontal-limbic network, significantly reducing somatization and hostility. A. tatarinowii influenced the limbic-autonomic interface, alleviating depression and anxiety. C. rotundus targeted the default mode network (DMN), mitigating obsessive-compulsive symptoms and depression. In depression-specific analysis, C. rotundus improved symptoms in 53.85 % of cases, while R. rugosa prevented depressive risk in 61.54 % of healthy subjects. Conclusions: This study provides robust quantitative physiological evidence for the emotional state regulatory effects of these herbs, highlighting their translational potential in evidence-based mental health management. Future research should prioritize isolating bioactive compounds and validating efficacy via randomized controlled trials to advance precision herbal medicine.

Keywords

• Aromatic herbal medicine
• Emotional state regulation
• Biosignal integration
• Herbal personalized medicine
• Herbal mental health
• Neuromodulation