Ylang-ylang oil has antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties.[1][2] It contains a great variety of compounds, such as methyl benzoate (34%), benzyl benzoate (19%), germacrene D (8%–17%), linalool (9%–21%; a main component of lavender oil), caryophyllene (5%; also found in clove oil), and geraniol (5%; also found in citronella oil).[3][1][4][5][6][7]
Because ylang-ylang oil contains linalool (9%–21%, depending on the study[7][8]), and linalool is a main component of lavender oil (7%–61%, depending on the species of lavender[9]), it is reasonable to assume it might have some similar effects to lavender, namely improving anxiety, depression, and sleep.[10][11] However, no evidence was found regarding ylang-ylang oil for depression or sleep, and the RCTs that examined ylang-ylang oil for anxiety found no consistent effects.[12][13][14][15]
It is uncertain how ylang-ylang oil would work to improve anxiety, as one RCT showed no changes in cortisol after overnight aromatherapy with ylang-ylang oil.[12] Another RCT showed decreased cortisol, stress, and anxiety,[15] though the participants also used lavender and bergamot oil, which can also reduce anxiety and stress.[10][16] One rodent study showed that ylang-ylang oil might work to decrease anxiety by increasing levels of a metabolite of serotonin and decreasing dopamine levels; however, this was only found in certain sections of the brain, and only in male rats, greatly reducing our confidence in the generalizability of these results to humans.[4]