In this research, prototype equipment for steam distillation was developed that can be easily fabricated and used to extract essential oils, and its performance was evaluated. Three types of rarely analyzed plants (Lindera lancea, Lindera praecox, and Orixa japonica) were selected from trees in the border zone between the foothills and flatlands near Tamba City in Hyogo Prefecture. Using the prototype equipment, essential oils were extracted and their components analyzed (using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis). As a result, as compared with commercially available products, the steam distillation equipment was manufactured at a lower cost (～60,000 yen) and in a shorter time (～3 h). The equipment weighs ～13.5 kg, can distill up to 1.5 kg of plant material and 1.5 L of water, and is portable enough to be used indoors or outdoors. The three essential oils obtained included 35 types confirmed for L. lancea, 40 types for L. praecox, and 39 types for O. japonica. The main constituents of the essential oils were linalool (41.26%) in L. lancea, camphor (22.60%) in L. praecox, and α-pinene (23.81%) in O. japonica. Their composition, for which there are few recent analytical results, was revealed in this study. These results heighten the potential for olfactory education using Japanese essential oils derived from local resources at various locations, such as educational settings and foothill–flatland border zones.

This study aims to explore ideal ways to introduce aromatherapy into gynecological waiting rooms by identifying the relationship between the use of aromatherapy in gynecological waiting rooms and patient satisfaction. Study participants were 200 females who used a gynecological waiting room at Seaman’s Insurance Hokkaido Healthcare Center in November and December, 2020. Before administering the survey, the researcher diffused the scent of essential oils in the gynecological waiting room using an aroma light. Afterward, a questionnaire survey was conducted to ask patients about their level of satisfaction with the introduction of aromatherapy into the gynecological waiting room, as well as the strength and preferences of fragrances. The participants reported their satisfaction levels with aromatherapy as follows: “very satisfied” (33.7%), “somewhat satisfied” (34.2%), “neither” (30.6%), “somewhat dissatisfied” (1.0%), and “very dissatisfied” (0.0%). When asked whether the introduction of aromatherapy improved their satisfaction level with the Seaman’s Insurance Hokkaido Healthcare Center, the participants answered “improved” (78.6%) and “not improved” (18.4%). A statistically significant correlation was found between the improvement in satisfaction with the healthcare center after the introduction of aromatherapy and the participants’ perceived intensity of the scent (chi-square test=15.36, p<.001). The findings suggest that introducing aromatherapy into gynecological waiting rooms may contribute to patient satisfaction. When introducing aromatherapy into gynecological waiting rooms, it is necessary to consider the strength of the fragrance and the type of essential oil used.