<![CDATA[Background: Smoking cessation lowers blood serotonin levels and triggers withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety. Citrus aromatherapy is known to produce a calming effect through elevated serotonin levels, potentially easing nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of citrus aromatherapy on blood serotonin (5-HT) levels in male Wistar rats undergoing a smoking cessation protocol. Methods: This experimental study used a post-test only control group design with 24 male Wistar rats randomly divided into 4 groups. The normal group received standard feed for 36 days. The negative control, citrus aromatherapy, and fluoxetine groups received standard feed for 7 days, were exposed to cigarette smoke (14 cigarettes/day) for 28 days, then received their respective treatments for 7 days. On day 37, blood was collected to measure serotonin (5-HT) levels using ELISA, and data were analyzed using One Way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc LSD. Results: Mean serotonin (5-HT) levels were 12.70 ± 0.19 ng/ml in the normal group, 5.87 ± 0.23 ng/ml in the negative control group, 10.49 ± 0.22 ng/ml in the citrus aromatherapy group, and 9.88 ± 0.21 ng/ml in the fluoxetine group. All four groups differed significantly from one another (One Way ANOVA, F=1054.890; p<0.001; Post Hoc LSD, p<0.001 for all pairwise comparisons), with the citrus aromatherapy group even surpassing the fluoxetine group. Conclusion: Citrus aromatherapy significantly affected blood serotonin (5-HT) levels in male Wistar rats undergoing a smoking cessation protocol.]]>
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