Aromatherapy has been widely used as complementary and alternative medicine to reduce pain and induce sleep. However, the scientific evidence regarding the biological effects of odor is scarce and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been clarified. We treated worms with contactless S-(-)and R-(+)-alpha-pinene and analyzed heat stress tolerance. Odor stimulation induced motility recovery after incubation at 35 degrees C for 4 h. This increase in heat stress tolerance was not present in odr-3 mutants and daf-16 mutants. S-(-)- and R-(+)-alpha-pinene expanded health span and increased fat accumulation. Moreover, S-(-)- and R-(+)-alpha-pinene modulated the expression of 84 and 54 genes, respectively. These results show that alpha-pinene odor stimulation is related to stress tolerance, lipid metabolism, and health span via some specific signaling pathways. This study may provide a potential target for antiaging and disease prevention. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.