Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants to enhance general health and appearance. The term was coined by its originator, the French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse. The following summarizes the ten most useful oils and their supposed effects (Thomas, 1997)  

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The words aromatherapy, aromachology, and aromakinetics are coinages of the 1990s. Aromatherapy, once based on a tradition of folklore and herbal medicine, is being investigated scientifically. 

Elder flowers are also used in aromatherapy. Rather than making an essential oil by using a steam distillation process to extract the plant s essence, elder is prepared as an absolute by extracting its es-... 

Lawless, Julia. The illustrated encyclopedia of essential oils the complete guide to the use of oils in aromatherapy and herbalism. Barnes Noble, 1995. 256p. 

Watt, M. and W. Sellar (1996), Frankincense Myrrh Through the Ages, and a Complete Guide to Their Use in Herbalism and Aromatherapy Today, C. W. Daniel Co., Saffron Walden. 

The plant is strongly aromatic on account of an essential oil which comprises cis-a-ocimene (25.11%), 3,7-dimethyl-l,6-octadien-3 ol (16.85%), and trans-nerolidol (13.89%), hence the use of the plant in aromatherapy. A methanolic extract of bark of Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. and its fractions (0.01 mg/mL) from bark inhibit NO and PGE2 production in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages without significant cytotoxicity at less than 0.01 mg/mL concentration. The methanol extract decreased the enzymatic activity of myeloperoxidase (0.05 mg/mL). These findings suggest that L. cubeba is beneficial for inflammatory conditions and may contain compound(s) with anti-inflammatory properties (63). Can we expect the vasorelaxant laurotetanine (64) isolated from the plant to exert such activity ... 

About Aromatherapy Aromatherapy Guide. Ashbury s Aromatherapy,... 

Diego MA, Jones N, Field F, Flemandez-Reif M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C, McAdam V, Galamaga R and Galamaga M (1998). Aromatherapy positively affects mood EEG patterns of alertness and math computations. International Journal of Neuroscience, 96, 217-224. 

Buchbauer G, Jirovetz L, Jager W, Dietrich H, Plank C and Karamat E (1991). Aromatherapy Evidence for the sedative effect of the essential oil of lavender after inhalation. Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung (Tubingen, Germany), 46c, 1067-1072. 

How are essential oils for aromatherapy extracted from plants ... 

The Chemistry of Fragrances, D.H. Pybus and C. S. Sell, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1999, gives an extremely balanced assessment of aromatherapy as a scientific discipline. See also The joy of scent , above. 

More and more Americans are turning to alternative medicine. The ancient art of aromatherapy has gained a tremendous following, particularly on the West Coast. Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese art of needle therapy, has doubled its number of active practitioners in the past decade. And holistic medicine—treating the whole body instead of just one part—is so popular that some HMOs now even pay for holistic care. 

Complementary medicines (also known as traditional or alternative medicines) include vitamin, mineral, herbal, aromatherapy and homoeopathic products. They maybe registered or listed on the ARTG, depending on their ingredients and the claims made. Most complementary medicines are listed. 

As everyone knows, plants have been used for centuries in herbalism, homeopathy, and aromatherapy because of their medicinal qualities. The long-term use of plants has led to recent observations about their antioxidant properties (1, 2). Many scientists have observed antioxidant activities in compounds derived from the volatile constituents (3, 4) and essential oil extracts - of plants. They have reported that ingestion of these volatile chemicals can prevent lipid peroxidation, which is associated with diseases such as cancer, leukemia, and arthritis. In the present study, analysis and antioxidative tests on the volatile extract isolated from a commercial beer were performed. Why did we choose beer We chose beer because... 

Aromatherapy uses a variety of fragrant plant oils to treat mood or physical problems either topically (as an adjunct to massage) or through inhalation. Some of these oils are quite potent, and if not used in proper dilution, they may cause skin irritation or contact allergy. Toxic ingestions are also possible. 

Essential oils, their fractions and their isolates are utilised in flavour and fragrance, food, perfumery, cosmetics and toiletries, fine chemicals, pharmaceutical industries and therapy. They are used as such or in diluted forms in the budding aromatherapy sector [1, 3, 5,6, 8-14,16-19, 21-35]. 

Guba R (2000) Toxicity myths essential oils and their carcinogenic potential. In Essential Oils and Cancer. Proceedings of the 4th Wholistic Aromatherapy Conference, San Francisco... 

We haven t yet reached the bottom of that huge barrel filled with alternative remedies for arthritis. We haven t broached aromatherapy, imagery ( Just picture the pain flowing out of... 

Terpenes continue to be a popular choice as experimental enhancers for delivering materials across skin membranes. For example, L-menthol facilitated in vitro permeation of morphine hydrochloride through hairless rat skin [37], imipramine hydrochloride across rat skin [59], and hydrocortisone through hairless mouse skin [60]. Recently, niaouli oil was found to be the most effective of six essential oils in promoting estradiol penetration through hairless mouse skin [61]. It is noteworthy that there is currently little control on the topical use of most terpenes, and many aromatherapy oils and formulations contain appreciable quantities of these chemicals. Their excessive use offers potential for permeation of hazardous compounds from the same formulations into the skin some terpenes also have pharmacological activity. 

Oils and fats feature as important food components and cooking oils, some 80% of commercial production being used as human food, whilst animal feeds account for another 6%. Most of the remaining production is used as the basis of soaps, detergents, and pharmaceutical creams and ointments. A number of oils are used as diluents (carrier or base oils) for the volatile oils employed in aromatherapy. 

Almond Prunus amygdalus var. dulcis, or var. amara (Rosaceae) seed 40-55 oleic (62-86), linoleic (7-30), palmitic (4-9), stearic (1-2) emollient base, toiletries, carrier oil (aromatherapy)... 

Soya (soybean) Glycine max (Leguminosae/ Fabaceae) seed 18-20 linoleic (44-62%), oleic (19-30), palmitic (7-14), a-linolenic (4-11), stearic (1-5) food oil, dietary supplement, carrier oil (aromatherapy) Soya oil contains substantial amounts of the sterols sitosterol and stigmasterol (see page 256)... 

Volatile or essential oils are usually obtained from the appropriate plant material by steam distillation, though if certain components are unstable at these temperatures, other less harsh techniques such as expression or solvent extraction may be employed. These oils, which typically contain a complex mixture of low boiling components, are widely used in flavouring, perfumery, and aromatherapy. Only a small number of oils have useful therapeutic properties, e.g. clove and dill, though a wide range of oils is now exploited for aromatherapy. Most of those employed in medicines are simply added for flavouring purposes. Some of the materials are commercially important as sources of chemicals used industrially, e.g. turpentine. 

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