Psychopharmacology individual components

Relevant to the data that follow, it has been shown that individual components of EOs administered orally, by means of intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injections, dermally, or by inhalation do reach and adequately cross the blood-brain barrier (Buchbauer et al. 1993 Fujiwara et al. 1998 Jirovetz et al. 1990 Kovar et al. 1987 Moreira et al. 2001 Perry et al. 2002). The question of whether psychopharmacological effects in animals are dependent of olfactory functions is surprisingly not yet entirely clari ed. Cedrol (from pine EO) was shown to be sedative in normal rats and rats made anos-mic with zinc sulfate (Kagawa et al. 2003). In contrast, a mix of chamomile and lavender oils reduced pentobarbitaTinduced sleeping time in normal but not anosmic rats and mice (Kagawa et al. 2003). 

The use of aromas goes back to ancient times, as implied by the nearly 200 references in the Bible relating the use of aromas for mental, spiritual, and physical heaUng (Perry and Perry, 2006). It is currently accepted that aromas and some of its individual components may in fact possess pharmacological and/or psychological properties, and in many instances the overall effect is likely to result from a combination of both. The following sections review the psychopharmacology of EOs and/or its individual components, as well as its mechanisms of action. 

The chapter has specifically reviewed how receptors and enzymes are the targets of drag actions in psychopharmacology. We have explored the components of individual receptors and discussed how receptors function as members of a synaptic neurotransmission team, which has the neurotransmitter as captain and receptors as major team players interacting with other players on the team including ions, ion channels, transport carriers, active transport pumps, second-messenger systems, and... 

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