Respiratory tract 1,8-cineole

This oxide has a number of biological activities that make it particularly useful in the treatment of the respiratory tract. 1,8-Cineole has been registered as a licensed medication in Germany for... 

For example, sol-gel immobilised bioactive liquids such as cineol, camphor, menthol, evening primrose and perilla oil used to functionalise textiles afford either skin-friendly textiles with antimicrobial and antiallergic effects due to immobilised natural oils or textiles for therapeutic treatment of the respiratory tract by means of immobilised mixtures of high volatility natural agents such as eucalyptol, camphor and menthol.27... 

Administered via steam inhalation to rabbits, 1,8-cineole in concentrations that produced a barely detectable scent (1-9 mg/kg) augmented the volume output of respiratory tract uid from 9.5% to 45.3% (Boyd and Sheppard, 1971), an effect that they described as mucotropic. Interestingly, in the same experiment, fenchone at 9 mg/kg increased the output by 186.2%, thus con rming the strong effects of some ketones in this regard. Also using rabbits, Zanker and Blumel (1983) found that oxygenated monoterpenoids reduced mucus deposition and partially recovered the activity of ciliated epithelium. 

Another commercial preparation Pinimenthol , a mixture of eucalyptus and pine needle oils plus menthol, reduced bronchospasm and demonstrated signi cant secretolytic effects when insuf ated through the respiratory tract and when applied to the epilated skin of animals (Schafer and Schafer, 1981). In addition to the known effects of menthol and 1,8-cineole, pine needle oil is considered to be weakly antiseptic and secretolytic (Commission E, 1998). 

Of the literature published in peer-reviewed journals over the last 30 years, only a small percentage concerns the administration of essential oils or their components to humans in order to treat disease processes. These reports are listed below in alphabetical order of their activity. The exception is the section on the respiratory tract, where the many activities of the two principal components (menthol and 1,8-cineole) are discussed and related to respiratory pathologies. 

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