Essential Oils: Your aromatherapy guide to Ayurvedic healing

PART I

What

is

aromatherapy?

Understanding aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of aromatic essences or oils extracted from plants for therapeutic purposes. Derived from the Greek word meaning ‘spice’, today the word ‘aroma’ is used more broadly to mean ‘fragrance’. ‘Therapy’ means curative treatment. However ‘aromatherapy’ is a misnomer, giving the impression that the therapy works only by the sense of smell, whereas it also works by skin absorption, for example, when an essential oil is added to a carrier (such as a cream or lotion) for topical application.

Aromatherapy is a form of complementary medicine, like herbalism or Ayurveda, which draws on the healing powers of the plant world. However, instead of using the whole or a specific part of the plant, it employs only its essential oils. In Indian mythology, Lord Vishnu is the sustainer of the universe. One of his forms is Dhanwantri, the supreme Vaidya (physician). He propagated three forms of medicine: churan (medicine in solid form, such as a powder mix or vatis/tablets), medicine in liquid form (herbal extracts, tisanes, etc.) and medicine in gaseous form (plant essential oils, which are highly volatile and start evaporating when exposed to air). It is the medicine in gaseous form that forms the basis of modern aromatherapy. In Ayurvedic practice, the essential oils are the most potent of the three medications and usually administered to treat severe and chronic conditions.

Plant essential oils are a complex synergistic mix of organic chemicals with varied therapeutic effects. This makes an essential oil or a combination of essential oils versatile in their therapeutic effect, working at a physical, physiological and psychological level.

Aromatherapy can be used on two levels: aesthetic and medical. Aesthetically it can be used for skin, hair and beauty care as well as massage, daily wellbeing, natural fragrance and environmental cleansing and disinfecting. Medically it can be used to relieve physical, physiological and psychological imbalances. The advantage is that it can be used in conjunction with traditional medicine and all other therapeutic practices or healing work.

History and origin of aromatherapy

Humans have always been dependent on the nutritional and therapeutic value of the plant world and the use of plants to cure diseases is as old as the human race itself. Animals, too, seek out particular herbs or grasses when they are unwell. Aromatic substances also played important roles in the medicinal practices of the Hebrew, Arabic and Indian civilisations. In the Indian epic Ramayana, a herb called Sanjeevani booti was administered to Laxman, the younger brother of Lord Ram, by crushing the leaves. When he inhaled the released aroma, Laxman revived after falling unconscious during the great battle with Ravana.

As mentioned earlier, the ancient Indian healing science of Ayurveda also uses plant essential oils; the difference is that aromatherapy uses the essential oils only while in Ayurveda the whole or part of the plant are also used.

The ancient Egyptians used aromatherapy as a way of life. At about the time the Chinese were developing acupuncture, the Egyptians were using aromatic oils and balsamic substances in both religious rituals and medicine. Records dating back to 4500 BC tell of perfumed oils, scented barks and resins, spices, aromatic vinegars, wines and beers used in medicine, ritual, astrology and embalming. The famous Egyptian art of embalming has echoes of today’s aromatherapy principles. The embalmers knew of the natural antiseptic and antibiotic properties of plants and how these could be utilised in the process of preserving human bodies. Traces of resins like galbanum, frankincense and myrrh along with spices like clove, cinnamon and nutmeg have been isolated from the bandages of mummies. When Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened in 1922, many pots were found containing substances such as myrrh and frankincense (both derived from tree resins). These were used medicinally as well as for making perfume, the two being interchangeable at that time.

Translations of hieroglyphics inscribed on papyri and stelae found in the Temple of Edfu (built between 237–57 BC) indicate that aromatic substances were blended to specific formulations by high priests and alchemists to make perfumes and medicinal potions. The priests knew of the power of certain odours to raise the spirits or promote tranquillity. A favourite perfume of the time was kyphi, a mixture of sixteen different essences – including myrrh and juniper – which was inhaled to heighten the senses and spiritual awareness of the priests. The incenses used in contemporary religious rituals serve much the same purpose.

While the Egyptians perfected the art of using the essences of plants to control emotion, putrefaction and disease, new discoveries about the medicinal power of plants were being made elsewhere. The Greeks developed medicine from part-superstition to science. Hippocrates (470–360 BC), popularly known as the father of modern medicine, was the first physician to base medical knowledge and treatment on accurate observation. One of his beliefs, that a daily aromatic bath and scented massage were a way to health, is the central principle of today’s aromatherapy. Hippocrates was aware of the antibacterial properties of certain plants and when an epidemic of plague broke out in Athens he urged the people to burn aromatic plants at the corners of the street to protect themselves and prevent the plague from spreading.

This was a time when botanical knowledge was expanding, reaching its peak in the Historia plantarum (Enquiry into Plants) of Theophrastus (c. 371–287 BC), the so-called Father of Botany. At this time, there were ‘immigrant’ Greek physicians and seekers of knowledge who dominated the medical world. One of these was Dioscorides, a Greek surgeon in Nero’s army, who between 70 and 50 BC wrote De Materia Medica (On Medical Material), one of the most comprehensive textbooks on the properties and uses of medicinal plants. He recorded details such as when a plant and its active principles might be at its most powerful. This indisputable fact of plant life, depending on time of day, time of the year and state of development, is utilised by the essential oil industry today. For instance, the poppy’s yield in the morning is four times greater than in the evening. Jasmine’s perfume and therefore the powers of its oil are strongest in the evening; this is why jasmine flowers are still picked at night in India for their aromatic properties.

The Romans, who were more interested in the culinary properties of plants than the medical, had enormous influence in the field of botany. Many herbal plants including parsley, fennel and lovage were introduced to Britain by the Romans. The middle ages in Europe (from approximately the sixth century to the Renaissance in the fourteenth century) was not an inspired period in terms of medical advancements. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the times of the great herbals in Europe, when knowledge grew in leaps and bounds, with the founding of the Royal Society in Britain in 1663. Alongside this was the growth of a scientific approach to medicine, although belief in the therapeutic principles of essential oils co-existed. By the end of the eighteenth century, essential oils were widely used in medicine. Once chemistry began to flourish as a discipline and plant cures could be synthesised in the laboratory – cures that were stronger and faster in action – aromatherapy and its oils began to lose their place in pharmacopeia.

Aromatherapy in the twentieth century

Dr Rene Maurice Gattefosse, a French perfumery scientist, is credited with the reincarnation of aromatherapy as a form of medicine, coining the term Aromatherapie, when he published a book by the same name in 1937 to describe the therapeutic action of aromatic plant essences. He explained at length the properties of essential oils and their methods of application, with examples of their antiseptic, bactericidal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. He described how in 1910, after burning his hand in the laboratory, he plunged the hand into the nearest container, which happened to contain essential oil of lavender. He was astonished to find how quickly the pain ceased and the skin healed.

In association with a medical practitioner, Dr Jean Valnet, Dr Gattefosse continued to experiment with essential oils such as thyme, clove, chamomile and lemon, using men in the military hospital as his subjects during the First World War, with astounding results. Later the work was continued by Dr Valnet, who had to resort to the use of essential oils due to a shortage of antibiotics during the Second World War. Dr Valnet was a holder of the Légion d’honneur and founded the Société française de phytothérapie et d’aromathérapie, of which he was also the president. He published The Practice of Aromatherapy in 1980.

Until the Second World War, essential oils of cinnamon, clove, lemon, thyme and chamomile were used as natural disinfectants and antiseptics to fumigate hospital wards and sterilise instruments used in surgery and dentistry. The contemporary use of mainly cold-pressed vegetable oils as carriers for essential oils was introduced by French biochemist Marguerite Maurey, who was married to an Austrian homeopath. After extensive study of the absorption of essential oils through the skin, she recommended the use of vegetable oils as the carriers in aromatherapy. She extended the scope of her work, bringing aromatherapy into the world of aesthetics and cosmetology, allying medicine, health and beauty.

Aromatherapy today

Aromatherapy is now widely practised and accepted in America, Europe, Britain and all developed countries, along with other forms of alternative medicine, collectively known as complementary systems of healing. Due to the side effects of synthetic drugs, the medicinal world is turning once again to natural remedies and healing practices. Using a synthetic drug to kill harmful bacteria is like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer: not only do they kill the harmful bacteria, they also destroy beneficial bacteria present in the body. Natural remedies such as essential oils, on the other hand, may act slowly in an antibiotic sense but while killing off the bacteria they also raise the body’s immune system to strengthen its resistance to further attack. At the same time, they help the system rejuvenate itself, which is one of the most positive long-term effects of essential oils. The beneficial effect essential oils can have on the mind gives an added dimension to their use in healing.

All essential oils help to balance emotions to some degree and individually they may be noted for their stimulating, uplifting, relaxing or euphoric properties. At a psychological level, they can revive a tired mind and stimulate the memory. Interestingly, the area of the brain associated with smell is also that in which the memory is stored and aromas have been effectively used to stimulate the minds of those suffering from amnesia. Essential oils also increase our finest vibrations and assist the subtle body. They can stimulate and assist in the process of awakening, healing and opening the chakras, and strengthening the aura. To understand that aspect of essential oils we have to incorporate the Ayurvedic and tantric dimensions.

Observations of the effectiveness of essential oils are gradually being backed by studies taking place in parts of Central Europe, the USA, Australia and the UK. All essential oils appear to be antiseptic and bactericidal to some degree and some may also be helpful in the treatment of viral infections that are resistant to all known orthodox medicines. Many essential oils have the potential to stimulate healthy cell renewal and growth, and to regulate and restore the balance of the mind and body systems. Essential oils are noted, too, for their ability to reduce stress and stimulate sluggish circulation. These qualities, combined with their regenerative powers, give strength to claims that they boost the immune system.

With the renewed interest in natural and complementary therapies, essential oils offer a new approach to holistic health and healing beyond beauty and spa treatments, in particular as a way to good health or rehabilitation therapy.

Nature of

essential oils

Essential oils are the odoriferous liquid components of plants. They influence growth and reproduction, attract pollinating insects, repel predators and protect the plant from disease. Unlike ‘fixed’ or fatty oils, they are highly volatile, which means they evaporate if exposed to the air. Many essences have the consistency of water or alcohol, including lavender, chamomile and rosemary. Others, such as myrrh and vetiver, are viscous, or thick and sticky, and still others, such as the exquisite rose otto, are semi-solid at room temperature but become liquid with the slightest warmth.

Essential oils are stored in tiny oil glands or sacs which are concentrated in different parts of the plant. They may be found in the petals (rose), leaves (eucalyptus), roots of grass (vetiver), heartwood (sandalwood), rind of the fruit (lemon), seeds (caraway), rhizomes (ginger) and sometimes in more than one part of the plant. Lavender, for instance, yields oil from both the flowers and the leaves, while the orange tree produces three differently scented essences with varying therapeutic properties: the heady bittersweet neroli (flower blossom) and a similar though less refined essence of petitgrain (leaves) and the cheery orange (rind/skin of the fruit). The more oil glands present in the plant, the cheaper the oil, and vice versa. For instance, 100 kilograms of lavender yields almost 3 litres of essential oil, whereas 1000 kilograms of rose petals yields only half a litre.

Each essential oil is a complex synergistic mix of various organic chemicals and represents the dynamic healing properties of the plant. It is believed to contain its life force, having certain therapeutic or balancing effects. Because of this synergy, essential oils do not disturb the body’s natural balance, or homeostasis; if one component has a strong effect another component acts as a balancer, or quencher, therefore making essential oils highly versatile and safe in healing practice. Essential oils are highly concentrated substances and rarely used neat, though neat lavender essence is sometimes used in first aid and as an antiseptic.

In aromatherapy, inhalation, application and baths are the principal methods used to encourage essential oils to enter the body. Because essential oils are highly volatile, evaporating readily on exposure to air, and when inhaled may enter the body via the olfactory system, when diluted and applied externally, essential oil molecules may permeate the skin. Bath treatments enable you to both inhale and absorb the oils. Once within your system, essential oils will work to re-establish harmony and revitalise those systems or organs where there is a malfunction or lack of balance.

Essential oils also act on the central nervous system. Some will relax (chamomile, lavender, rose otto); others will stimulate (rosemary, jasmine, black pepper, eucalyptus). A few have the ability to ‘normalise’, for example, hyssop can raise low blood pressure and lower high blood pressure. Likewise, bergamot and geranium can either sedate or stimulate according to individual needs. Some researchers have indicated that essential oils can increase atmospheric oxygen and provide negative ions, inhibiting bacterial growth, thereby rendering them antibacterial and anti-infectious.

How essential

oils work

Essential oils are used as a gentle approach to healthcare, to aid skincare, soothe and promote relaxation and simply to seduce us with the world of fragrant treasures. These oils work on us at physical, physiological and psychological levels. At a psychological level they work through inhalation, while skin application helps at the physical and physiological level. Essential oils are also beneficial at the subtle level for cleansing the aura and chakras; along with cleansing the environment from negative energies, this has been the reason for their use in spiritual practices.

Psychological effect

The part of the brain that identifies aromas is called the limbic section, or the central part of the brain; it is also responsible for our memory and emotions. When inhaled, essential oil molecules are taken directly to the olfactory system, which is a patch of cells located on the roof of our nose. These cells have minute, hair-like protrusions called cilia which register and transmit information about the aromas to our brain via the olfactory nerve, which is directly connected to the brain. When electrochemical messages about the odour are forwarded to the limbic section of the brain, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters, which may result in relaxing, uplifting, sedative or euphoric effects on our body through hormones released by our pituitary gland. The balancing effect essential oils can have on the mind lends an added dimension to their use in healing stress-related/psychosomatic disorders. All essential oils help to balance emotions to some degree.

Physical/physiological effects

When dissolved in a carrier oil and rubbed into the skin or when dispersed in water used for a bath, tiny essential oil molecules, being volatile in nature, readily permeate the skin via the skin pores and hair follicles.

They reach the body’s circulatory system through the lymphatic vessels. Once in the bloodstream they are transported around the body and are filtered through to the bodily fluids, passing their therapeutic benefits to the entire body. Since essential oils with inherent therapeutic properties are able to keep infection at bay, they boost the entire functioning of the immune system.

Effect of essential oils on biofrequency

For years, research has been conducted on the use of electrical energy to reverse disease. Scientists in the field of natural and energy healing have believed there has to be a more natural way to increase the body’s electrical frequency. This led to the research into and subsequent discovery of electrical frequencies in essential oils.

Every living thing has energy which can be measured in terms of electrical frequency. Frequency is a measurable rate of electrical energy that is constant between any two points. Considerable research has been done; Robert O Becker, MD, documented the electrical frequency of the human body in his book called The Body Electric. Bruce Tainio of Tainio Technology in Cheney, Washington, developed a way to measure the biofrequency of humans and foods using biofrequency monitors to determine the relationship between frequency and disease. Measuring in megahertz, it was found that a healthy body typically has a frequency ranging from 62 to 78 megahertz (MHz), while the process of disease sets in at 58 MHz. This energy level gets disturbed even by a single negative thought. In studies it was observed that negative thoughts lowered the measured frequency of a person up to 12 MHz and positive thoughts raised the measured frequency by 10 MHz. It was also found that prayer and meditation increased the measured frequency levels by 15 MHz. This gives credence to the idea that prolonged levels of stress, anxiety, depression, etc., result in lowering the body’s energy as well as immunity levels, allowing disease to set in, as the case is in all psychosomatic disorders.

It was also observed in those studies that processed food had a zero to minimal MHz frequency, fresh produce measured up to 15 MHz, dried herbs from 12–22 MHz and fresh herbs from 20–27 MHz. Essential oils have been found to have the highest frequency of natural substances, starting at 52 MHz and going as high as 320 MHz, the frequency of rose oil. In this sense, the chemistry and frequencies of essential oils have the ability to help us maintain optimal health frequency providing an environment where microbes cannot live.

When essential oils were diffused it was observed that patients felt better emotionally, within seconds of exposure to the oils, and inhalation of the same resulted in them feeling calmer and less anxious. It is fascinating to see the way the oils work on the body; certain oils acted within seconds while others acted in 1–3 minutes; when oil was applied to the feet it could travel to the head and take effect within a minute. With such positive results, more and more studies are being initiated in this field.

Aroma chemistry

The way plants make essential oils gives some insight into their complexity. The primary and secondary metabolism of the plants has been the subject of study for organic- and biochemists. The chemical components of an essential oil are produced during the second stage of biosynthesis and thus are secondary metabolites. (Secondary metabolites are those chemical compounds in organisms that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development or reproduction of an organism.)

A distilled essential oil is a mixture of various organic chemicals, some of which are present as natural constituents of the oil at the time of distillation, others are formed during processing by the hydrolysis of glycosides, while a few are formed by partial decomposition of delicate natural components.

The chemistry of essential oils is complex. The components of the essential oils can broadly be classified as terpenes, esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenols and oxides. Since essential oils are composed of a wide range of different chemicals, they all have different therapeutic effects and affect the body in different ways. This explains why a single essential oil can have a wide range of therapeutic properties. Lavender, for example, balances the central nervous system and is also a wonderful skin-healing agent for problems such as athlete’s foot, bedsores, acne and eczema. The essential oil can also be used in the bath or blended into a massage oil for a relaxing or therapeutic massage to relieve conditions like muscular pain and rheumatism, and much more. It is interesting to note that resins such as frankincense and myrrh containing resin alcohols have a similar chemical structure to human steroids (the male and female hormones). Whether resin alcohols exert a hormone-stimulating effect on humans has not been officially proven. Much more research into this area is needed before we dare jump to any firm conclusions.

The gas chromatograph can separate out the main components of essential oils by looking at the ‘chemical fingerprint’ produced. However, the pattern of the living essence is complex, well beyond the chemist’s ability to replicate the exact aroma by mixing together the various chemical components. Something is always missing in the ‘nature identical’ version. Following are the main components and therapeutic effects of the isolated constituents found in essential oils.

Terpenes make up the largest single group of compounds in essential oils. Normally their name ends in ‘-ene’. Terpenes are made up of a chain of 5 carbon atoms, one of them having a double bond, known as an isoprene unit. Depending on the number of isoprene units in a terpenic compound, it can be classified as monoterpene, sesquiterpene or diterpene.

Monoterpenes are composed of two isoprene units. This is the basic terpene, making up the largest group of terpenes. They are light molecules, hence evaporate quickly when exposed to air, thus represent themselves in top notes. Since the isoprenes making the terpenes have double bonds, they are prone to oxidation, therefore they are photosensitive. Essential oils rich in terpenes have a short shelf life.

Common monoterpenes include limonene (an antiviral agent found in 90 per cent of citrus oils), pinene (an antiseptic found in high concentrations in pine and turpentine oils), camphene and myrcene. They are mild antiseptics and have an uplifting and stimulating effect on the nervous system.

Sesquiterpenes are composed of three isoprene units, making them slightly heavier and less volatile. They have a