What ARE Essential Oils, and How Do They Work?
Essential oils are aromatic liquids that are extracted from shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and sometimes seeds. They are the primary tool used in aromatherapy. Essential oils are a complex combination of highly concentrated and volatile (meaning they evaporate at room temperature) parts. These parts, called “constituents,” all work together to help protect the plant from pests and microorganisms, to attract pollinating insects, and for cell signaling processes. Indeed, they are a defense mechanism for the plants themselves. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Even though we refer to them as oils, essential oils are very different than other oils like olive, sesame, vegetable, and peanut which contain fatty acids. These oils are not volatile, meaning they do not easily evaporate at room temperatures.
More than 70,000 studies have been conducted on essential oils, many of which show their beneficial effects on human health. Our predecessors knew this long before we did: Essential oils have been used throughout the ages for religious rituals, illness treatment, and emotional and spiritual needs.
Ancient Egyptians used essential oils as early as 2,000 BC for medicinal benefits, beauty care, spiritual enhancement, and other aspects of their daily lives. Many Egyptian pictorials depict essential oil extraction and use, including recipes and formulas.
In Greek history, Hippocrates studied and documented the medicinal influence of over 300 plants and believed strongly in the medicinal benefits of aromatics (which he used in the city of Athens to combat the plague and to treat fallen soldiers on the battlefield). In fact, it is general knowledge that many medicines used today were discovered through plant extracts.
Essential oils are an important element of aromatic massage in the Indian Ayurvedic health care system. Dating back to 2,000 BC, Indian Ayurvedic practitioners administered cinnamon, coriander, ginger, myrrh, and sandalwood to their patients.
Aromatics and oils are steeped in Roman history through massage, baths, and scents for the hair, body, and linens.
Plant medicine is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and use of essential oils has been traced to before the time of Christ.
And, of course, there are numerous biblical references to essential oils, both Old and New Testament, including cedarwood, frankincense, fir, cinnamon, myrrh, myrtle, and spikenard.
By the 1800s, most of England, Germany, and France pharmacopoeia referenced and prescribed essential oils for a variety of illnesses. In fact, tuberculosis was common during this time, yet workers who processed flowers and herbs for French perfumers generally remained disease-free. As a result, the first recorded lab test of the antibacterial properties of essential oils was performed in 1887. Interestingly, eucalyptus, peppermint, and a handful of other oils have been more recently investigated for their antituberculosis effects. 8, 9,10
How do essential oils work?
Essential oils enter the body through the nose, skin, or internally (if ingested). The individual constituents of the essential oil then begin to bind to specific targets in our cells, such as proteins or structures within our cell membranes, and from there affect physiological processes in the body. Like standard medications, how much or how well these constituents work is dose dependent.
Interestingly, because essential oils are composed of multiple constituents, and each constituent has its own action at the cellular level, essential oils can have multiple pharmacologic actions at the same time. 11,12
This creates what is called “synergy”: the interaction or cooperation of two or more substances that produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
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Essential oils also work through activation of the olfactory receptors in the upper part of our nasal cavity. When individual constituents bind to these receptors (which are responsible for our sense of smell), they initiate the activation of different parts of the brain that lead to the sense of smell. Smell then actually feeds back to the brain and physiologically modulates mood, emotion, cognition, arousal, and behavior. Whether synthetic or natural, odors evoke memories and emotions. The psychological effects of odors have been shown to help reduce pain perception, anxiety, and cravings as well as enhance feelings of positivity. 13,14
Next week, I will review 2 amazing Essential Oils that I consider to be the King and Queen of Essential Oils and are fabulous for many common ailments. Can you guess what they might be?
In general, medical doctors don’t know much about essential oils with regards to the actual existing research and evidence, and, in my honest experience, neither do most essential oils sales users! I’m going to be providing some well researched insights and hope you will join or continue with me on this journey to learn more about when, how, and IF to use essential oils!
Want all the details now? Check out my e-book, The Evidence Based Guide to Essential Oils: What Parents Need to Know to Safely Manage Common Childhood Ailments. You can purchase it online now for 25% the retail price with the Promo Code FF919 at checkout!
References
1 Patel S, Gogna P. Tapping botanicals for essential oils: Progress and hurdles in cancer mitigation. Ind. Crop. Prod. 2015, 76, 1148–1163. [ScienceDirect Link]
2 Zuzarte M., Salgueiro L. (2015) Essential Oils Chemistry. In: de Sousa D. (eds) Bioactive Essential Oils and Cancer. Springer, Cham. [Springer Link]
3 Islam MT, Da Mata AMOF, de Aguiar RPS, Paz MFCJ, de Alencar, MVOB, Ferreira PMP, de Carvalho Melo-Cavalcante AA. Therapeutic potential of essential oils focusing on diterpenes. Phytother. Res. 2016, 30, 1420–1444. [PubMed]
4 Lenardão EJ, Savegnago L, Jacob RG, Victoria FN, Martinez DM. Antinociceptive effect of essential oils and their constituents: An update review. J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 2016, 27, 435–474. [Scielo Link]
5 Adorjan B, Buchbauer G. Biological properties of essential oils: An updated review. Flavour Fragr. J. 2010, 25, 407–426. [ScienceDirect Link]
6 Edris AE. Pharmaceutical and therapeutic potentials of essential oils and their individual volatile constituents: A review. Phytother. Res. 2007, 21, 308–323. [PubMed]
7 Miguel MG. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oils: A short review. Molecules. 2010, 15, 9252–9287. [PubMed]
8 Shkurupiĭ VA, Odintsova OA, Kazarinova NV, Tkrachenko KG. Use of essential oil of peppermint (Mentha piperita) in the complex treatment of patients with infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis. Probl Tuberk Bolezn Legk. 2006;(9):43-5. [PubMed]
9 Bueno J, Escobar P, Martínez JR, Leal SM, Stashenko EE. Composition of three essential oils, and their mammalian cell toxicity and anti-mycobacterial activity against drug resistant-tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria strains. Nat Prod Commun. 2011 Nov;6(11):1743-8. [PubMed]
10 Ramos Alvarenga RF, Wan B, Inui T, Franzblau SG, Pauli GF, Jaki BU. Airborne antituberculosis activity of Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil. J Nat Prod. 2014 Mar 28;77(3):603-10. [PubMed]
11 Gertsch J. Botanical drugs, synergy, and network pharmacology: Forth and back to intelligent mixtures. Planta Medica. 2011:77(11), 1086-1098. [PubMed]
12 Maffei ME, Gertsch J, & Appendino G. (2011). Plant volatiles: Production, function and pharmacology. Natural Product Reports. 2011. 28(8), 1359-1380. [PubMed]
13 Herz, R. The scent of desire: Discovering our enigmatic sense of smell. 2007. New York: William Morrow. [Amazon]
14 Herz, R. S. The role of odor-evoked memory in psychological and physiological health. Brain Sciences. 2016 Sep; 6(3): 22. [NCBI Link]