Worldwide Research (pages from EDR here, here, and here)
Pubmed contains almost 10,000 medical studies on essential oils.
Clinical research during the last several decades indicates that essential oils have enormous potential to treat conditions ranging from acne to obesity.
Scientists studied the gastroprotective activity of clove oil, while Iranian researchers discovered the healing advantages of lavender essential oil in healing episiotomies following childbirth.
Italian researchers studied the neuroprotective effects of bergamot. In Iceland, researchers tested basil against ear infection. Texas Southern University researchers looked at the antioxidant and free radical scavenging power of essential oils. In Germany, a study observed the effects of Myrtle eucalyptus, and orange oil for patience with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Here is extensive research on Lavender:and the Nervous System:
http://eugeniyamusic.blogspot.com/2014/03/lavender-and-nervous-system.html
Aromatherapy in the management of psychiatric disorders: clinical and neuropharmacological perspectives
http://eugeniyamusic.blogspot.com/2014/03/aromatherapy-in-management-of.
Enriched odor exposure increases the number of newborn neurons in the adult olfactory bulb and improves odor memory
http://eugeniyamusic.blogspot.com/2014/03/enriched-odor-exposure-increases-number.html
For the past 12 years, Young Living has compiled an essential oil reference library that has over 280,000 compound references. Young Living developed its own standards to guarantee the highest possible therapeutic value for oils.
https://sites.google.com/site/younglivingeu/home/science-and-application
Research on Sacred Frankincense and Frankincense oils by Gary Young company:
(I used both oils to treat my mother-in-law, who was laying in bed and basically dying of cancer. I achieved amazing results - she turned into a physical therapy patient! )
Here is a video of Gary Young I took at a seminar I attended recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jpi40cEX_M&list=PLKXbc4lYPTKbA1rxdNJ2GXqjTPqxgacfU&index=29
I have more research information from Marc Schreuder, Young Living Vice President of research on my blog.
Constituents in essential oils
The following books are full of research:
Essential Oils Desk Reference / Gary Young
Physician's Desk Reference, or PDR for Herbal Medicines cites thousands of research publications in support of the therapeutic benefits, indications, administrations, precautions, and effects of herbs with their oils.
The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple: God's Love Manifest in Molicules / David Stewart, Ph.D., D.N.M.
There are others I read, but I don't have them in front of me now.
Women healers
Marguerite Maury (born in Austria in 1895) has been very important in the modern development of essential oil therapy by giving it a connection to the ancient healing philosophies of India, China, and Tibet while reemphasizing a personal, holistic approach through massage…[she] is a bridge from the past to opportunities of the present
The pivotal point in Marguerite’s career was in the 1940’s, when she began research on the effects of essential oils on the nervous system and how they created rejuvenation. Dr. Maury became a specialist in homeopathic medicine and acupuncture treatments that were still on the fringes of established Western medicine. Marguerite borrowed two concepts from homeopathy: First, essential oils like homeopathic granules create vibration in cells of the body, even though imperceptible to human senses. And second, the prescribed remedy relates to the individual, not the illness. Marguerite invented the extremely important concept of the “individual prescription” for aromatherapy, where the blend of oils is custom-=created for the individual in a holistic sense: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
The individual prescription (IP) consists of a thorough examination of the client from observation, questions of past health history, and even what Marguerite called “blood spectrography” (the study of intracellular hemoglobin).
Marguerite developed a special massage technique of applying essential oils along the nerve centers of the spine as well as to the face.
Trota, the Wise Woman of Medicine
“Southern Italy, about 1115 ad; a female healer and teacher; some of her manuscripts are found in museums throughout Europe. She wrote Practical Medicine According to Trota, which includes 71 remedies for everything from gynecological and obstetric conditions to problems of the eye, foot, and spleen. She gives advice on how to treat a fever, a toothache, or hemorrhoids, and, of course, there are recipes for cosmetics.
On the Treatment of Illnesses, a massive book written in the second half of the 12th century by seven leading Salernitan medical writers, including Trota, also verifies her importance. Her writings reveal considerable expertise on gastrointestinal disorders and ophthalmology.
“Women, on account of medesty, dare not reveal the difficulties of their sicknesses to a male doctor. Therefore I, pitying their misfortunes, began to study carefully the sicknesses which most frequently trouble the female sec.” This is why she chose to focus on gynecology, obstetrics, cosmetics, and skin disease.
Hildegard of Bingen, Prophetess of the Rhine was the first to present a whole system of botanicals in writing. Was a preacher and a healer.
She first wrote Phisica (The Book of Simple Medicine), which summarized the natural science of her times; the work was broken into four parts on animals, two parts on herbs and trees, and three parts on gems and metals. In this book she lists about three hundred herbs, relating the best time to pick them and their medicinal uses. A companion book, The Book of Composite Medicine Causes and Cures, analyzes two hundred diseases the their cures, including actual proportions for ingredients used in the formulas.
In the 7th century, the Arabs overran northern Africa. Avicenna (980-1037), a talented Arab physician from Persia and a devoted student of Galen ,wrote the famous Canon of Medicine, five volumes summarizing all the known medical knowledge of the civilized world – Greeks, Europeans, Arabs, Indians, and Chinese-with mathematical accuracy. He did much to promote the benefits of aromatic oils and wrote a whole book about Rose oil, his favorite. He developed the apparatus and method of alembic (from Arabic al-anbīq الأنبيق, from Greek ἄμβυξ ambyx possibly from Semitic)
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alembic )distillation with a condenser for the extraction of essential oils.
The following oils were used for mummification: Cedarwood, Myrrh and Casia. Cedarwood would also kill all infection, even fungus. In addition, the living used it as a tonic for any chronic complaints or pain. It was especially helpful for coughs and bronchitis. The use of cedarwood in a bath could bring relief from arthritis and a feeling of comfortable composure. It also strengthens the individual's connection with God and brings a sense of balance and control.
When archaeologists opened the famed King Tutankhamen tomb, the smell of Myrrh and Spikenard permeated the air.
I love examples from history.
Caesar found Cleopatra's perfumes to be incredible aphrodisiacs. One of her favorite perfumes was Jasmine, known for its powerful effect on the reproductive organs and its aphrodisiac qualities, especially as a stimulant for transforming the physical act of reproduction into a more spiritual experience. Once labor started, it strengthened the uterine contractions and brought a bonding of mother and child. It was wonderful when diluted as a massage oil in the pelvic area to balance a woman's hormones and create a regular menstrual cycle. Jasmine also boosted Cleopatra's confidence and warmed her emotions when she felt depressed.
Esther, the Persian Queen Who Saved the Jews, before attending the banquet, bathed in Frankincense, and wore a linen bag around her neck with Patchouli and Myrrh to give her courage to speak to the king.
It was the custom of the women to carry, beneath their clothes, a small linen bag containing Myrrh and other fragrant substances. This was usually suspended from a cord around the neck and lay in the hollow between the breasts. Here, the solidified Myrrh would release its fragrance from the warmth of the body and this would be enjoyed both by the wearer and by those in close contact.
Cleopatra, the Queen of Kings
Before taking a bath... a cascade of fragrance descends upon you like a shimmering waterfall of Cinnamon, Cardamom, Jasmine, Sandalwood, and Lime.... The total effect makes you feel alert, excited, and sensually awake.
Cleopatra's greatest assets were ... and her poise. The latter was partly the result of her daily extensive bathing and her her use of all the fragrant oils available at that time. She used Rosemary, Lavender, Spikenard, Myrrh, and Jasmine in milk to create a tranquil aromatic moment designed to strengthen her mind, refresh her body, and empower her personality for courageous acts.
Rosemary oil with all its vitality and mind-stimulating qualities, was certainly one of the favorites of this vigorous queen. She could inhale it for enhancement of memory or rub it on her skin for aching joints and painful muscles. She valued its regenerative quality, its boost for the heart and liver, its ability to act as a protector, and its work for clear thinking. ... used it in her bath, her hair since it stimulated her scalp and gave her hair a special luster.
For hundreds of years priests kept the secret formulas of scents, which were prepared in fragrance workshops attached to the back of every temple where only the priests entered.
Scent was often used to bring about an altered state of conscieousness, especially at Alexandrian cafes where people sat discussing philosophy and religion in rooms filled with essential oil fragrance. The Egyptian god Nefertum, the lord of oils and unguents, was known for his transformational, life-giving powers.
For deodorants they put little balls of myrrh or balsam incense where the limbs met the body. They often used an ointment of Frankincense and honey as a moisturizer or for a burn. They chewed fennel seeds for their breath and Frankincense to keep their teeth clean. They used Juniper berry oil to color graying hair and stimulate the scalp.
In Egypt
In Hatshepsut's day, the Egyptians considered fragrant body oils a basic necessity. Aromatic oils were added to a base of animal fat or vegetable oil such as olive, almond or sesame, the less affluent used castor or palm oil. Fragrant resins, herbs, and flowers added a sweet scent. These scented oils were then used in baths, massage, anointing, and cosmetics.
Catherine de Medici, Queen of France loved to heal and had a stock of medicinal herbs and oils for her children and friends.
Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England established many industries in England including the perfume industry during the fifteenth year of her reign.
And so on...
Therapeutic grade essential oils have been successfully used around the world for centuries- isn't it the best research, anyway?
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