Herbal use versus essential oils

June 24, 2006

This is at least 5 years old, but for newcomers it may contain some

useful information.

-

Someone questioned my statements that; " therapeutic actions from a

herbal preparation are frequently unjustified when the same plants

oil is used " .

This is a highly complex issue and not something the vast majority of

aromatherapy writers have investigated properly. As most of you know

by now, I am adamant that many of the properties that the authors and

teachers give oils are not correct. This is because in the majority

of cases they give exactly the same therapeutic uses for the

externally applied oil as the herbal preparation given internally.

I will just give a couple of examples of traditional versus modern

use.

JASMIN. The flowers have an ancient herbal use tradition as well as

for their beautiful perfume. Jasmin is one of those plants that has

had huge of amounts of research devoted to all aspects of its

horticulture, production and chemistry.

The chemistry varies dramatically between the growing flowers, the

picked flowers and the absolute. For example it has been found that

flowers picked at night contain over 4 times more indole than in

daytime picked flowers. Other chemicals only appear in the living or

picked flowers and are absent from the absolute or oil.

In herbal medicine in the past, and still in some societies, a vital

part of the training is to be educated as to when a herb is best

picked to give the desired therapeutic or poisonous result. This is

why a good deal of astrology was woven into herbal practice more in

the past than now. Herbalists then were more aware of the importance

for when herbs should be gathered of: time of day/night, the moon and

stars cycles; the weather; growing locations, etc. Theophrastus

recorded some of this ancient knowledge in his books. They knew that

effects observed in practical use varied, although they did not know

the actual chemistry.

So getting back to Jasmin. If the Indian herbalists picked the

flowers at dawn, at night, or in the day, then the *conditions

treated* may well differ. When these therapeutic treatments were

recorded and then translated into English it is quiet obvious that

important information such as gathering time was often omitted. We

commonly find the same missing information in Chinese medicine and

Native American medicine.

Not only do we get the difference between the traditional use as

herbal infusions, etc. compared to the use of the essential

oil/absolute externally, but we also get these huge differences in

chemistry depending on when the plant is picked.

It is from herbal books that most aromatherapy authors get much of

their information. A few (a very few) included information from the

old pharmacopoeias for the use of essential oils. These older uses

were generally for the internal consumption of the oils, with little

relevance to external application in routine aromatherapy.

In some cases the general actions of herbs versus oils do correlate

for a limited number of conditions. For example a drop of peppermint

oil will calm a minor stomach upset as also will a cup of peppermint

tea. However, the many other actions of the peppermint tea such as

an astringent action on the gut lining which helps calm diarrhoea can

not be expected from the essential oil. Therefore, when I see it

suggested that rubbing a bit of peppermint oil on the skin in massage

will cure diarrhoea, it tends to make me feel sick and Theophrastus

would turn in his grave!!

Martin Watt

http://www.aromamedical.com

June 25, 2006

This is such a complex subject. Many people, especially Americans

are beginning to appreciate the importance of " whole " foods. We had

gotten so used to refined food products that we began to take the

notion that there was no problem with using only one part of the

plant instead of the whole. It actually became preferred. The impact

of refined wheat and sugar is obvious in the epidemic of diabetes in

society. It is now accepted that foods such as wheat and rice taste

better and are better for you when they contain all their parts, not

just the refined starch with all the bran removed.

Widespread availability of essential oils to the general public is

relatively new and the result of widespread adoption of refining and

distillation technology. It is unfortunate that we are so willing to

believe that the disgarding of the plant matter to get the pure oil

is the best thing to get the best of the plant. We unknowingly

disgard elements that may protect us from unpleasant side effects

because they are contained only in the whole plant. This approach

may work when you are after the aromatic part of the plant, but if

you want the medicinal impact, it doesn't necessarily make sense.

In many respects, it does appear that the easy access to essential

oils has done damage to herbal medicine. Essential oils

are " natural " in much the same way that white flower and white sugar

are " natural " . It is something to ponder.

Joanne

, " aromamedical2003 "

<aromamedical wrote:

>

> This is at least 5 years old, but for newcomers it may contain

some

> useful information.

> -

> Someone questioned my statements that; " therapeutic actions from a

> herbal preparation are frequently unjustified when the same plants

> oil is used " .

>

> Martin Watt

> http://www.aromamedical.com

>

June 25, 2006

Great post. Good information. I’d hate to see folks get paranoid about EOs

and I’d hate to see them become unavailable. A cigarette lighter can burn

your house down, but we don’t take them off the market. I do think, based

on what I read here and elsewhere, that some folks use EOs a little

recklessly, and sometimes I read things that worry me.

Dave

Ultimately, the earth is a single community. We are all of one blood and

one flesh - we have only to join hearts to begin the return to paradise.