SCIENCE! Essential Oils

In this SCIENCE! We take a brief look at the best available evidence for essential oils.

As you know, essential oils are fragrant essences, specifically complex mixtures of hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives, found in many plants. They are made in special plant cells (called glandular trichromes) usually in the leaf or bark. These essences are released when the leaf or bark is crushed. They may then be processed before being ingested, applied, or diffused.

Essential oils are awesome.

More specifically, they are awesome for two very particular groups.

1) Test tubes

Test tubes love essential oils! Of course they do. In test tubes (as well as in some animal studies), essential oils have been shown to decimate bacteria, destroy fungi, humiliate viruses, fight cancer, and annihilate inflammation. They can even increase ROS generation leading to the activation of p53 by phosphorylation, increased Bax, reduced Bcl-2, and reduced phosphorylation of p38 and ERK-1/2.

You can probably ignore that last sentence (or read the entire riveting 55 page review in Molecules 2017, 22, 70).

Summary: pre-clinical domination. Or at least pre-clinical highly promising early evidence.

2) People who love essential oils

You know them. A diffuser in their foyer. Sample bottles meticulously labeled with all matter of plant and herb names. A subtle, sublime hint of lemongrass about them which may or may not bring your thoughts fleetingly back to your happiest childhood memory. Not a single headache, rash, or even hint of indigestion.

Everyone else is stuck wondering. What do test tubes and oilophiles know that the rest of us don't? With so much promising pre-clinical evidence for benefit, it is tempting to recommend oils for everybody. However, there is an extremely limited amount of well-designed human studies that prove their efficacy and limit standard-of-care recommendations.

Well-designed human studies have looked mostly at cancer-related symptoms of nausea and anxiety and found mixed results. The National Institutes Of Health - National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the National Cancer Institute manage a summary of available clinical studies explaining these findings. Check it out if you like that sort of thing.

At this point, essentials oils should not be used to cure any medical diseases or used in place of medical treatment for medical diseases.