Essential oils and neck pain

A randomized controlled study involving 60 participants found that application of a cream with a 3% concentration of marjoram, black pepper, lavender, and peppermint resulted in improved pain tolerance and increased mobility relative to the control group. Read more here.


Reference
M.-C. Ou, Y.-F. Lee, C.-C. Li, and S.-K. Wu, “The effectiveness of essential oils for patients with neck 
pain: a randomized controlled study,” J. Altern. Complement. Med. N. Y. N, vol. 20, no. 10, pp. 771– 
779, Oct. 2014.

Aromatherapy and massage during labour can reduce the use of anesthesia

The use of aromatherapy and massage has been found to reduce the use of analgesia and anesthesia for women in labour. Read the abstract here.


Reference
Dhany AL, Mitchell T, Foy C. Aromatherapy and massage intrapartum service impact on use of analgesia and anesthesia in women in labor: A retrospective case note analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2012;18(10):932-938.

Geranium decreases anxiety in patients with acute myocardial infarction

A triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigated the effects of geranium essential oil on anxiety in the healthcare setting. Absorbent patches with three drops of geranium oil were placed inside of patients’ oxygen masks for 20 minutes daily. Geranium oil significantly decreased anxiety in patients who received it.

Read the scientific abstract here.


Reference:
Shirzadegan R, Gholami M, Hasanvand S, et al. Effects of geranium aroma on anxiety among patients with acute myocardial infarction: A triple-blind randomized clinical trial. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2017;29:201-206.

Protective essential oil blend inhibits the influenza virus

Protective essential oil blend was found to inhibit the influenza virus by inhibiting the synthesis of viral proteins in an in vitro study.

Read the study here.

Reference:
Wu et al. 2010. Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: An in vitro study in MDCK cells. BMC Complement. Altern. Med. 10:69.

Copaiba essential is an effective anti-acne treatment

Copaiba oil-resin is widely used in traditional medicine due to its anti-inflammatory, healing, and antiseptic activities. In a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, there was a highly significant decrease in the surface affected with acne in the areas treated with the 1.0% copaiba essential oil preparation. Read the abstract here.

Reference
A. G. da Silva et al., “Application of the essential oil from copaiba (Copaifera langsdori Desf.) for acne vulgaris: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial,” Altern. Med. Rev. J. Clin. Ther., vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 69–75, Mar. 2012.

Sandalwood has been found to have anticancer effects

Sandalwood essential oil has been found to have anticancer effects.

"Effective management of tumorigenesis requires development of better anticancer agents with greater efficacy and fewer side-effects. Natural products are important sources for the development of chemotherapeutic agents and almost 60% of anticancer drugs are of natural origin. α-Santlol, a sesquiterpene isolated from Sandalwood, is known for a variety of therapeutic properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities. Cell line and animal studies reported chemopreventive effects of sandalwood oil and α-santalol without causing toxic side-effects. Our laboratory identified its anticancer effects in chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis in CD-1 and SENCAR mice, ultraviolet-B-induced skin carcinogenesis in SKH-1 mice and in vitro models of melanoma, non-melanoma, breast and prostate cancer. Its ability to induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells is its most reported anticancer mechanism of action. The present review discusses studies that support the anticancer effect and the mode of action of sandalwood oil and α-santalol in carcinogenesis."

Download review here.

Reference
Santha S, Dwivedi C. Anticancer Effects of Sandalwood (Santalum album). Anticancer Res. 2015;35(6):3137-3145.

Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants

Bathing young infants in bath water with lavender essential oil was found to reduce stress and crying and enhance sleep in very young infants, according to a scientific study.

Very young infants, ranging in age from one-week to four-and-half-months, were given a bath with or without lavender-scented bath oil. The mothers in the lavender bath oil group were more relaxed, smiled and touched their infants more during the bath. Their infants looked at them a greater percentage of the bath time and cried less and spent more time in deep sleep after bath. The cortisol levels of this group of mothers and infants significantly decreased, confirming the behavioral data showing increased relaxation of the mothers and their infants. These findings support a body of research showing the relaxing and sleep-inducing properties of lavender essential oil.

Reference:
Field T, et al. Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants. Early Human Development. 2008; 84(6):339-401.