Where did aromatherapy come from?
Aromatherapy has roots in antiquity with the use of aromatic oils.
However, as currently defined, aromatherapy involves the use of distilled plant volatiles,
a twentieth century innovation. The word, aromatherapy, was first used in the 1920s
by French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé, who devoted his life to researching
the healing properties of essential oils after a lucky accident in his perfume laboratory.
In the accident, he set his arm on fire and thrust it into the nearest cold liquid,
which happened to be a vat of lavender oil. Immediately he noticed surprising pain relief,
and instead of requiring the extended healing process he had experienced during recovery
from previous burns - which caused redness, heat, inflammation, blisters, and scarring - this burn
healed remarkably quickly, with minimal discomfort and no scarring.
Aromatherapy is the supposed treatment or prevention of disease by use of essential oils.
Two basic mechanisms are offered to explain the purported effects. One is the influence of aroma
on the brain, especially the limbic system through the olfactory system. The other is the direct
pharmacological effects of the essential oils. While precise knowledge of the synergy between
the body and aromatic oils is often claimed by aromatherapists, the efficacy of aromatherapy
remains to be proven. However, some preliminary clinical studies show positive effects.
In the English-speaking world, practitioners tend to emphasize the use of oils in massage.
In the UK, America, and Australia, aromatherapy tends to be regarded as a complementary medicine.
In many countries essential oils are included in the national pharmacopeia.
On the continent, especially in France, where it originated, aromatherapy is incorporated
into mainstream medicine. There, the use of the antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal and
antibacterial properties of oils in the control of infections is emphasized over the more
"touchy feely" approaches familiar to English speakers. In France some essential oils are
regulated as prescription drugs, and thus administered by a physician. French doctors
use a technique called the aromatogram to guide their decision on which essential oil to use.
First the doctor cultures a sample of infected tissue or secretion from the patient.
Next the growing culture is divided among petri dishes supplied with agar. Each petri dish is
inoculated with a different essential oil to determine which have the most activity against
the target strain of microorganism. The antiseptic activity manifests as a pattern of inhibited growth.
Aromatherapy may produce both psychological and physiological effects.
The psychological effects of aroma can be rapid, and may be relaxing or stimulating,
depending on the previous experiences of the individual as well as the chemistry of
the essential oils used. Essential oils may also be applied topically to the skin and may
elicit a rapid physiological affect (i.e. cooling or warming). While some aromatherapists do not
consider topical or ingested essential oils as part of aromatherapy, others contend that the
topical, ingested, and inhaled uses of essential oils are aromatherapy.
Much depends on the background, perception, and training of the person conducting
the aromatherapy, and what that person is trying to achieve.
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