INTRODUCTION TO AROMATHERAPY

1. INTRODUCTION TO AROMATHERAPY

2. WHAT IS AROMATHERAPY ? • Aromatherapy uses pure essential oils to balance the body’s equilibrium and to improve mental and physical health. • Aromatherapy involves more than fragrance. Plant essential oils have therapeutic powers in addition to beneficial fragrance, and all are antiseptic in different degrees.

3. WHAT IS AROMATHERAPY ? • The natural healing art of aromatherapy is an excellent way to promote optimum health and vitality. • Aromatherapy can reduce stress, improve sleep and give you more energy. It can improve your complexion, treat an annoying skin itch and eliminate a stomachache.

4. WHAT IS AROMATHERAPY ? • Aromatherapy is a healing therapy that utilises the properties and aromas of essential plant oils. • Perhaps the best thing about aromatherapy is that it is so easy and pleasurable to engage in.

5. Definition of “Aromatherapy” • “Aromatherapy conveys the concept of healing with aromatic substances.” - Robert Tisserand • “Aromatherapy is a caring, hands-on therapy which seeks to induce relaxation, to increase energy, to reduce the effects of stress and to restore lost balance to mind, body and soul.” - Robert Tisserand

6. Definition of “Aromatherapy” • “Aromatherapy can be defined as the controlled use of essential oils to maintain and promote physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing.” Gabriel Mojay • “Aromatherapy is … the skilled and controlled use of essential oils for physical and emotional health and well being.” - Valerie Cooksley

7. Definition of “Aromatherapy” • “Aromatherapy” is derived from two words. Aroma - meaning fragrance or smell and Therapy - meaning treatment. • “Aromatherapy” can be defined as the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit.

9. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • Aromatherapy was used by the most ancient civilizations and is reputed to be at least 6000 years old. It is widely thought that Aromatherapy began in Egypt. • The Egyptians used a method known as infusion to extract the oils from aromatic plants and incense was probably one of the earliest ways of using aromatics.

10. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • Frankincense was burned at sun rise as an offering to the sun god, Ra and myrrh was offered to the moon. • The Egyptians were experts at embalming using aromatics to help preserve flesh. • The Egyptians used to be massaged with fragrant oils after bathing .

11. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • The Greeks continued the use of aromatic oils and used them medicinally and cosmetically. • A Greek physician, Pedacius Dioscorides, wrote a book about herbal medicine and for at least 1,200 years as the Western world's standard medical reference. Many of the remedies he mentions are still in use today in Aromatherapy.

12. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • The Romans took much of their medical knowledge from the Greeks and went on to use and improve the ability of aromatics with Rome becoming the bathing capital of the world. • After bathing they would be oiled and massaged.

13. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • The Romans started to import new aromatic products from East India and Arabia through the opening up of trade routes. • During the crusades the knowledge of aromatic oils and perfumes spread to the Far East and Arabia.

14. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • It was a physician called Avicenna who lived from A.D 980 to A.D. 1037 that is understood to have first used the process known as distillation to distil essence of rose, although it probably took many years to perfect the process. • The Arabs also discovered how to distil alcohol around the same time making it possible to produce perfumes without a heavy oily base.

15. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • There is a strong possibility that the ancient Chinese civilizations were using some form of aromatics at the same time as the Egyptians. • Shen Nung's Herbal book is the oldest surviving medical book in China which is dated about 2700 B.C. and contains information on over 300 plants.

16. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • The Chinese used aromatic herbs and burned aromatic woods and incense to show respect to God. • Traditional Indian medicine known as ayurveda has been practiced for more than 3,000 years and it incorporates aromatic massage as one of its main aspects.

17. HISTORY OF AROMATHERAPY • The North American Indians also used aromatic oils and produced their own herbal remedies. • It wasn't until the 19th century that scientists in Europe and Great Britain began researching the effects of essential oils on bacteria in humans.

18. Origin of the word “Aromatherapie” • The term “aromatherapie” was coined by a French chemist called Rene Maurice Gattefosse in 1928. • Gattefosse whose family owned a perfumery business, while working in the laboratory one day burned his hand badly. He plunged the injured hand into a container of lavender essential oil and was amazed at how quickly the burn healed without blistering.

19. Origin of the word “Aromatherapie” • And this event set Gattefosse on a lifetime study of the therapeutic properties of plant oils. He utilized the word to imply the therapeutic use of aromatic substances. • A French medical doctor, Jean Valnet, discovered Gattefosse's research and began experimenting with essential oils during the World War II.

20. Origin of the word “Aromatherapie” • Around the same time, Marguerite Maury, a French biochemist developed a unique method of diluting and applying these oils to the skin with massage - the treatment which we know today as Aromatherapy.

21. What are Essential Oils ? • Essential oils occur widely in the plant kingdom and are sometimes referred to as the plants’ ‘life force’ or ‘essence’ or ‘soul’. • They are minute drops of liquid occurring in glands, glandular hairs, sacs or veins of different plant parts: flowers, leaves, seeds, bark (twigs) and wood (stem), resin (gum), roots, berries or fruit peel of the plant.

22. What are Essential Oils ? • Essential oils give each plant its very specific or unique scent or fragrance. (E.g. as you smell the beautiful fragrance of a rose, you are actually experiencing the joy of essential oils as they are released into the atmosphere) • Essential oils droplets are a mixture of complex, organic compounds. When extracted, they are highly concentrated and highly fragrant.

23. What are Essential Oils ? • Essential oils are volatile, which means that they turn quickly from a liquid into a gas at room temperature or higher. • They are also non-oily, despite their name. A good test of the purity of these aromatic substances is that they do not leave a greasy mark on a piece of paper. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule, such as myrrh and patchouli.

24. What are Essential Oils ? • Essential oils are soluble in oils, fats and pure alcohol, but they are partially or non-soluble in water. • Essential oils are also flammable!! (Experiment: Squeeze a lemon or orange rind into a candle flame to see tiny fireworks!) • They can be damaged by light, heat, air and moisture. Therefore, we must know how to take good care of our precious essential oils.

25. What are Essential Oils ? • Essential oils are usually very liquid and do not feel greasy at all. • Essential oils can only be produced by nature. Therefore, they are natural.

27. Where Essential Oils are found? • Flowers  chamomile, lavender, neroli, rose • Leaves  eucalyptus, peppermint • Wood  cedarwood, rosewood, sandalwood • Fruits  bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, orange • Berries  black pepper, juniper

28. Where Essential Oils are found? • Twigs  petitgrain • Roots  angelica, ginger, vetiver • Seeds  angelica, cardamon, carrot, nutmeg • Gum  myrrh • Whole plant  basil, citronella, lemongrass

29. Where Essential Oils are found? • It is interesting to note that different oil can sometimes be extracted from different parts of a particular plant: • Angelica – seed oil and root oil • Cinnamon – leaf oil and bark oil

30. Where Essential Oils are found? • Clove – leaf oil and bud oil • Orange tree: • blossom  neroli; • fruit  orange; • leaves and twigs  petitgrain

31. Habitat • Over 30 families of plants, with some 90 species, represent the main oil-producing group. • The majority of spices (allspice, cardamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, etc.) originate in tropical countries.

32. Habitat • Conversely, the majority of herbs grow in temperate climates (bay, cumin, dill, marjoram, fennel, lavender, rosemary, thyme, etc.). • The same plant grown in a different region and under different conditions can produce essential oils of widely diverse characteristics, which are known as ‘chemotypes’.

33. Habitat • Therefore, it is important not only to know the botanical name of the plant from which an oil has been produced, but also its place of origin and main constituents.

34. Main constituents of essential oils • In general, essential oils consist of chemical compounds which have hydrogen, carbon and oxygen as their building blocks. These can be subdivided into two groups: • Hydrocarbons – made up almost exclusively of terpenes. • Oxygenated compounds – mainly alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, oxides and phenols.

35. Main constituents of essential oils • Acids, lactones, sulphur and nitrogen compounds are sometimes also present. • True essential oils may only be obtained by the methods of distillation or expression that preserve the life-giving vital essence of the plant.

36. Main constituents of essential oils • Please refer to Table 1 for • Chemical Groups • Please refer to Table 2 for • Aromatic Chemical Groups, and their Uses

37. How are Essential Oils produced? • Essential oils that have been extracted via the process of distillation or expression are the highest grade and purest and are most commonly used for the purposes of aromatherapy. • Oils obtained by solvent extraction are primarily used by the perfume, herbal medicine, skincare and food industries.

38. How are Essential Oils produced? • Some plant materials, especially flowers, are subject to deterioration and so they should be processed as soon as possible after harvesting. • Others including seeds and roots are either stored or transported for extraction, often to Europe or America.

39. How are Essential Oils produced? • The method of extraction which is employed depends on the quality of the material which is being used, and the type of aromatic product that is required. • Steam distillation is by far the most widely used and most economical method.

40. Steam distillation process • The plant is heated by water or steam in a still which causes the cell structure to rupture and frees the essential oil. • The steam carrying the aromatic molecules is cooled to produce a mixture of oil and water. • The essential oil is then separated and bottled.

41. Expression process • This method of extraction is employed for obtaining oil from citrus fruits such as bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin and tangerine, as their oil is present in the rind of the fruit. • The expression process was originally carried out by hand, but now mechanical presses are employed.

42. Other processes • Other processes do not yield true essential oils: • Solvent (alcohol, benzene, hexane) extraction which produces absolutes, concretes and resinoids. • Enfleurage (infusion with fat) which produces pomades and then enfleurage absolutes. This process is virtually obsolete today.

43. Other processes • Maceration with alcohol which produces tinctures. • Carbon dioxide extraction which employs carbon dioxide under extremely high pressure to extract essential oils.

44. Other processes (latest) • Percolation (hydrodiffusion) whereby steam at atmospheric pressure disperses throughout the plant material from the top of the plant chamber. • Turbodistillation extraction whereby the plants are soak in water, and steam circulates through this plant-and-water mixture.

45. Production Of Essential Oils • Plants contain from 0.01 to 10% essential oil content. The average amount found in most aromatic plants is about 1 to 2%. • A 1% yield indicates that 100 kilos of plant material are required to produce 1 liter of essential oil. • It is interesting to note that the amount nature has provided in its original plant form strongly correlates to the amounts used in aromatherapy applications!

46. Production Of Essential Oils • An oil such as the highly expensive rose oil yields just 0.01% essential oil. No wonder it is so costly! • Rose oil Bulgarian takes approximately 4,000 pounds of hand-picked flower petals to make 1 pound of oil, making it one of the most expensive oils that can be purchased!

47. Production Of Essential Oils • 60,000 rose blooms are required to produce 1 ounce of rose oil. • 220 pounds of Lavender plant to produce 7 pounds of oil. • 400 kg of Thyme would produce 1kg of essential oil. • 6,000 kg of Orange blossoms to produce 1kg of Neroli.

48. Production Of Essential Oils • Jasmine flowers must be picked by hand before the sun becomes hot on the very first day they open. It takes eight million hand-picked jasmine blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil! That is why, it is also one of the most expensive oils on the market. • Sandalwood tree must be thirty years old and thirty feet high before it is cut down for distillation.

49. How do Essential Oils work? • Essential oils enter the body by two main routes – the nose and the skin. • They enter and leave the body efficiently, leaving no toxins behind. • Essential oils are taken directly into the blood stream; they have a positive effect on blood circulation, helping to bring oxygen and nutrients to the tissues whilst assisting in the disposal of carbon dioxide and other waste materials .

50. Nose-brain connection • The olfactory system, the nose-brain association, is the most direct connection we have with the environment or nature. • We smell with every breath we take, constantly monitoring the world around us, although we are not always conscious that we are doing so.