Aromatherapy Research and Chemotypes

It is fortunate that, in a time when the standards applying to the therapeutic value of aromatherapy are in question, we have access to the highest quality of pure, unadulterated and totally extracted essential oils.

For the last quarter century, a cloud has loomed over the practice of aromatherapy. That cloud has been the lack of reliable scientific research regarding the viability of plants and plant essences to fight disease.

Since the advent of synthetic medication, the emphasis of medical therapy has been on chemically active medicinal ingredients that combat infectious disease. That emphasis has generated a concentration focusing on a linear relationship between infectious organisms and the chemicals that destroy them. The central idea is that every disease causing organism has a chemical enemy that will destroy the disease. Chemists classify antimicrobial agents according to their active ingredients, or chemotypes. In other words, laboratory analysis seeks to test medication for the principle active ingredient. That analysis does not concern itself with what it views as inert ingredients. Simply stated, chemists have looked for the single "silver bullet" to kill a given disease organism.

For practitioners of phyto-aromatherapy, this type of laboratory analysis has been problematic; the analysis focuses on identifying geraniol in the essential oil of Geranium, or in finding thymol in the oil of Thyme. In other words, the assumption is that these essential oil components, geraniol and thymol, constitute the silver bullet each has to offer. This is a problem, in part because administrating the doses of these oils in concentrations strong enough to kill a particular disease organism would be toxic to a patient. Additionally, it is a problem in that the analysis does not take into consideration the totality of the complex whole, which the individual constituents of an oil comprise.

It has long been held by Dr. Christian Duraffourd and Dr. Jean Claude Lapraz that essential oils must be considered as whole formulas. They argue that the medicinal value of an essential oil is based on its complete composition rather than its constituent parts. They have long been practitioners and researchers of aromatherapy and phytotherapy. In fact, they co-authored The ABCs of Phytotherapy with Dr. Jean Valnet, who is considered the father of phytotherapy in France. But their own research has added new dimensions to the possibilities for aromatherapy to take its rightful place among other medicinal therapies.

This is good news for you! You will remember that we use only the highest quality of pure, unadulterated and completely extracted essential oils. The research Duraffourd and Lapraz started in 1972, and continue to the present, confirms what they have always insisted: the effective use of essential oils for therapeutic purposes must be through the application of oils in total and complete form. Chemotype oils do not work as effectively as whole oils. (Refer to www.pai-nv.com for updates on the research of Duraffourd and Lapraz.

Research Results in Summation

Since the early 1970s, Duraffourd and Lapraz have maintained that essential oils must be dispensed as pure and complete extractions from their specific plant species in order to be effective bactericidal and antiviral agents. This was based partly on the work of Dr. Jean Valnet, whose practice and theory were based on long standing traditions in phytotherapy and partly it was based on their own clinical experiences. They held to the galenical principle that plant substances must be used in complete form and if not used in complete form they were therapeutically ineffectual. Their assertions, however, lacked clinical proof.

Since 1972, Duraffourd and Lapraz have completed more than 3,000 clinical studies in the essential oil field. They have produced strong evidence supporting the therapeutic value of essential oils applied according to galencial principles.

In 1974, they established the great complexity of the fundamental activity of essential oils and underscored the discordances between laboratory results and the therapeutic results of aromatherapy in the treatment of patients. The results of the experiment, thereafter duplicated in France and elsewhere, were that the antiseptic effectiveness of complete essential oils was greater than the antiseptic effects of the chemotype alone and always with the complete oils applied at far smaller concentrations. The implications of this study nullify the theory of chemotypes as it relates to essential oils. It also confirms that essential oils, even in the laboratory, work most efficiently as a totality.

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	Aromatherapy Research and Chemotypes It is fortunate that, in a time when the standards applying to the therapeutic value of aromatherapy are in question, we have access to the highest quality of pure, unadulterated and totally extracted essential oils. For the last quarter century, a cloud has loomed over the practice of aromatherapy. That cloud has been the lack of reliable scientific research regarding the viability of plants and plant essences to fight disease. Since the advent of synthetic medication, the emphasis of medical therapy has been on chemically active medicinal ingredients that combat infectious disease. That emphasis has generated a concentration focusing on a linear relationship between infectious organisms and the chemicals that destroy them. The central idea is that every disease causing organism has a chemical enemy that will destroy the disease. Chemists classify antimicrobial agents according to their active ingredients, or chemotypes. In other words, laboratory analysis seeks to test medication for the principle active ingredient. That analysis does not concern itself with what it views as inert ingredients. Simply stated, chemists have looked for the single "silver bullet" to kill a given disease organism. For practitioners of phyto-aromatherapy, this type of laboratory analysis has been problematic; the analysis focuses on identifying geraniol in the essential oil of Geranium, or in finding thymol in the oil of Thyme. In other words, the assumption is that these essential oil components, geraniol and thymol, constitute the silver bullet each has to offer. This is a problem, in part because administrating the doses of these oils in concentrations strong enough to kill a particular disease organism would be toxic to a patient. Additionally, it is a problem in that the analysis does not take into consideration the totality of the complex whole, which the individual constituents of an oil comprise. It has long been held by Dr. Christian Duraffourd and Dr. Jean Claude Lapraz that essential oils must be considered as whole formulas. They argue that the medicinal value of an essential oil is based on its complete composition rather than its constituent parts. They have long been practitioners and researchers of aromatherapy and phytotherapy. In fact, they co-authored The ABCs of Phytotherapy with Dr. Jean Valnet, who is considered the father of phytotherapy in France. But their own research has added new dimensions to the possibilities for aromatherapy to take its rightful place among other medicinal therapies. This is good news for you! You will remember that we use only the highest quality of pure, unadulterated and completely extracted essential oils. The research Duraffourd and Lapraz started in 1972, and continue to the present, confirms what they have always insisted: the effective use of essential oils for therapeutic purposes must be through the application of oils in total and complete form. Chemotype oils do not work as effectively as whole oils. (Refer to www.pai-nv.com for updates on the research of Duraffourd and Lapraz. Research Results in Summation Since the early 1970s, Duraffourd and Lapraz have maintained that essential oils must be dispensed as pure and complete extractions from their specific plant species in order to be effective bactericidal and antiviral agents. This was based partly on the work of Dr. Jean Valnet, whose practice and theory were based on long standing traditions in phytotherapy and partly it was based on their own clinical experiences. They held to the galenical principle that plant substances must be used in complete form and if not used in complete form they were therapeutically ineffectual. Their assertions, however, lacked clinical proof. Since 1972, Duraffourd and Lapraz have completed more than 3,000 clinical studies in the essential oil field. They have produced strong evidence supporting the therapeutic value of essential oils applied according to galencial principles. In 1974, they established the great complexity of the fundamental activity of essential oils and underscored the discordances between laboratory results and the therapeutic results of aromatherapy in the treatment of patients. The results of the experiment, thereafter duplicated in France and elsewhere, were that the antiseptic effectiveness of complete essential oils was greater than the antiseptic effects of the chemotype alone and always with the complete oils applied at far smaller concentrations. The implications of this study nullify the theory of chemotypes as it relates to essential oils. It also confirms that essential oils, even in the laboratory, work most efficiently as a totality. Sharon (Question?) (About Sharon) (Print This)