Aromatherapy

History

The concept of aromatherapy came from ancient cultures that believed in the healing properties of plants. Many plants have therapeutic properties, and the basic derivatives of many modern medicines are plant-based. The term aromatherapy (originally aromatherapie) was coined in the late 1920s by the French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, who began the exploration of essential oils for their healing powers after an explosion in his laboratory left his hand badly burned and the accidental soaking of his injury in pure lavender oil produced a miraculously rapid healing.

Popular aromatherapy is primarily rooted in folkloric traditions rather than scientific research and a wide range of therapeutic effects are often attributed to any one aromatic plant. Here are some examples of the purported effects for several commonly “prescribed” essential oils: Sandalwood aroma is sedating, relaxing, and beneficial for treating anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Rosemary clears the mind and stimulates memory. Lavender is uplifting, soothing, and helpful for reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Indeed, authors of aromatherapy textbooks make a number of extraordinary and sometimes contradictory claims. For example, juniper oil is said to have 17 different properties ranging from aphrodisiac to sedative. Aromatherapy today is usually practiced in conjunction with massage, and one of the major claims of aromatherapy is a reduction in anxiety. Considerable evidence shows that massage alone reduces anxiety. If massage is effective, then aromatherapy plus massage is also effective. So “aromatherapy works, even if it doesn't,” as several reviews of the literature have noted, at least for the reduction of anxiety. Thus, the wide range of therapeutic effects attributed to a plant's scent alone appear to be unfounded.

Aromachology

The term aromachology was coined by the Sense of Smell Institute in 1982, to distinguish between nonscientific claims for odors (aromatherapy) and the scientific analysis of olfactory effects on mood, physiology, and behavior (aromachology). Aromachology research and evidence must meet the following empirical criteria: (a) theory guided goals and clear hypothesis testing, (b) fragrances assessed using appropriate experimental methodology, (c) sufficient and representative subject populations and appropriate contrasting control groups, (d) data analysis with suitable statistical methods, and (e) results vetted by scientific peers and accepted for publication in reputable journals.

A rigorous analysis of the data obtained from aromachology research has shown that various specific odors can significantly alter mood, cognition, physiology, and behavior. However, inconsistencies in the chemical nature of the odors used, the dependent measures assessed, and the findings obtained are observed. For example, in one experiment, subjective emotional changes in the presence of lavender odor were found but no physiological effects were observed, whereas in another test of lavender, physiological changes were shown but there were no concomitant changes in self-reported mood.

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