Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
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Chapter 15 / Aromatherapy and CVD 245<br />
skin. Some essential oils may cause dermal irritation and are better used<br />
by inhalation.<br />
Essential oils should not be confused with herbal extracts, and the two<br />
substances cannot be used interchangeably. Herbal extracts are diluted<br />
and are often taken internally. Essential oils are concentrated and are not<br />
usually taken internally.<br />
A good knowledge of plant taxonomy is important if the correct oil is<br />
to be used. Many essential oils have the same common names. Lavender<br />
is a common name that covers three different species of lavender and<br />
countless man-made hybrids that cannot be used interchangably. The<br />
botanical name indicates exactly which lavender by using the genus<br />
(rather like a surname) and the species (rather like a first name). The<br />
genus of lavender is Lavandula, and all lavenders begin with this word.<br />
L. angustifolia is possibly the most used and researched essential oil<br />
and is recognized as a relaxant. However, the other two species of lavender<br />
have different properties. L. latifolia (Spike lavender) is a stimulant,<br />
expectorant, and mucolytic. L. stoechas is antimicrobial but should<br />
not be used for long periods of time, because it contains a large percentage<br />
of ketones, which can build up liver toxicity (18). For aromatherapy<br />
to be used clinically, it is important to know the full botanical name of<br />
an essential oil. Please see Table 2 for a list of the botanical names of<br />
essential oils referred to in this chapter and Table 3 for examples of plant<br />
identification.<br />
CLINICAL AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES AND EVIDENCE<br />
MRSA<br />
Essential oils were used before synthetic antibiotics and antiseptics.<br />
Most essential oils and components of essential oils have some antibacterial,<br />
antifungal, or antiviral properties, and a large number of studies<br />
have indicated their effectiveness in vitro (19–21). Peppermint, thyme,<br />
lavender, tea tree, and juniper essential oils are effective against MRSA<br />
in vitro (22). A further article (23) also showed that Melaleuca<br />
alternifolia (tea tree) was effective against MRSA in vitro. It was tested<br />
against 64 methicillin-resistant and 33 mupirocin-resistant isolates of<br />
S. aureus and was effective in all cases, using dilutions of 0.25% and<br />
0.50%. These results were duplicated in a UK study using similar methods.<br />
Chan and Loudon (24) conducted a further in vitro study on 28<br />
isolates of MRSA and eight clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci<br />
at Manchester Royal Infirmary, England. The minimum<br />
inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were repeated three times and ranged<br />
from 0.25–0.5% tea tree. No resistant isolates were found. Many cos-