AromaLab

The effect of clary sage oil on staphylococci responsible for wound infections

Introduction: The spreading of bacterial antibiotic resistance among clinical strains of pathogenic bacteria has made investigators to search for other active antibacterial agents which could provide a valuable complement to the existing therapies.
Aim: To determine the antibacterial activity of clary sage oil (Salvia sclarea L.) against Staphylococcus clinical strains which were isolated from patients with wound infections.
Material and methods: A comprehensive evaluation of Staphylococcus clinical strain resistance to antibiotics was performed. The constituents of clary sage oil were assayed by GC-FID-MS analysis. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the tested essential oil against staphylococci by the micro-dilution broth method was determined.
Results: The clary sage oil was active against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and S. xylosus with MIC values ranging from 3.75 to 7.00 μl/ml.
Conclusions: The results of the in vitro tests encourage to use formulations containing sage oil as the active natural antimicrobial agent. Because of its antimicrobial properties clary sage oil may be applied to treat wounds and skin infections.

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Effect of aromatherapy on patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Objective: Recently, the importance of non-pharmacological therapies for dementia has come to the fore. In the present study, we examined the curative effects of aromatherpay in dementia in 28 elderly people, 17 of whom had Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Methods: After a control period of 28 days, aromatherapy was performed over the following 28 days, with a wash out period of another 28 days. Aromatherapy consisted of the use of rosemary and lemon essential oils in the morning, and lavender and orange in the evening. To determine the effects of aromatherpay, patients were evaluated using the Japanese version of the Gottfries, Brane, Steen scale (GBSS-J), Functional Assessment Staging of Alzheimer’s disease (FAST), a revised version of Hasegawa’s
Dementia Scale (HDS-R), and the Touch Panel-type Dementia Assessment Scale (TDAS) four times: before the control period, after the control period,
after aromatherpay, and after the washout period.
Results: All patients showed significant improvement in personal orientation related to cognitive function on both the GBSS-J and TDAS after therapy. In particular, patients with AD showed significant improvement in total TDAS scores. Result of routine laboratory tests showed no significant changes, suggesting that there were no side-effects associated with the use of aromatherapy. Results from Zarit’s score showed no significant changes, suggesting that caregivers had no effect on the improved patient scores
seen in the other tests.
Conclusions: In conclusion, we found aromatherapy an efficacious non-pharmacological therapy for dementia. Aromatherapy may have some potential for improving cognitive function, especially in AD patients.

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Aromatherapy as Treatment for Postoperative Nausea: A Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND: Postoperative nausea (PON) is a common complication of anesthesia and surgery. Antiemetic medication for higher-risk patients may reduce but does not reliably prevent PON. We examined aromatherapy as a treatment for patients experiencing PON after ambulatory surgery. Our primary hypothesis was that in comparison with inhaling a placebo, PON will be reduced significantly by aromatherapy with (1) essential oil of ginger, (2) a blend of essential oils of ginger, spearmint, peppermint, and cardamom, or (3) isopropyl alcohol. Our secondary hypothesis was that the effectiveness of aromatherapy will depend upon the agent used.
METHODS: A randomized trial of aromatherapy with patients who reported nausea in the post-anesthesia care unit was conducted at one ambulatory surgical center. Eligibility criteria were adult, able to give consent, and no history of coagulation problems or allergy to the aromatherapy agents. Before surgery, demographic and risk factors were collected. Patients with a nausea level of 1 to 3 on a verbal descriptive scale (0–3) received a gauze pad saturated with a randomly chosen aromatherapy agent and were told to inhale deeply 3 times; nausea (0–3) was then measured again in 5 minutes. Prophylactic and postnausea antiemetics were given as ordered by physicians or as requested by the patient.
RESULTS: A total of 1151 subjects were screened for inclusion; 303 subjects reporting nausea were enrolled (26.3%), and 301 meeting protocol were analyzed (26.2%). The change in nausea level was significant for the blend (P < 0.001) and ginger (P = 0.002) versus saline but not for alcohol (P < 0.76). The number of antiemetic medications requested after aromatherapy was also significantly reduced with ginger or blend aromatherapy versus saline (P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that aromatherapy would be effective as a treatment for PON was supported. On the basis of our results, future research further evaluating aromatherapy is warranted. Aromatherapy is promising as an inexpensive, noninvasive treatment for PON that can be administered and controlled by patients as needed.

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Essential oils used in aromatherapy: A systemic review

Nowadays, use of alternative and complementary therapies with mainstream medicine has gained the momentum. Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies which use
essential oils as the major therapeutic agents to treat several diseases. The essential or volatile oils are extracted from the flowers, barks, stem, leaves, roots, fruits and other parts of the plant by various methods. It came into existence after the scientists deciphered the antiseptic and skin permeability properties of essential oils. Inhalation, local application and baths are the major methods used in aromatherapy that utilize these oils to penetrate the human skin surface with marked aura. Once the oils are in the system, they remodulate themselves and work in a friendly manner at the site of malfunction or at the affected area. This type of therapy utilizes various permutation and combinations to get relief from numerous ailments like depression, indigestion, headache, insomnia, muscular pain, respiratory problems, skin ailments, swollen joints, urine associated complications etc. The essential oils are found to be more beneficial when other aspects of life and diet are given due consideration. This review explores the information available in the literature regarding therapeutic, medical, cosmetic, psychological, olfactory, massage aromatherapy, safety issues and different plants used in aromatherapy. All the available information was compiled from electronic databases such as Academic Journals, Ethnobotany, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and library search.

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Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology Effects of Frankincense Oiland its Active Compounds Boswellic Acids

Frankincense, the resinous extract from the trees of the genus Boswellia, has been used for the various therapeutic purposes since the very beginning of the human civilization. The oil exhibits anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities. Most of the previous reports investigated the anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-leukotriene activity, and recently anti-cancer and anti-aging properties of the resin and especially its major components, boswellic acid derivatives.The resinous part of Boswellia possesses monoterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, tetracyclic triterpenic acids and four major pentacyclic triterpenic acids i.e. β-boswellic acid, acetyl-β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-β-boswellic acid and 3-o-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, responsible for inhibition of pro-inflammatory enzymes. Out of these four boswellic acids, 3-o-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) is the most potent inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase, an enzyme responsible for inflammation. AKBA has shown to be effective against inflammatory diseases, heart disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, skin inflammation, cancer, prostate, brain tumors, diabetes, memory loss and fertility.

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Phychoneuroimmunology on Herbal Drugs: An Overview

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the branch of biomedical science that explores the relationships between the nervous system, emotions, and the immune system. In other words, we can say that PNI is the study of the interaction between mind and body as a result of stress exposure. Therefore it is also called as mind-body medicine. It has been stated that psychological states like chronic stress, depression, anxiety, fear, and social context produce profound effects on the body. Herbal anti-stress products have the advantage of the limited side effects. Medicinal plants have been known
for millennia and are highly esteemed all over the world as a rich source of therapeutic agents for the prevention of stress-related diseases like cancers, coronary disease, and some autoimmune diseases. PNI reminds us that psychological states like chronic stress, depression, anxiety, fear, and social context produce profound effects on the body. PNI explores the influence of your mind on your body and immune system. Using a variety of techniques, you direct your energies toward healing and health. The aim of this review is to highlight the plants involved in improving health through
direct effects on immune function, as well as through the mind/body connection.

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