essential oils studies

[Guest guest]

Good question !

Here's my thoughts on the matter:

Let's start with the issue that Al just brought up re Safrole:

" Cinnamon Leaf Oil is a reported carcinogen and mutagen due to it's

Safrole content, as is Mace Oil, Nutmeg Oil, Ocotea Cymbarum Oil and of

course, Sassafras Oil which is 90% Safrole. "

Now when you are looking at carcinogenic and mutagenic properties of

anything, you have to take a number of things into acount:

With herbs, (and essential oils) you are never looking at a single

chemical, as they always contain a number of different chemicals and

compounds that work together, and can either enhance or otherwise modify

the effects of the individual components considerably.

There is also the question of mode of application, and the frequency of

this. Saffrole on it's own applied directly to cells may have been shown

to have carcinogenic effects. But how does this translate?

Does even the slightest contact with trace amounts cause cancer in all

humans? Is there a threshold amount that will do this? Does this only

apply to certain types of body tissue which is particularly sensitive?

Do you have to ingest the safffrole for it to have an effect? or does

topical application cause problems too? Is it absorbed through the skin,

or will the carcinogenic effect apply to the skin cells in the exact

area it is applied to? Is there a cumulative effect over years of use or

does the body break it down and hence the toxic dose needs to be

absorbed in one session to have a carcinogenic effect?

Now for starters, all of the above oils are ones that you would use

sparingly. Just as in straight herbal form, they are used as spices

rather than a food staple like say, lettuce. (And having been used as

spices for a loooong time in human history, it's reasonable to assume

that they are pretty safe used in low doses.)

In perfumery you'd use them as the merest hint of a bynote of a

composition...and the perfume itself would then be applied to a small

area of the body in very small amounts. Here of course is also one of

the main differences between Aromatherapy and natural perfumery: all

over body oil massages give you a much wider area of absorbtion and

exposure to far greater amounts of essential oil than perfume applied

sparingly to a few pulse points.

Now from my perspectve, this translates into the likelihood of a perfume

containing tiny amounts of a saffrol containing oil causing cancer to be

extremely unlikely.

What it does mean that anyone who works with large amounts of these oils

regularly (as in aromatherapy or beverage manufacturers who use, say

sassafras oil daily in the products they make) may be at risk and should

take care to have very well ventilated workplace and wear protective

clothing, and gloves.

This of course is common sense practice anyway. But it is a good

reminder as many people starting out do make the mistake of equating

natural with " completely safe and harmless " which is definitely not true.

Ambrosia