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Antiviral Activity of Aromatherapy
from: Michael RussellYou surely will have heard a thing or two about aromatherapy,
the art of using aroma-rich essential oils to achieve mental and
physical health. Aromatherapy has come a long way from its past.
Nowadays, aromatherapy experts can readily boast of using their
art to relief stress, treat depression and to improve mental
health.
However, what is new in the field and study of aromatherapy
seems to be its new found effect on diseases causing pathogens,
especially viruses. Not more than twenty years back, a German
scientist discovered more than a hundred different specie of a
particular plant family, known as Lamiacea, to be particularly
effective in attacking viral infections. This lead to a surge in
the study of how well some plant extracts can help the human
body fight pathogenic diseases.
With the increased research in this area, several plants'
essential oils have now been shown to be antiviral in effect,
although, there are some limitations in this respect. First,
studies on the application of these oils to specific viral
diseases are difficult to come by, since it is not easy to
infect a subject in a lab with a particular virus and then apply
the oils to gauge the results. Secondly, it is relatively
difficult to ascertain the exact virus type involved in a
disease, making a specific application of the relevant oil more
difficult.
Nevertheless, a good number of plant essential oils have been
shown to exhibit anti viral properties. It is noteworthy,
however, that most of these known oils vary in their
effectiveness depending on the virus type. The different oils
are made up of different molecular units and structures making
them different in their strengths and mode of action.
The effectiveness of these oils in fighting viral infections is
in part due to the ease with which they can penetrate the human
body cells and tissues. Most of these plants' oils are known to
be lipophilic i.e. attracted towards fat/lipid tissues, which is
perhaps why they can penetrate cell membranes with so much ease.
It is even said that through the use of some aromatic oils,
normal body cells tend to become resistant to viral penetration.
Several different oils can be seen to exert similar antiviral
effects, due to the fact that they contain similar amounts of a
particular component. Essential oils are only effective against
viral strains depending on their components. The number of known
oils that exhibit antiviral properties is quite extensive, but a
few examples will do.
The Melissa plant, a member of the Lamiaceae plant family
studied, has been shown to be particularly useful in treating
the Herpes virus infection. It is said that a one time
application of the Melissa oil can lead to a complete remission
of the virus and that further infection can be prevented by
applying the oil to the area about three to four times, when one
starts getting the feelings and signs that foretell an imminent
outbreak of the infection.
Also, the eucalyptus and tea tree are said to be effective in
treating infections of the respiratory tract. In such cases, the
essentials oils could be applied through massaging, diluted in a
carrier oil or in a diffuser to achieve this desired result.
Some other notable oils that are known to be efficacious in
fighting viral infections include thyme, palmarosa, lavender,
rosemary, clove, laurel, cinnamon bark, anise, rose, lemongrass,
geranium, neroli, bergamot, clary sage, and dill. Lavender oil
is particularly known to work very well in relieving stress and
soothing aches in the body, besides its antiviral properties.
About the author:
Michael Russell
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