Pure essential oils have been used since ancient times as natural medicines. As natural products, pure essential oils are dependent on climate and their composition varies according to soil conditions, sun exposure, harvest time, production methods, and storage conditions. Pure essential oils have been historically used to treat diseases of the nervous system, and cancer, although research is quite early and not much is known for certain about the role of pure essential oils in serious medical conditions. Essential oils are also used to enhance skin penetration.

A list Aromatherapy essential oil - more to come
Coriander essential oil
Eucalyptus - Cineole is a chief constituent of eucalyptus oil and constitutes almost 80% of this essential oil.
Fennel essential oil
Lavender essential oil
Lemongrass essential oil
Oregano essential oil
Sage essential oil

Organic essential oil
Organic essential oils are made from plants grown organically, without pesticides. Many essential oil therapists prefer using organic essential oils for their clients.

Pure essential oil
Unlike fatty oils, pure essential oils are volatile, highly concentrated, substances extracted from flowers, leaves, stems, roots, seeds, bark, resin or fruit rinds. The amount of pure essential oils found in these plants can be anywhere from 0.01 percent to 10 percent of the total. These pure essential oils have several hundred natural chemicals. Do not substitute pure essential oils with synthetics. Only pure essential oils contain a full spectrum of compounds that cheap imitations simply cannot duplicate.

Essential oil online
You can find a number of companies selling essential oils online.

Lavender Essential Oil
Researchers found that inhaling lavender or rosemary oils did not change pain tolerance or hormonal and nervous system responses to pain among 26 adults who sat through three uncomfortable situations -- such as having heat applied to the forearm or a blood pressure cuff tightened around the arm. But when participants were asked to rate their pain afterward, the lavender aromatherapy did seem to tone down the recollected experience. Men recalled the pain as less intense when they had inhaled the lavender oil, while women described it as less "unpleasant," the researchers report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Why the therapy affected only participants' recollection of pain is unclear, but it may be related to the effect of aroma on emotion, according to study author Dr. Roger B. Fillingim of the University of Florida College of Dentistry in Gainesville. There is evidence that emotion exerts "considerable influence" over pain recall -- with greater distress during a painful experience making a person more likely to remember the pain as severe. In particular, research on animals and humans has suggested that lavender oil has sedating effects. In one study, patients who received foot massages with lavender oil had lower heart rates than those who received lavender-free massages, suggesting that the oil had a physiological impact. To see whether aromatherapy could have a role in managing pain, Fillingim and his colleagues had healthy men and women go through three moderately painful procedures after each of three aromatherapy sessions: one with lavender oil, one with rosemary oil -- which research suggests acts as a stimulant -- and one using a "control" treatment of distilled water. During the procedures, participants identified the moment when they first felt pain and when the pain had become intolerable. Their physical responses were also gauged, through measurements of heart rate, blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol. Fillingim's team found that the oils generally did not alter pain tolerance, nor did they show physiological effects. The one exception was that lavender oil seemed to increase heat tolerance above that associated with rosemary oil, but not plain water. Lavender showed an advantage over water only when it came to participants' memory of their pain. That doesn't mean lavender aromatherapy is useless in medical care, however. Fillingim said that even if the oil does not change a person's actual experience, it may reduce "negative recollections" of a painful procedure. And that might keep people from skipping trips to the doctor or dentist. SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, July/August 2004.

Essential Oils and Skin Care
Suppression of neutrophil accumulation in mice by cutaneous application of geranium essential oil.
J Inflamm (Lond). 2005 Feb 10;2(1):1.
Previous studies suggested that essential oils suppressed the adherence response of human neutrophils in vitro and that intraperitoneal application of geranium oil suppressed the neutrophil accumulation into peritoneal cavity in vivo. Usually, essential oils are applied through skin in aromatherapy in inflammatory symptoms. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of cutaneous application of essential oils on the accumulation of neutrophils in inflammatory sites in skin of mice. METHODS: Inflammation with accumulation of inflammatory cells was induced by injection of curdlan, a (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan in skin or peritoneal cavity of mice. Essential oils were applied cutaneously to the mice immediately and 3 hr after intradermal injection of curdlan. The skin with inflammatory lesion was cut off 6 hr after injection of curdlan, and the homogenates were used for myeloperoxidase (MPO: a marker enzyme of neutrophil granule) assay. RESULTS: The MPO activity of the skin lesion induced by curdlan was suppressed dose-dependently by cutaneous application of geranium oil. Other oils such as lavender, eucalyptus and tea tree oils also suppressed the activity, but their activities seemed weaker than geranium. Juniper oil didn't suppress the activity CONCLUSION: Cutaneous application of essential oils, especially geranium oil, can suppress the inflammatory symptoms with neutrophil accumulation and edema.

Essential Oil Toxicity
Essential oil poisoning: N-acetylcysteine for eugenol-induced hepatic failure and analysis of a national database.
Eur J Pediatr. 2005 Aug;164(8):520-2. Epub 2005 May 14.
We present a 15-month-old boy who developed fulminant hepatic failure after ingesting 10 ml of clove oil. After 24 h, the ALT level was in excess of 13,000 U/l, with blood urea and creatinine of 11.8 mmol and 134 micromol/l respectively. The hepatic impairment resolved after intravenous administration of N-acetylcysteine so that 6 h later, the ALT level was approximately 10,000 U/l. His liver synthetic function and clinical status improved over the next 4 days. This is the first such case report of its kind in Europe. Analysis of a national database revealed a 14-fold increase in home accidents related to aromatherapy from 1994-1999. Clove oil has important hepatotoxic effects. CONCLUSION: Recent growth in aromatherapy sales has been accompanied by an unfortunate increase in accidental poisoning from these products. Clove oil warrants special attention. Ingesting as little as 10 ml causes hepatotoxicity which can be treated with N-acetylcysteine.

Essential oil to prevent infection
Edible coatings containing oils from oregano and other sources can destroy food-borne microbes, enhancing the safety and shelf life of fresh food. Essential oils of some plants act as food preservatives and are safe to eat. Investigators prepared apple-based films. They then tested the antimicrobial activity of essential oils of oregano, lemongrass, and cinnamon, by measuring their ability to destroy Escherichia coli O157:H7, a microbe that causes food poisoning. The oil of oregano was the most potent. At a concentration of 0.1 percent, oregano oil was effective after just 3 minutes when added to the film-forming solution. In contrast, 5-fold higher concentrations of lemongrass and cinnamon were required to achieve the same antibacterial activity. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, November 29, 2006.

Essential oils and Helicobacter pylori
Antimicrobial activity of essential oils against Helicobacter pylori.
Helicobacter. 2003 Jun;8(3):207-15. Third Department of Internal Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, 602-8566, Japan.
Helicobacter pylori is an important pathogen responsible for gastroduodenal diseases in humans. Although the eradication of H. pylori using antibiotics often improves gastroduodenal diseases, resistance to the antibiotics is emerging. The antimicrobial effect of essential oils and the development of resistance to the essential oils were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Thirteen essential oils used in this study completely inhibited the growth of H. pylori in vitro at a concentration of 0.1% (v/v). Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) and Lippia citriodora (lemon verbena) were bactericidal against H. pylori at 0.01% at pH 4.0 and 5.0. Resistance to lemongrass did not develop even after 10 sequential passages, whereas resistance to clarithromycin developed under the same conditions. In in vivo studies, the density of H. pylori in the stomach of mice treated with lemongrass was significantly reduced compared with untreated mice. These results demonstrate that the essential oils are bactericidal against H. pylori without the development of acquired resistance, suggesting that essential oils may have potential as new and safe agents for inclusion in anti-H. pylori regimens.

Essential oils supplier
Email received in Sept 2007 - We are the essential oils supplier for Aarya Aroma, a Nepal based distiller and herbs grower. We use 100% natural raw materials for our products. We are interested in introducing our products to you, pure and fresh straight form the foothill of the Himalayas of Nepal. Our website is www.essencenepal.com. We carry Anthopogon Oil, Aromise Oil, Calamus Oil, Chamomile German Oil, Cinnamomum Oil, Citronella Oil, Curcuma Zedoaria Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, French Basil Oil, Jatamansi (Spikenard) Oil, Juniper Leaf/Berry Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Mentha Arvensis Oil, Palmarosa Oil, Tagetes Oil, Valerian Oil, Wintergreen Oil, Xanthoxylum Oil.