Aromatherapy , Commentary. This therapeutic duality was recognized independently by ancient civilizations that incorporated aromatic plants into traditional medicines, rituals and everyday life long before distillation and essential oils were known.
In broad terms, aromatherapy is the intentional use of the volatile constituents from aromatic plants in their distilled, expressed or extracted forms to promote health and well-being. It has a broad scope of applications, ranging from comfort and enjoyment to the treatment of kidney stones. Unlike some other complementary and alternative therapies, aromatherapy has a scientific base that is gaining credibility.
Growing interest in the medical approach to aromatherapy from both consumers and practitioners has led to an increasing need to understand how it works. This includes mechanisms of action, dose or dilution, modes of administration and the dynamic between feel-good and medicine. What is actually going on? Essential oils are the primary therapeutic tool of aromatherapy. Due to their history and tradition, infused oils macerates , resins incense and hydrolats hydrophilic part of the distillate from aromatic plants are also used, although they are considerably less concentrated than essential oils.
In principle, concentrated aromatic extracts obtained by use of a solvent, such as absolutes, resinoids, oleoresins and CO2 extracts, could also be used aroma-therapeutically. However, only CO2 extracts seem to have truly caught on as a therapeutic means, likely due to the excellent preservation of the natural properties of plants and the absence of solvent residue.
Because aromatic extracts contain both non-volatile and volatile constituents, their use may be considered as a bridge between phytotherapy and aromatherapy, also referred to as phytoaromatherapy. The use of whole plants or their parts, along with their tinctures, teas and other hydrophilic extracts is generally considered to be herbal medicine or phytotherapy. The term aromatherapy has been used as a marketing strategy for a plethora of cosmetics and scented products.
