After ten years, and apparently almost 250,000 words, I was sorely tempted to give up writing the Newsletter.  Most now seem to have access to the Web, and there are more books, journals and magazines about aromatherapy than my already sagging shelves can bear: I am sure that there will be more as well. Would not a monthly sheet of special offers suffice?

No, was the emphatic answer from my random sampling. I was flattered, but somewhat fazed. After all, now that I am the third line of contact on the telephone, I have barely a couple of days to research and write my monthly musings. Do it at the weekends, several suggested. Not a hope!  Weekends are for family, dogs, cars, parrots and the garden. Work is fine in its place, but no further.

Why not publish the first ten years ramblings as a book, proposed one distinguished author, or serialise them in one of the aromatherapy journals? Not a bad idea but I’m not ready for it yet, although the prospect of a decent index does have considerable appeal. It would help me to remember what I have written before.

However, as many pointed out, there is a new generation on the way up who may not have heard previously about Hippophae rhamnoides, Leptospermum scoparium, Kunzea ericoides, Azadirachta indica et al., and so here begins the second decade.  I just hope that I complete it!     

So all my best is dressing old words new,
Spending again what is already spent.
[William Shakespeare: sonnet 76]

Leads and Laggards.
Plai! Plai! Plai!  For a moment I thought that we sold nothing else. It still amazes me how some products literally fly off the shelf whilst others barely create a ripple.  Fibromix was another high flyer: now supplied in a therapist-friendly 100ml bottle without rollerball.  Look for it amongst this month’s Special Offers.

I used to think that it might have something to do with how much I wrote about a product but, looking back, I am not so sure that this is necessarily the case. Believe it or not, I first had a look at Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) almost ten years ago, and Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium Forster & Forster) little later, wrote copious scientific and anecdotal comments about them, and yet they have never really taken off.  Why?

Sea Buckthorn revisited.
Mentioned by Dioscorides and Theophrastus, sea buckthorn was renowned for centuries as a remedy for horses.  Its leaves and branchlets, added to horse fodder, encouraged rapid weight gain and a shiny coat.  This all explains its rather odd botanical name - from the Greek hippos a horse and phaos to shine or glitter.  I wonder would it work now because, if my own plant is anything to go by, it grows well and vigorously in the British climate.

A member of the Elaeagnaceae family, sea buckthorn is widely spread throughout both Europe and Asia, particularly in northern Europe and on the sea coasts of Rumania, Mongolia and China.  Its leaves are narrow and lance shaped with the upper side a silver-brown colour, resembling those of the Russian olive, or Trebizond date, Elaeagnus angustifolia L. 

The plant is a shrub, reaching 2 to 4 metres in height, but develops a tree-like appearance as only the upper buds sprout and branch. It is dioecious and the sexes can be identified by the bud form and branch system of the vegetative matter.  Cross pollination occurs through movement of wind-blown pollen.  All species in Elaeagnaceae form pseudodrupes. In Hippophae species, the round pseudo-berries of a yellow-orange colour are clustered on two year old branches to create a bunch of fruit.     

The fruit of sea buckthorn, often called Siberian pineapple, represent one of the more important vitamin sources for people living in cold, long winter regions of the world  [Abdullaev, R., and Jagudina, S. 1988. Bacciferous fruits. Mehnat Tashkent. 93-102].

The berries contain a fixed oil and a high concentration of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, and C. Although the quantity of these constituents varies greatly, depending upon the growing area and the genetic properties of the plant, the content of the vitamin C and vitamin E ranges generally from 50 to 600mg and near 160mg, respectively, per 100g of the fruit. The carotene content is about 30 to 40mg per 100g of fruit. 

Seed and Pulp oil compared.
Produced by supercritical fluid extraction with natural carbon dioxide, thus eliminating solvent residues, inorganic salts, heavy metals, and reproducible microorganisms [Manninen P.,  Haivala E., Sarimo S., Kallio H.: Z. Lebens Unters Forsch A (1997) 204: 202-205], the clear orange-yellow seed oil has a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids which include oleic (15-20%), linoleic (34-39%) and linolenic (24-32%).  Unsaponifiable ingredients include carotenoids, alkanols, tocopherols, and sterols.

Externally, the oil is used in skin care preparations for the treatment of conditions such as neurodermatitis [Lichen simplex: leathery, thickened patches of skin secondary to pruritis or anything that causes habitual scratching, e.g., insect bites, psoriasis, contact with chemicals. As the skin thickens, irritation increases, scratching causes further thickening and so on and so forth]. It is also employed in “regenerating” cosmetics.  

Internally, the oil is taken to supplement a deficiency of essential fatty acids and to regulate fat metabolism and prevent arterial affection [Quirin K.W., Gerard D.:Cosm. Toil. Manuf. Worldw. 1995, 57].

Extracted in exactly the same way the red oil from the fruit pulp [sometimes referred to as juice in the literature] has a very different fatty acid profile, containing mainly palmitic acid (30-35%) and palmitoleic acid (22-33%). Palmitoleic acid is rarely found in plant oils, and is part of human skin fat. Traditionally, it has been used in Russia to heal wounds and aid skin regeneration. It is also used in sun creams to alleviate sunburn [Quirin K.W., Gerard D.: Parfumerie und Kosmetik 10/93, 618].

Hippophae hailed, in Tibet at least.
Having sponsored a delegate (back in 1993/1994 I think it was) to the 1st International Congress on Sea Buckthorn in Beijing, I was delighted when he returned with various research reports to support the efficacy of sea buckthorn.


In Russia, the value of the oil had been appreciated for some time but it was Tibetan medical researchers who isolated specific applications.  Effective for the treatment of burns, ulcers, radiation injury and, in gynaecology practice, colpitis, endocervicitis and cervical erosion, I was particularly interested by its use in opthalmopathy for the treatment of keratitis and burns of the eyes.  Also, although I had known of its proven efficacy in the treatment of stomach ulcers, I had not been aware of its effectiveness for sinusitis, tonsilitis and pharyngitis [Dept. of Tibetan Medicine and the Institute of Biology (Buryatsky branch of the Academy of Science of the USSR)].

I still think it a great oil, but will anyone buy it?!

Balm of Gilead.
Can you obtain Balm of Gilead? enquired one of the great perfume houses. Creators of two of my all-time favourite fragrances, Mitsouko and Chant d’Aromes, I was keen to assist.  But, hold on a minute, what is the botanical source of Balm of Gilead?  Too late, the line clicked dead. Ah well, I thought, I can find out somewhere.

Some books suggested that what I sought was Commiphora gileadensis (L.) C. Chr., which is synonymous with Commiphora opobalsamum (L.) Engl. Lauded in the Bible, and in the works of Theophrastus, Galen, and Dioscorides, I knew it to be both extremely rare and difficult to grow.

Pliny states that the tree, which stands around 3 metres high, with wand-like spreading branches and small reddish flowers, was first brought to Rome by the generals of Vespasian; while Josephus relates that it was taken to Judea by the Queen of Sheba as a present to Solomon.  There, being cultivated for its juice, particularly on Mount Gilead, it acquired its popular name.

The juice exudes spontaneously during the heat of summer, in resinous drops, the process being helped by incisions in the bark. The more humid the air, the greater the quantity collected. 

My older texts revealed that, when the oil was separated, it was prepared with great secrecy, and taken to the stores of the ruler, where it was carefully guarded. In fact it was so much valued by the Turks that its importation was prohibited. They preferred to grow the trees in guarded gardens at Matarie, near Cairo.

Be this still the case, I couldn’t see myself getting my hands on any Balm of Gilead in a hurry!

A digression.
Meanwhile, one of the up-and-coming generation phoned me to enquire: Who are these guys Theophrastus, Galen, and Dioscorides? Umm!!

Theophrastus (370-286 BC), who came from Eresos on the Aegean island of Lesbos, did for the plant kingdom what Hippocrates did for medicine. A protobotanist, his De Historia Plantarum contains descriptions of some 500 different plants.  Hippocrates?  Oh, my goodness, what had I let myself in for?!

There was no way that I was going to convince this young lady to spend £15.99 - that’s far too expensive - on a copy of Green Pharmacy. Had she made the investment, she would have learnt much from Barbara Griggs’ modern classic. 

This compelling book presents a fascinating account of the ideas, personalities, and discoveries that have shaped medicine in the Western world.  Focusing on the professional, economic, and social forces that have periodically consigned herbal medicine to near oblivion, the author presents a powerful case for the cyclical emergence of alternative medicine at times, such as our own, when allopathic methods of treatment have lost their safety and efficacy. Nevertheless. 

Although today we consider Hippocrates (468-377 BC) as much the most important and interesting medical thinker of early times, with his emphasis on a balanced, holistic approach to doctoring, it was not Hippocrates who was eventually enthroned as the patron saint of the medieval medical school.
This accolade was bestowed upon Galen (AD 131-200) who, four centuries later, adopted the Hippocratic teaching of the four humours [choleric (yellow bile), sanguine (blood), phlegmatic (phlegm) and melancholic (black bile)] and made it the cornerstone of an elaborate and rigid system of medicine which effectively paralysed European medical thinking for the next 1,500 years. Had he lived and written a couple of centuries earlier, undoubtedly other great and original thinkers would have arisen to dispute his elaborate theories and dilute his authority.

Dioscorides, an army surgeon in the first century AD, set himself the gigantic task of bringing together all the current medical information on plants and other drugs and setting it down in one clear informative work. From Anzarba in Asia Minor, he had travelled widely with the far-ranging Roman armies of Nero.  The Romans looked after their armies well, especially when they were posted to distant countries. The legions travelled with their own doctors and surgeons.  It is more than likely that much of Dioscorides’information came from them.  A practising doctor himself, he had a precise, enquiring mind. His work, De Materia Medica, was instantly acclaimed, an authoritative reference work that has been copied and quoted to the present day, the prototype herbal and the prototype pharmacopoeia.

Tacamahac?
The other day, as the sun streamed unseasonably through the window, my mind drifted to the lazy, hazy days of summer.  I do so like the constant buzzing of the bees around the lavender and the insatiable feeding of tortoiseshells, peacocks, admirals and painted ladies upon the buddleia.  Instinctively I pulled out Jane Newdick’s beautifully illustrated Fragrant Year.

Summer garden fragrances are rich and linger on the heavy air on calm, sultry days.  Night time scents add an exotic touch after the sun has set. Everywhere there are flowers to gather and herbs to harvest while plant essential oils are at their height and perfume at its strongest.

As I leafed languorously through the pages, richly illustrated with images of densely packed sweet peas, wild yellow flag, roses, feverfew, sweet cicely, wood strawberries, violas and so fragrant lilies, I could imagine myself already in the deckchair.  Jane’s easy style of writing lulled me ever closer to slumber. Ring! Ring! Ring!  Jolted from my reverie, I continued to read....Unless they are spectacularly showy, tree blossoms often go unnoticed in the garden and countryside....There are many trees with scented foliage or even bark....One lovely tree that doesn’t grow too large for most gardens and has an elegant, pyramidal shape is the balsam poplar....The buds are covered in sticky resin and, as they unfold in spring, the garden is filled with their clean, fresh balsam scent....On warm days throughout the summer, the leaves continue to emit this scent....Look for the Tacamahac or balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L. subsp. balsamifera)....Another species, the Ontario poplar or Balm of Gilead (Populus candicans Ait.) has larger leaves but the same balsam scent. Aha!

Puzzling Poplars.
Swiftly sleuthing, I discover that Populus candicans Ait. is the same as Populus x jackii Sarg., which is the same as Populus x gileadensis Rouleau, which is the same as Populus deltoides x Populus balsamifera, but it doesn’t end there!
  
It seems that there has been much confusion regarding the botanical source of Balm of Gilead.  In the American National Formulary XI, it was officially described as derived from Populus tacamahacca Mill. [which is synonymous with P. balsamifera L.] or from P. candicans Ait. However, according to C.S. Sargent’s Manual of Trees of North America, P. balsamifera L. is not the same as P. tacamahacca Mill. but is a different species. Furthermore Balm of Gilead has also been used as a synonym for Canada balsam (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. 

By the way, even the esteemed author Steffen Arctander [Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, p. 545] was unable to find any connection between the American-Indian nickname “tacamahac” for poplar balsam and the same name for a Madagascan tree whose hard, resinous balsam also has a coumarinic-balsamic odour.  The two trees are not even botanically related.

Physical descriptions don’t help much either.  Populus tacamahacca is a tree often up to 33 metres high, trunk about 3 metres in diameter, with stout, erect branches.  P. candicans has been considered as a variety of P. tacamahacca, but only the pistillate tree is known [having pistils, the female organs of a flower, but no stamens]. P. balsamifera is described as a large tree with massive spreading branches and stout yellow-brown, often angular branchlets.  All are native to North America.   
 
Yet another poplar!
I was just about to pack up on poplars when, out of the blue, arrived a sample of absolute of black cottonwood or western balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L. subsp. trichocarpa (Torr. & A. Gray) Brayshaw), accompanied by a wodge of information.

Hardy, straight trunked, fast growing if provided with ample moisture and plenty of nutrients, tallest of all British Columbia’s broad-leaved trees, has a fragrant resin from the sticky buds which bees use as a caulking material in their hives, and produces a chemical in the young twigs which deters snowshoe hare from feeding on them.  That’s telling me!

Strictly, western balsam poplar occurs in the northern part of British Columbia east of the Rockies, and black cottonwood west of the Rocky Mountains. Where their ranges overlap, they often hybridize. They prefer areas with lots of light, favour floodplains and moist upland sites.  The balsam grows to 25 metres, and the cottonwood almost double that.

Male and female catkins are found on different trees, the male 2 to 3cm long and the female 8 to 20cm, and produce large quantities of floating fluff [cotton] that carry the tiny seeds.  The trees’ capsule-like fruit also release seeds covered in white, fluffy hairs.

Poplar “balsam populus” was regarded by the West Coast Indians as a “Mother Herb”due to its incredible healing actions on both internal and external problems.  Teas, salves, tinctures and washes were made from most parts of the tree including the bark, leaves and sap. These were to be used anywhere that the body was not correctly functioning.

The leaves, which are thick, shiny, dark green with a pale, brown-marked underside, about 6 to 12cm long, were used to wrap wound and bone or joint injuries along with a salve made from the sap being rubbed into the affected areas. 

Poplar Absolute examined.
The absolute is extracted with grain alcohol from the new shoots, leaf buds and end of summer leaves.

GC/MS analysis reveals a highly complex oil. Main chemical constituents include farnesol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate, benzoic acid, carvacrol, furaldehyde, and hydrocinnamic aldehyde.  It also, quite unusually, contains fairly high levels of  linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, and myristic fatty acids. This combination of fatty acids and other chemicals suggests that the absolute could be beneficial to the skin and an internal tonic.  The fragrance is green/ woody/herby and evocative of autumn walks when the air is crisp and warm crumpets beckon by the hearth.  There I go, dreaming off again!

On trial with therapists.
Poplar absolute (Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa) has been used by therapists for quite a variety of conditions.

It seems to be greatly favoured for its rapid healing action, a couple of drops placed during treatment on an injured or ischaemic muscle bringing almost immediate relief. In fact it is suggested that, on any muscle spasm or injury, a blend with a couple of drops of poplar triggers rapid relief. Due to its diuretic and liver stimulating actions, swelling and cellulite also clear fairly rapidly from the affected area.

For bone and joint injuries, therapists report that poplar, together with oils appropriate to the patient, seems to speed significantly recovery time when compared with other oils or methodologies. For example, on a parasympathetic human, poplar blended with lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) and geranium (Pelargonium graveolens Heritier) helped reduce both pain and swelling of wrist injuries.  The healing of the bone injuries also showed a marked improvement.

On a sympathetic patient with torn muscles and tendons, a blend of orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) and chamomile (undefined, but I suspect Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All.) was not achieving sufficiently quick results (although rapid by normal medical standards) for the [somewhat impatient, I would have thought!] injured party. However when the blend was changed, substituting poplar for tarragon, discolouration, pain level and flexibility changed within hours.

For those on their feet all day, nurses and policemen perhaps, with painful and swollen feet and lower legs, agony might be quickly dispelled with a gel containing poplar, Dead Sea salts and their favourite essential oils, gently massaged into the soles of the feet.  Where the native American Indian might have found Dead Sea salts I’m not too sure!

It really is quite amazing what an oil can be put to when the test demands.  Being the cold, cough and flu season, my ‘team’ of guinea pigs excelled itself.  I had hoped to find a ‘proper term’ for guinea pigs, like ‘bike’ of bees, ‘leap’ of leopards, or ‘cowardice’ of curs, but my search was in vain. Many of these ‘proper terms’, however, are fanciful or humorous and probably never had any real currency, although I had to learn them off by heart whilst at school.  I still much prefer ‘bike’ to the more familiar drift or swarm. Strange that.

When fighting a cold or other mucous membrane irritations, some have found that a drop of poplar across the sinuses has not only cleared the sinuses but also halted the impending virus. For allergy irritations of nose and eyes a gel blend of poplar, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) and chamomile seems to do the trick, gently rubbed across the sinuses and eyelids [take care] for relief of excess mucus and itchiness.

When the lungs ache and are sore-retched, a gel/cream blend of poplar, cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) and immortelle (Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don. f.) rubbed across the chest and rectal tissue is reported to clear the mucus and reduce the cough exceeding quick. This same blend seems to keep the virus/bacteria well in check, which could be due to the fairly high levels of phenols and sesquiterpenes which may stimulate white cell immunoglobulins.

Meanwhile those who had avoided seasonal afflictions treated athlete’s foot, fungal infections of the toes, eczema and psoriasis: all showed marked improvement with a blend containing poplar. Redness, peeling of skin and general irritation rapidly eased. The skin condition became more flexible and smooth as cells regenerated.

Phew!  Those West Coast Indians sure knew a thing or two! 

Finally.....
It’s good to see old friend Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides (A. Rich.) J. Thompson) reviewed in the up-to-the-minute edition of Perfumer & Flavorist [Volume 27, Number 2, March/April 2002], but what on earth are Cangerana (Cabralea cangerana Saldanha, syn. C. glaberrima A. Juss.) and Tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala (Ham.) Nees et Eberm) essential oils?

The next decade promises to be quite exciting!
 

charles@essentiallyoils.com
 

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