The rain, it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella:
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just’s umbrella.
Lord Bowen 1835-94: in W. Sichel Sands of Time (1923)

Quite what prompts me to quote this catchy little rhyme I know not except that I have just returned from yet another charity motoring event absolutely soaked. Midsummer’s Day is not yet past and already our towering delphiniums and ramrod lupins are prostrate upon the ground. Worse still my cherished tadpoles have been callously washed from their pond and lie struggling upon the sodden turf, prey to Nature’s predators.  In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are consequences [Robert G. Ingersoll 1833-99: Some Reasons Why (1881)].

However the reason why I am writing this Newsletter so early in the month is because Justin and I are hopefully off to the bithplace of James Bowie (1796-1836), Kit Carson (1809-68), President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy (1808-89), Muhammad Ali and Union president Abraham Lincoln (1809-65).

Known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky is a wonderful combination of the South and North, the East and West.  It combines mountains and forests with some of the most beautifully manicured rural landscapes imaginable. The cities are small but appealing, and even the industries are engaging - a state that produces bourbon, baseball bats and Chevrolet Corvettes can’t be all bad.  Although I don’t drink bourbon or play baseball, I am one of those rare Brits who owns an old Corvette. This is the 50th birthday of the model, and so we are off to Bowling Green to celebrate. 

Interestingly Kentucky ‘bluegrass’ (Poa pratensis L.) isn’t native to Kentucky, having been introduced from England via Virginia in the late 17th or early 18th century. Also it isn’t really blue, though it does produce a small blue flower that can give the fields a bluish tinge. Mostly, however, grazing animals eat the flowers and new growth, so the Bluegrass State is brilliantly green.  The bluegrass thrives on Kentucky’s limestone soil and provides ideal grazing for horses, which also have become emblematic of the state.
Horse talk, and more besides. Already in its ninth issue, the newsletter of The Guild of Essential Oil Therapists for Animals (GEOTA) really is a must for anyone interested in using essential oil therapy for animals.

The latest edition covers such diverse topics as lame Golden Brahma hens, a snappy Border Terrier bitch, a gelding with sweet itch, a sheep with foot rot, and a psychotic Border Collie. Fascinating stuff, particularly as many of the patients glory in names that make me feel downright ashamed to have simply called my parrot Birdie. How about hens Guinnevere and Maid Marion, or Mavis the sheep, or a collie cross called Tiggybaloo? Justin, however, did show some foresight many years ago when naming my terrapins Slaughter and Death, for they will still ravage anything on sight. A little essential oil therapy might not go amiss!

GEOTA is recording all successful cases, using Essential Oil Therapy for Animals, on a database to provide evidence based research. Also it is maintaining most wisely a database to record any suspected adverse reactions using essential oils with animals.

GEOTA is now registered as a learning provider with the Department for Education and Skills.  You can apply for a Career Development Loan (CDL) for their Diploma Course in Essential Oil Therapy for Animals and the Equine Acupuncture Course. For further info. you should contact Karen Bourdon on 01869 349813, or check out the Guild’s website <www.geota.co.uk> for up-to-date information on any of its courses.

The lean start to life?
I hope that I’ve got this right, after my last effort [Newsletter 109].  According to the British Medical Journal, recent research by a team at Glasgow University provides the first clear evidence that breastfeeding reduces the risk of childhood obesity, a rapidly growing health problem.

The UK is the second fattest country in the world, hot on the heels of the United States where 64% of the population are still overweight despite an annual US$30 billion (that’s an awful lot of money!) spend on weight loss programmes and products [Positive Health, 77: 31-38].

Most adults in the UK are overweight and one in five, around 8 million, is obese.  Currently 30,000 deaths annually are linked to obesity.  Although the UK is not quite as bad as the US, if the trend continues a quarter of women and a fifth of men could be obese by 2005 [Nutrition: 2002 Update]. 

Just as our lifestyles have moved to a faster pace, so have our food choices.  Junk food has become a way of life for many of us. The result is that we are paying a deadly price for ‘whopper’ burgers and chips.

The team measured the fatness (body-mass index) of 32,200 Scottish children aged three to four. Those breastfed for six to eight weeks after birth were 30% less likely to be obese than children who drank formula milk by bottle. The figures were adjusted for socio-economic status, birthweight and sex.

Apparently previous studies were not big enough to show the link.  Dr. John Reilly, leader of the team, says that.....Breastfeeding is potentially useful for population-based strategies aimed at obesity prevention, particularly with the other benefits that breastfeeding provides.

Avian foodies.
Obviously not satiated by his nightly sip of vin rouge (never white, which he dislikes), no sooner does the strawberry season arrive than Birdie sits atop his cage demanding this pulpy seed-studded fruit to supplement his Fruity Parrot mix. This is no idle request to be ignored, as the scars upon my person bear witness!

Encouraged by his antics the Pennant’s parakeets wantonly discard their seed and leaves of coss and little gem, screeching relentlessly for more aromatic sweet and baby leaf mix: subtle and delicate, slightly nutty, lambs lettuce; very aromatic and sharp, peppery and mustard like, roquette; and strong and sharply flavoured baby green and red romaine. What is it with these birds?!

Meanwhile The Daily Mail reports that house mice are evolving into super intelligent creatures capable of dealing with traps and poisons. Don’t tell me!

Research reveals that the voracious little chappies are just as likely to eat the remains of chicken and tuna sandwiches as their traditional diet of cereals.  I can already imagine the squeaking in my shoe cupboard.....Ciabatta and Brie!

Maybe we can learn a thing or two from these animal antics: when did you last see an obese mouse or fat parrot?!

Allergen update (11th June).
No news yet, but I am thoroughly encouraged by how many of you responded to the appeal to contact your MEP about the 7th Amendment to the Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC.  Thank you.  Colin Hayes warrants especial mention for his most rapid response, and I hope that he will not mind if I quote one or two of his replies....

Bill Newton Dunn, MEP, writes.....We have been aware of this problem for some time, and before the report reached the committee stage we were in close consultation with the European Federation of Essential Oils (EFEO). We are also consulting the Scientific Committee for their opinion on this matter, and we will work closely with all interested parties before making the final decision on the report. 

We (Liberal Democrats) have in the past been very sympathetic to this sector as it represents traditional remedies, small businesses and a huge amount of public support for consumer choice. However, public health and consumer information is also important to us.  We are therefore waiting to hear expert opinion on the potential damage that better labelling will do to the industry (we’re not convinced that a safety notice on products will adversely affect sales to the extent claimed) and on the public health implications of exempting essential oils from this requirement.

Nick Clegg, MEP, informs that his Liberal Democrat colleague in the European Parliament, Chris Davies, MEP, has met with representatives of the EFEO and is pursuing the possibility of a compromise amendment that would distinguish between mandatory labelling for synthetically produced essential oils and non-synthetic essential oils. 
      
Mind-jolting conjecture.
It is understandable that so many of us involved with essential oils and aromatherapy are shocked by the perceived machinations of the European Parliament, because we have used and worked with essential oils for many years without adverse effect, but are we fully aware of the evidence levelled against us? Whilst it might be more convenient to stick our heads in the sand, and ignore it, it should not be lightly dismissed.  What is the evidence? several have enquired.

It would be preferable probably to avoid the question but, the current edition of WDDTY (What Doctors Don’t Tell You), in which Pat Thomas, a psychotherapist and counsellor, and author of Cleaning Yourself to Death, exposes “Killer Cosmetics”, spells it out. In this sequel to her “Toxic Toiletries” [WDDTY, October 1999], which provoked a still-ongoing outcry about cosmetic ingredients, she revisits the dangers of fragrance ingredients. Although a little alarmist for my tastes, Ms. Thomas is well researched, rational, and plausible.

She opines that fragrance is a particularly thorny issue for consumers as most of us will never know which fragrance chemicals are in the products we use because manufacturers are allowed to list them under the catch-all heading of ‘fragrance’, which belies the often hundreds of different ingredients involved in a single scent.  She states that most of these are neurotoxic chemicals associated with central nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and sudden infant death syndrome. 

She supports her argument with the fact that, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency report Health Hazard Information (EPA, 1991), the 20 most common fragrance ingredients constitute a toxic soup that no thinking person would wish to be exposed to.  Of these chemicals, seven - 1,8-cineole, b-citronellol, b-myrcene, nerol, ocimene, b-phenethyl alcohol and a-terpinolene - are completely lacking in safety data.  Is this correct, I wonder?

As for the rest: I am already reeling, but here are one or two mind-jolting examples..... Linalool is a narcotic known to cause CNS disorders, and may lead to sometimes fatal respiratory disturbances, poor muscle coordination and reflexes, and depression.....a-Pinene is a skin-sensitising agent that is damaging to the immune system.....g-Terpinene causes asthma and CNS disorders.....a-Terpineol is highly irritating to mucous membranes. Breathed into the lungs, it can lead to pneumonitis or fatal water retention. It can also cause nervous excitement, loss of muscle coordination, low body temperature, CNS and respiratory depression, and headache.

Unfortunately I do not have a copy of the relevant EPA publication, and so cannot comment upon the veracity of its contents, but how does this most alarming reading compare with the information in Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals. Linalool?  Narcotic effects seen at about half the lethal dose in mammals and demonstrated in many experimental animals; non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitising. Alpha-pinene?  Low toxicity but extremely large quantities produce CNS depression, bronchitis and kidney damage. Can cause the appearance of benign tumours; non-irritating; when oxidised it can cause skin sensitisation. Gamma-terpinene? Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitising.  Terpineol?  A terpenoid alcohol which exists in three isomeric forms, alpha, beta and gamma. Found in a great many essential oils.  Non-toxic, mildly irritant, non-sensitising.

As Robert Tisserand and Tony Balacs published Essential Oil Safety some while after the EPA report [1995], I must assume that they were aware of its implications. However the preface to their book explains much, and merits re-reading.  If you have not got a copy, now is probably the time to buy, beg, borrow, or steal one, as people will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors [Edmund Burke 1729-97] or, in this case, Messrs. Tisserand and Balacs!  

Back to the future.
Robert and Tony suspected correctly that in many countries there might be too few controls on the minority of essential oils which do present a hazard.  Therefore, in common with others such as Martin Watt, author of Plant Aromatics, they went public with toxicity data so that all who sell, or use essential oils,  would be better able to take informed decisions about which oils are safe to use, and in which circumstances.

They were not simply concerned about banning or restricting certain oils, they also saw the need to improve labelling, giving warnings where appropriate, and to make packaging safer.

They pointed out that there are two approaches one can take when dealing with issues of safety. The first is to assume that the materials in question are hazardous until proven to be safe. This is the approach taken when dealing with pharmaceutical drugs. The second approach is to assume that substances are safe unless proven hazardous. This is the line taken in the food and fragrance industries.

Tisserand and Balacs took the approach that essential oils are safe unless proved hazardous, reasoning that it seemed unnecessary to treat essential oils as pharmaceuticals, especially if they were only used externally. However they advised that, in practice, one must steer a middle course, and use all the information available, both positive and negative.

Faced with these dilemmas they attempted to give a balanced view.  They acknowledged both that animal toxicity may be relevant to the human situation, and that experimental doses almost always greatly exceed those given therapeutically.  They provided detailed data about the relevance or otherwise of specific animal tests to humans.  In short they figured out almost a decade ago the dilemma that we are facing today. 

However I think that we have progressed far in ten years.  Aromatherapy still has an impeccable safety record.  Therapists are probably better trained than they have been for generations. Discipline within the essential oil supply industry is far stricter. Labelling, although still not perfect, is much improved.  The dissemination of information, both good and bad, is far greater than I can ever remember.  Aromatherapy has come of age, and the public has voted.   
 
Let us hope that all regulatory bodies have it within them to acknowledge this progress.
        
Slow going.
Speaking of progress, I was a little horrified to discover that it has taken me more than six years to obtain a sample of Houttuynia cordata.  Back in March 1996 I wrote glibly.....

What did catch my eye was a reference to a patented, Japanese, product which contained extracts of antiviral substances from Houttuynia cordata Thunb.  By chance, I recollect having read something somewhere about this member of the Saururaceae, a small family of temperate and sub-tropical perrenial herbs, commonly called lizard’s tails because of the inflorescences. I believe that it was first introduced into Europe in the early 1800’s, and is considered good ground cover by keen gardeners. Of more significant interest is the fact that it is cultivated locally in Vietnam where the leaves are used in salads and for treating eye diseases.  Further I believe that an essential oil of Houttuynia cordata has been used to treat herpes simplex 1, human immunodeficiency and influenza, but I cannot find the reference. Who better to ask than Michael Trickett, whom we sponsored to North Vietnam last year?  True enough, Michael knows exactly where to go and, Hanoi permitting, we should have samples and information coming!

Michael duly returned, but empty-handed. Subsequent phone calls to Hanoi yielded nothing, and I rather gave up on the whole thing. 

Fishwort found.
My interest was rekindled a couple of years later when reading Peter Holmes excellent Jade Remedies: A Chinese Herbal Reference for the West.  I had not known that H. cordata has a fishy scent, hence its name Fishwort, by which it is better known in Chinese medicine than its common name Dokudami, and grows in shady, dank places by streams, ponds, swamps and ditches throughout temperate East Asia and subtropical Himalayas.

Shortly afterwards I found some plants for my fish pond at the local aquatic centre. They bloom in summer with spikelets of white terminal flowers. When in flower the plant has a fetid smell, which has been attributed to the essential oil.

The murky yellow-orange essential oil itself, however, which is steam distilled from the fresh leaves, has a somehat herby-like aroma.  I believe nevertheless that there are two chemotypes, and that the oil from the Japanese chemotype is characterized by a strange lemon or orange-like odour that is often compared to ginger.

Dokudami data.
Considered to be antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antileukaemic, immunostimulant, diuretic, anti-cancer, sedative, anti-inflammatory and antitussive, it is a traditional medicinal plant used in Japan and China.
 
The anti-inflammatory activities of a water extract of dried plants had been investigated and its potent antioedamatous action shown [Suzuki, Y. et al. (1985) Pharmacometrics 30, 403-409].  Quercitrin, a flavonoid contained in H. cordata, had been reported to have inhibitory effects on several viruses [Mucsi, I., Pragai, B.M. (1985) Experientia 41, 930-931]. A main component of the essential oil, decanoylacetaldehyde, had been shown to have antibiotic activities [Kosuge, T., Isogai, H. (1953) Yakugaku-zasshi 73, 435-437] but is unstable and easily decomposes in the process of distillation.  Methyl n-nonyl ketone, lauryl aldehyde, and capryl aldehyde contained in the herb, had been found to have no antimicrobial activity. 

Since there was no report so far on the antiviral activity of the essential oil, in the early 1990’s researchers investigated the inhibitory activity of the steam distillate and its representative components against different viruses [Hayashi, K. et al. Virucidal effects of the steam distillate from Houttuynia cordata and its components on HSV-1, influenza virus, and HIV. Planta Medica (1995) 61(3), 237-241].

The steam distillate from the fresh aerial parts exhibited activity, without being cytotoxic, against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), influenza virus and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) but not against poliovirus and coxsackievirus [one of a group of large enteroviruses that produce symptoms resembling those of poliomyelitis but without the paralysis. First isolated in Coxsackie, New York]. The loss of viral infectivity in vitro was related to the duration of drug treatment. Three major components of the distillate, methyl nonyl ketone, lauryl aldehyde and capryl aldehyde inactivated HSV-1, influenza virus and HIV-1. Lauryl aldehyde was found to be the most potent of the three components.

It is suggested that the antiviral activity of the essential oil may be due to interference with the viral envelope, resulting in the loss of infectivity, since the initial results - attachment to the cell surface must necessarily involve viral surface glycoproteins present in the envelope. Therefore, virucidal effects of the distillate would be obtained not only in HSV-1, influenza virus, and HIV-1 but also in other enveloped viruses.

A virus is a minute particle that is capable of replication but only within living cells.  Viruses are too small to be visible with a light microscope and too small to be trapped by filters. The virus particle, or virion, consists of a core of either DNA or RNA that is enclosed in a protein sheath called a capsid; it varies greatly in size and shape. Viruses may gain entrance to the body through droplet infection from the respiratory tract; ingestion by the gastrointestinal system; blood transfusion; or a break in the skin including bites by insect or animal carriers.

As pointed out by A. Arando-Anzaldo et al. (1992) J. Virol Methods 37, 71-82, most chemicals with potential virucidal activity are extremely cytotoxic. In this study, however, the distillate and its components exerted the virucidal activity at much less than toxic concentrations, indicating that the virion envelope is more sensitive to the distillate or its components than most cell membrane.

Houttuynia analysed.
After years of waiting, a sample of essential oil eventually arrived from Vietnam the other week.  Mindful of the fact that the above research had been based on the steam distillate of aerial parts of H. cordata growing wild in Toyama, Japan, I was anxious to discover whether its chemical composition would be similar.  Also I was fascinated by the difference in aroma of the essential oils of the two chemotypes.

I know that capryl aldehyde has been used very sparingly in imitation citrus oils, especially lemon and orange, and that lauryl aldehyde possesses a very strong odour slightly reminiscent of pine needle and orange oils and, therefore, I suspected that these two compounds might be absent from the herby-smelling Vietnamese sample. I was correct.

GC/MS analysis reveals that these two components are missing, seemingly replaced by a whopping 56.31% b-myrcene, 13.04% b-cis-ocimene, and 2.50% b-trans-ocimene.  Methyl n-nonyl ketone (2-Undecanone), which by the way is the main constituent of rue oils distilled mainly from Ruta montana L. (“summer rue”) and Ruta graveolens L. (“garden rue”), is present at 11.33% and methyl n-undecyl ketone (2-Tridecanone) at 3.31%.  There are small amounts of a-pinene (0.60%), camphene (0.17%), b-pinene (0.32%), limonene (0.34%), methyl chavicol (0.53%), geranyl acetate (1.49%) and b-caryophyllene (0.42%).    

Will the Vietnamese chemotype match the Japanese as a virucide?  I think that it may, because much of the most recent research I suspect has been done with the so-called Chinese/Vietnamese chemotype [American Journal of Chinese Medicine. Spring 2001].

The end of law is, not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.
These words of John Locke (1632-1704) in The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) come to mind when reading in Manufacturing Chemist (June 2002) Dr. Sarah Houlton’s thought-provoking look at the potential uses of Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.), should its legal status change.

A single drug that could treat conditions as diverse as glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS wasting syndrome, stroke, nausea, migraine and colitis would surely be a miracle drug. Yet these are precisely the claims being made for cannabis.

A drug of ancient use in the Ayurvedic and Chinese systems of medicine (among other things as an analgesic and anaesthetic), it spread westwards very quickly. The Assyrians used it as incense, and the Scythians inebriated themselves with the vapours released by the drug when thrown onto heated stones. Its subsequent spread followed the expansion of Islam.  It became increasingly popular in the West from the 16th century, appearing in Gerard’s Herbal of 1597 as a treatment for earache and jaundice.  Culpeper suggests a decoction of cannabis roots for inflammation, and easing pain from gout, tumours, joints and hips, in his Herbal of 1653.

Indian Army physicians and Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt shared the main responsibility for its re-introduction into Europe in the nineteenth century. Here, it was to be consumed in intellectual circles (it was frequently ingested as a thick jam, dawamesk) and exploited by medicine. Tincture of cannabis was a common Victorian treatment for numerous conditions, including convulsions, rheumatism, muscle spasms and menstrual pain, and as a sedative. Queen Victoria is rumoured to have taken cannabis for period pains.

However the inconsistency of its therapeutic activity, the poor stability of its preparations, the difficulty in deciding optimal doses, and the emergence of synthetic analgesics and hypnotics led to the gradual abandon of its use, and to its disappearance, in the first half of the twentieth century, from most of the occidental pharmacopoeias.

Cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabinol and its derivatives are now listed in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, which includes those drugs which may not be imported, exported, produced supplied or possessed without a Home Office Licence which is only granted for research or other official purposes, and are illegal for any purpose, including medical. This is in sharp contrast to a number of other illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, which can be used medicinally.

Of all the potential uses proposed for cannabis in medicine in recent years, the application that has received most attention is multiple sclerosis (MS). Because the cannabinoid receptors are implicated in movement control as well as pain, it is possible that drugs that act as these receptors could be of value in the treatment of patients with MS.

Various different types of pain are thought to be alleviated by cannabinoids.  Cannabis was used historically as an analgesic, and it is believed to improve somatic pain, visceral pain and neuropathic pain. It is the last of these that is receiving most attention because it is frequently unresponsive to more standard painkillers like opioids. Various forms of inflammatory disease may also respond to cannabis treatment.  A good example is asthma, which is normally treated with anti-inflammatory steroids that reduce swelling, or bronchodilators that relax the bronchioles. Smoked cannabis acts as an acute bronchodilator [D. Tashkin et al. Am. Rev. Resp. Disease 1975, 112, 377].  In the inflammatory bowel disorders Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which are generally treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, reports indicate that cannabis can ameliorate symptoms [J. Baron et al. Ann. Internal. Med., 1990, 112, 471].  I could go on and on but, at last, something seems to be happening.

Leading the way in the clinical study of cannabis is UK company GW Pharmaceuticals.  It is licensed by the Home Office to cultivate, possess and supply cannabis for medical research purposes. Phase III trials are under way for the treatment of the symptoms of MS; cancer pain; and brachial plexus injury, a severe form of neuropathy.  GW has recently announced the commencement of four further Phase III trials, looking at pain in spinal chord injury; neuropathic pain in MS; and general neuropathic pain. Further Phase III trials are expected to be initiated later in the year.

If the final results of the trials that have been carried out so far are as positive as initial indications imply, then within the next couple of years we may well see cannabis-based medicines available legally for several difficult-to-treat conditions, such as MS. As Dr. Houlton says, our ancestors would be vindicated in their belief that Cannabis sativa is highly beneficial as a medicine.

How many other traditional medicines, I wonder, may still have benefits for mankind?
 

charles@essentiallyoils.com
 

previous     next