What a wonderful evening!  I do like early summer, with rarely-roosting swifts swooping overhead and the scents of lilac and honeysuckle lingering on the gentle breeze. Mung and Mick are at my feet, and all seems well with the world.

Micky! Micky! I’m sure that he doesn’t know what he is in for, but obviously realises that something is amiss and darts immediately behind the nearest hedge. Jan is not so easily foiled and, yowling and growling, he is unceremoniously bundled off to the waiting water.  Mung casts me an apprehensive look, but he need not worry for he is far too large for the bath.

Mick, like many terriers, just loves being scruffy and spends many happy hours working at the task.  Jan, on the other hand, would prefer that he look quite smart, with finely combed moustache and shining coat. She returns from the bathroom absolutely drenched, as young Mick heads for the shrubbery to rearrange his new coiffure. Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.

I return to sifting through recent e-mails and news clippings. It seems that several agree with Elly Hood’s theory [Newsletter 159], and Romola Graf reminds me that Dead Sea salt is useful in the treatment of skin conditions, particularly psoriasis. However I did not know that salt mines, in Russia she thinks, have been used to treat patients suffering from respiratory problems. I learn something new every day.

It seems that Mick is not the only creature likely to end up in the bath because, according to Paul Kennedy, who runs Tesco’s 69 outlets in Hungary: If you were in the UK, you would want salmon and stuff but here it is all about carp and catfish. Take it home live and put it in the bath.  If I didn’t sell carp, customers wouldn’t come here. [Tesco store in Budapest that boasts a tank that holds a dozen live carp].

Meanwhile, at Marks and Spencer’s recent results presentation, the chief executive showed a slide of a stylish espadrille, citing the shoe as an example of how he’d improved the retailer’s supply chain. So impressed was one of the journalists present that she ordered a pair from the M&S website, only to be told: Unfortunately there was limited stock of this item and we will not be receiving any more.

No wonder Tesco is winning the battle for the High Street!
Goat’s Leaf Absolute.
Do you stock honeysuckle absolute? I am often asked. We don’t, and I haven’t seen it offered for years.

Honeysuckle Absolute is better known under the name Absolu de Chevre-feuille (Absolute of Goat’s Leaf), because the herbage of honeysuckles is a favourite food of goats. It is produced by extraction of the flowers of Lonicera caprifolium L. and other Lonicera species. The flowers are extracted with petroleum ether to yield a concrete which, in turn, is further processed into an absolute by conventional alcohol-washing. The absolute is an orange-green to dark green or brownish, viscous liquid.  Its odour is intensely sweet, fatty-floral, and not unlike the sweetness of tuberose. However, it does not truly represent the fragrance of the flower. It seems that the extraction methods are imperfect, and it is very likely that any available honeysuckle absolutes are “compounded” from natural and synthetic materials.  Honeysuckle perfumes, for example, are composed of a mixture of rhodinol, benzyl acetate, linalol, methyl anthranilate, and heliotropin.

However all is not lost for those who wish to have a go themselves, because the flowers can be infused in a vegetable oil to make an incredibly sweet-scented massage oil for all sorts of external conditions.

Jeanne Rose, in 375 Essential Oils & Hydrosols, suggests that you fill a 1-quart earthenware jar with young flowers, then add olive oil until the jar is just full and just to the point where the flowers are submerged. Keep in a warm place, but not in the sun.  Strain out the oil every 24-36 hours, and add new flowers to the oil until it takes on the scent of the flowers.  Do not squeeze the flowers. Bottle in small containers, and put in the fridge. 

Fragrant floribunda.
Although many of the climbing honeysuckles are scented, some of the more exotic-flowered ones have no scent at all. However, the cream-coloured trumpet flowers of Early Cream, the first variety to kick off the summer season, are strongly scented, particularly at night, which is when they are visited by moths for pollination.  The wild hedgerow honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) has one of the finest scents and it flowers a little later.  A honeysuckle with a less showy flower is the Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), which has a penetrating and delicious lemony fragrance.

The Lonicera genus also includes many non-climbing, shrubby plants that few seem to know about.  Most have wonderfully scented flowers, although quite small and

insignificant. The foliage on these shrubs is generally rather boring, but in mid-winter they are completely transformed when the flowers are blooming all over them. Look out for a cultivated species from China, Lonicera fragrantissima.  The creamy-white flowers are produced back to back along the branches and the fragrance is sweet, similar to climbing honeysuckle scent but with a lemony undertone.  It is one of the strongest scents in the winter garden, carrying a long way on still days.  A twig or two brought indoors is a real treat during winter as they fill the house with the scent of summer.

Healing honeysuckle.
A dozen or more of the numerous species of Lonicera [the name of the genus was given by Carl Linnaeus in honour of Adam Lonicer, a physician and naturalist, who wrote, among other works, the Naturalis Historiae Opus novum, which contains much curious information about plants] are used medicinally.

Our English Wild Honeysuckle is reputed to have expectorant and laxative properties. The flowers in the form of syrup have been used for diseases of respiratory organs and in asthma and the leaves as decoction in diseases of the liver and spleen.  It was also considered a good ingredient in gargles.

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) wrote: It is fitting a conserve of the flowers should be kept in every gentlewoman’s house. I know no better cure for the asthma than this.  If you make use of it as an ointment, it will clear the skin of morphew [blisters resulting from scurvy], freckles, and sunburnings, and whatever else discolours it.

Honeysuckle has a long history also in China, dating back to about 200A.D. Traditionally considered sweet tasting, cold, fever-relieving and detoxicant (qing re jie du), it is extensively used in treating “heat” related conditions such as fevers, inflammations and infections (especially viral and bacterial). Some of its biological activities are probably due to the chlorogenic acid and saponins, which occur at up to 12% and 1% respectively in the flower. The volatile oil contained in the flower is composed predominantly of linalool, geraniol and aromadendrene.

In China, the flower buds (jinyinhua) are collected from both wild and cultivated plants.  They are picked in the morning after the dew has evaporated and sun-dried or air-dried in the shade, avoiding harsh midday and early afternoon sun.  The resulting dried flower buds have a characteristic odour but not that of fresh honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle flower is a major ingredient in some well-known Chinese cold remedies such as Yinqiao Jiedu San, which is also sometimes used externally to treat itching and inflammatory conditions. Aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of the flower are used in skincare products for its antimicrobial and astringent properties.

A look at lilac.
Another product that many seem to think that we ought to stock is lilac. Several even claim to have bought genuine lilac essential oil somewhere, but I seriously doubt it.

Next to rose and jasmin, the lilac fragrance is probably the perfume which is most frequently “created” by the perfumer from synthetic and natural raw materials. It was first synthesized in 1777 at Rouen.  However, because of the popularity of the fragrance, many efforts have been made to capture its scent by various methods but none, including steam distillation,  yields a product representing the odour as it is contained in the flowers. On the other hand, numerous synthetic compounds have been developed which reproduce the delightful scent quite remarkably.

The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.) was introduced to Europe from Istanbul around 1563.  However, according to a recent edition of The Garden, the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, it is native to the hills of Romania, Bulgaria and certain parts of former Yugoslavia. This is interesting, because I had always thought it had originated from Iran but, apparently, its native home was established as long ago as the 1820s: I must keep more up to date!

In this country, lilac had a Golden Age that lasted from Edwardian times to the mid-1950s, largely due to the outstanding cultivars produced in Nancy, France by the firm of Lemoine et fils between 1876 and 1953, but as gardens became smaller lilac fell out of favour because of its reputation as a gross feeder and a producer of invasive suckers, as well as for its short flowering period and dull appearance for the rest of the year.

The flowers bloom in several colours: from snow-white and creamy through all shades of “lilac colour”, red-blue, to the deepest purple lilac. There is some variation in the fragrance of lilac flowers of different colour.  Over the years, other species of Syringa have come to Europe and, from the point of view of fragrance, these are perhaps more interesting than Syringa vulgaris.

Cut branches of lilac can be brought indoors where their wonderful scent will fill the house, but some people believe that carrying lilac into the house brings misfortune. This somewhat archaic superstition was spread by Victorian gardeners in order to disparage their staff from taking the expensive blossoms.  They also realized that cutting this year’s flowers with a long stem also removes the buds that should provide next year’s flowers.

Nevertheless, be warned, cut lilacs wilt quite quickly.  Russians traditionally display huge sprays of them in baskets the size of waste bins.  They advise pulverizing the ends of the stems, removing all leaves, adding lemon fizzy drinks to the water as a preservative [a job for Citricidal, I would have thought], and covering them with plastic at night.  This keeps them going for more than a week and retains their fabulous fragrance, which combines scents of almonds, musk and spices.

However, as we have several lilac trees of different hue in the garden, I am tempted to give some flowers the Jeanne Rose treatment to see what happens, because I read that in America lilac has been used as a vermifuge, a tonic anti-periodic, a febrifuge, a substitute for aloes, and in the treatment of malaria.  

Tea Tree Update.
Further to my piece in Newsletter 156 - A concern for many? - I have heard recently from Christopher Dean, Chairman of the Technical & Safety Committee of The Australian Tea Tree Industry Association Ltd. (ATTIA), which is a not-for-profit incorporated body that has been in existence since 1984.  It is the major organization representing the Tea Tree industry worldwide, and has over 70% of the world’s Tea Tree Oil producers among its membership.

Many will recall that Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia Cheel) has been branded unsafe by the SCCP (The European Commission’s Scientific Committe on Consumer Products). They stated that the sparse data currently available suggests that the use of undiluted Tea Tree oil as a commercial product is not safe.

ATTIA has traditionally assisted its members with organizing supportive funding for relevant research projects and has a track record of assisting in applying for government grants.  It has a long-standing research relationship with RIRDC (the Australian Rural Industries Research Corporation), and since inception in 1984 has been involved in research amounting to several million Australian dollars.

ATTIA has once again joined forces with RIRDC to attract the best possible researchers to coordinate a strategy for the further research required by SCCP: Professor Michael Roberts, an expert in skin penetration of cosmetic and pharmaceutical substances and an adviser to US and European Authorities; Dr. Erich Lassak, an adviser to ISO committees on stability of essential oils and the author of Australian Medicinal Plants; Professor John Finlay-Jones, an expert in cytotoxicity from the University of Western Australia; Dr. Larry Kelly, who is an expert in Chemistry; Dr. Andrew Bartholomaeus, an expert toxicologist from Australian Health; and Dr. Ian Southwell from the Australian Department of Agriculture, an expert in essential oil phytochemistry.

This group has helped ATTIA develop a plan that has identified specific research that, when completed, would enhance acceptance of Tea Tree Oil and its use in cosmetics. Anent this, I have just heard that representatives of ATTIA had constructive meetings last week with the secretariat of the SCCP and personnel from the European Cosmetic Industry Association.  I await further details.  Meanwhile.....

Another thumbs up for Tea Tree?
According to a recent study, washing with a solution of 5% tea tree oil is more effective than regular soap at killing infectious bacteria on the skin. 

In a small trial of twenty-seven participants, each volunteer immersed their hands in a fluid contaminated with large numbers of bacteria. The participants were than asked to wash their hands thoroughly using a random assortment of tea tree oil preparations and regular soft soaps. 

This washing procedure was then repeated several times, using several different cleansing preparations.

Bacteria were cultured before and after washing. Tea tree oil preparations proved to be significantly better than soap at reducing the amount of bacteria on the hands [J. Hosp. Infect. 2005; 59: 220-8].

PROOF! magazine, however, comments: Not all tea tree oil preparations are the same.  In this study, two were particularly good - a hygienic skin wash with 5% Tea Tree Oil in a 10% alcohol solution, and a skin wash using 5% Tea Tree Oil in a solution of 0.001% Tween 80.
According to the researchers, the other ingredients helped to boost the effectiveness of the Tea Tree Oil. 

This does not surprise me, because I have noticed that several chemicals will ‘boost’ the activity of essential oils but, as PROOF! correctly points out, previous research shows that Tea Tree Oil on its own has a strong inhibitory effect against infectious bacteria, and is mild for the skin even with frequent use.

In-car aromatherapy?!
I have to admit that I am most fastidious about the interior of my motor.  Much as I love my dogs, they are banned: the smell of wet dogs is a major turn-off. Fortunately I am well past the age of young children, because I still cannot delete entirely the olfactory memory of baby vomit all over the seats of a beloved BMW.  I sold the car almost immediately. As for sickly in-car air fresheners, I abhor them. Take a car for service and it comes back smelling like I know not what. Who dreams up these in-car fragrances?

Having the wrong smell in the car can cause speeding, dozing, road rage and potentially even serious accidents, according to a recent report from the RAC.

However, apparently, having the right smell can help a driver to avoid accidents and spot dangers earlier, stay concentrated on the road ahead, and help them forgive other peoples’ inconsiderate and stupid driving. I’m fascinated!  Tell me more.

Chamomile, Jasmin, and Lavender are all used to treat insomnia and can cause drivers to become overly relaxed behind the wheel.  They are all present in many in-car “flowery” air fresheners, so be aware of that, especially if you drive for long periods of time.

Fair enough, all that makes sense to me, but what about those pine-smelling, cardboard Xmas trees that several hang from their rear-view mirrors?

Potentially dangerous. While relaxing to some, the smell of fresh cut grass, pine woods or roadside flowers can put others into a nostalgic, daydreamy frame of mind where they think of driving down country lanes and fail to appreciate the speed at which they are travelling.   

Aha! That probably explains the unabated pace of local tractors, combine harvesters and school-run mums. How about the smell of leather seats and motor oil?

Dangerous. This can make some older drivers remember the thrill and sense of freedom that came with their first cars. They could potentially then unconsciously adopt the risk-taking behaviour of much younger drivers.
What IS good then?

Peppermint and cinnamon can improve concentration levels as well as make you less irritable, and the smells of lemon and coffee are good for concentration and clear thinking.
Of course, the distinctive smell of a new car, which is essentially a combination of cleaning products and organic solvents, tends to make people concentrate better and also take more care with their driving.  Still, if you don’t want to go to that expense, a blast of salty sea air can encourage deep breathing which relaxes the muscles, relieves stress and calms the mind.

Unfortunately I doubt that I could live much further from the sea, and I am certainly not going to buy a new car or sully the interior of my classic with the scents of sea ozone spray, mint imperials, cinnamon sticks, lemon drops and cups of coffee, therefore I shall stick with the more familiar fragrance of Connelly and Castrol!

Definitely not for the squeamish!
There is little doubt that maggots have earned their place in modern medicine by curing hopeless cases when all other treatments have failed but, no matter how effective maggots
are, the disgust fact deters most, but apparently not all.

It may not be the ideal story to read over breakfast, but in a unique public/private partnership a new facility to breed flesh-eating maggots is to be built in Wales to treat persistent and infected wounds such as diabetic ulcers and pressure sores.

Maggots were used on and off over the centuries, with mixed success, to clean out dead and dying tissue, and infections, in deep wounds while leaving healthy tissue untouched. They fell out of use in the 1940s with the arrival of modern antibiotics.  However, Dr. Steve Thomas of the Biosurgical Research Unit at Bridgend Hospital began using them again in 1996 - in particular maggots from the greenbottle fly. 

It was during World War I that American surgeon, W.S. Baer, later clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, first noticed that larvae of certain species of fly, notably Phaenicia sericata (sheep blowfly, or greenbottle), preferentially consume necrotic tissue, leaving healthy tissue intact. Besides cleansing the wound, the maggots also excrete allantoin, an antibacterial agent that sterilizes the tissues.

According to Dr. Thomas, a pharmacist with a background in microbiology, the maggots have been shown to clean out wounds in one or two treatments, each lasting two to three
days, against the months it can sometimes take with other forms of treatment.  Since 1996,
he says, some 20,000 patients have been treated with the maggots amid evidence they have prevented amputations, cleaned out wounds infected with MRSA, and have allowed modern dressings, that to work need clean wounds, to be applied. The treatment is also, he argues, highly cost-effective.

The maggot factory at the Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust is to be spun out into a new company, ZooBiotic, to exploit the clinical benefits commercially. My word! It takes me back to those happy days with Dr. Roy Sawyer and his leeches in Swansea. If physicians and patients can learn to tolerate leeches, maggots shouldn’t be such a great problem!

ANNOUCEMENTS

Jane Buckle returns
due to continuing demand for
The ‘m’ Technique
A Hands-on Certification Course
To be held on 6th & 7th August, 2005
9.00am - 5.00pm
at
Essentially Oils Limited.
8-10 Mount Farm, Churchill

Course Aims
To educate aromatherapists and health professionals on the use of the
‘m’ technique to enhance their practice and its integration into their working environment.
Course Goals
At the end of this course you will be able to:
1.Touch someone who is very fragile or critically ill in a holistic way.
2.Give comfort to the dying or critically ill.
3.Demonstrate the ‘m’ technique on the hand, foot, face, head, neck, arm, leg, stomach, and back.
4.Demonstrate a full body ‘m’ technique in the correct sequence.
5.Use the ‘m’ technique in clinical conditions.
6.Compare and contrast massage therapy to the ‘m’ technique.
7.Play an active role in multi-disciplinary health teams.
8.Carry out two cases studies using the ‘m’ technique.
9.Successfully complete the externally-administered Examination of Certification.

Course Content
14 contact hours
Students are required to complete two written case studies and a short multiple-choice question test and submit them within one month of the course for certification.

Effectiveness of the ‘m’ technique.
The ‘m’ technique can be useful prior to invasive medical procedures. It can have also measurable therapeutic effects on the following conditions:

Fear, Anxiety, Grief, Anger
  Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue
Depression, Headaches, Insomnia
Migraines, Sprains and Strains
Low immune function, Stress

Different from massage, the ‘m’ technique can be used on anyone who wants to be touched. The ‘m’ technique is at the heart of holistic nursing.

Cost of Course: £200 inclusive of VAT.
(Students are required to bring a couch)
Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

ESSENTIALLY OILS OPEN DAY
Sunday, 25th September, 2005
at
8 - 10, Mount Farm, Churchill, Oxfordshire, OX7 6NP.
9.45 am - 5.15 pm

Your annual opportunity, albeit a little later than usual, to meet friends old and new, to learn something new and interesting, to have a cracking good lunch in a convivial atmosphere, and to rummage through our stock to your heart’s content!

Cost of the Day: £65 inclusive of VAT.
(Lunch, refreshments and beverages are all included)

 Both the above have been approved as CPD activities.

Finally.....
Mung and I are off to find young Mick: it’s bath time again!
 

charles@essentiallyoils.com

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