The Open Day went well, with more than eighty turning up to attend some extremely well presented lectures. It must be twelve years since our first event and, for me, it was interesting to reflect upon how much presentations have changed over the years. Of course, computers have assisted much, enabling lecturers to illustrate their talks at the touch of a button, but I detect also that the demands of the audience have forced the level of professionalism to far greater heights. No longer can one simply turn up and ramble, as I tend to do myself. Any hint of personal anecdotes seems to be taboo, which I rather miss. It has all become rather varsity lecture room than a cosy chat with mother which, I suppose, is probably no bad thing in an age of progressing career development. Although I was often among those who would try to deflect a teacher from his given subject, onto such diverse matters as the reproductive cycle of the echidna or paddling a canoe up the Limpopo, I now realise that I was squandering my father’s money and not my own. That’s why I never charge when I give a talk!

Prompted recently by an article in the Financial Times by Lucy Kellaway, I got around to thinking about the small pleasures in life. According to Ms. Kellaway, big pleasures - like religion or marriage - are more porous than they were and life is getting so stressful that little things are all we have to keep us sane.

Now, being semi-retired, I obviously do not appreciate as much the small pleasures in life as once I did. However, during my early City days, I shall never forget the unfettered pleasure of arriving at the office early so that I could read the Financial Times without interruption, or the warm, steamy atmosphere within Benny Black’s, on the coldest day, as I queued to collect my hot, salt beef sandwich. Being a fountain-pen user, a fresh sheet of blotting paper was a sheer delight.

The theory is expounded in Froth on the Cappuccino - How Small Pleasures Can Save Your Life by Maeve Haran. According to Ms. Haran, surprisingly perhaps, Lady Thatcher once claimed her greatest satisfaction was taking the fluff out of the tumble drier. Ms. Haran likes cleaning windows, whereas I derive perverse pleasure mucking out the terrapin tank. Lucy favours Lattes with lids and Danish pastries to eat at her desk, whilst relishing the arrival of a new packet of paper for the printer and a stationery cupboard stocked with good pens.

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens,.......what are some of your favourite things? A £50 Essentially Oils Gift Voucher for the best selection. Who knows, we could have a new therapy going soon! 
Snail Mail!
The sobriquet ‘snail mail’, applied to Royal Mail, has been particularly pertinent in recent days, but I have sometimes thought the nick-name misplaced because the humble gastropod can produce a surprising turn of speed when so inclined, particularly in the pursuit of food.

Whilst living in Vanuatu, I was charged with the task of ridding the island group of its snail infestation. They were everywhere, merrily munching their way through anything in sight. In fact, their number was so great that occasionally it was impossible to land aircraft, as legions of the molluscs ‘raced’ across the tarmac in search of yet more manna. One Sunday, with the help of the local Rotary Club, we collected 50 tonnes from one small area alone. They did not go to waste, because we cooked and canned them and shipped them to France for sale!

To keep tabs on the movements of this voracious horde, we would mark the odd snail or two with a dab of nail varnish. Believe it or not, they could often be found 2 miles away within a month. Of course, these were not our familiar garden snails, but their Giant African cousins. My pet snail, Mammoth, tipped the scales at almost 200 grammes. In Nigeria, I understand that some serve them as the Sunday roast!

As a result of my efforts in the Pacific, I was appointed the first Secretary, and later Chair, of BritSnail, the British snail marketing cooperatve. However, whereas the Giant African would devour anything, I found our own domestic snails more fastidious feeders, until the other day!

I am very sorry that the enclosed letter has been damaged and subsequently delayed.

The item was found during a scheduled collection from a posting box and had been eaten by snails. Unfortunately, despite regular cleaning and placing pellets in the boxes, we find that snails and slugs still occasionally manage to creep into the apertures, fall down into the box and start eating the glue/adhesive on the stamps and envelopes.

I am sorry for any problems caused by this unusual “tampering” and while I am pleased to be able to return your letter, albeit in damaged condition, I regret the understandable annoyance caused.

Yours sincerely,

Customer Services, Royal Mail.

I knew that snails wouldn’t like having their name taken in vain!   
  
Pure, or not?
It seems that others also have concerns about bottled water [See Newsletter 187: Back the tap!]. Alan Bland has spent the last 39 years working in the water industry and suggests that if bottled water was in some way superior to that from the tap its premium price could maybe be justified, but he explains that it isn’t!

In the early 1990s, analysis of a representative sample of the bottled waters on sale in the local supermarket showed that many of the sampled waters would have failed the national water quality regulations for drinking water. Surprisingly, the rules concerning bottled water differ from those governing public water supply. A bottled mineral water, for example, could contain a sulphate concentration that would fail the drinking water standard. As you probably know, sulphates in excess can cause gastric irritation, but perhaps the Food Standards Agency regulations for bottled water differ because mineral waters are traditionally valued for their excessive mineralization by those wishing to purge their systems.

However, the most disturbing failures in the bottled water tests were bacteriological analyses. Bottled water in glass was generally all right, particularly the sparkling variety, but still water in plastic bottles can be a problem, especially if it has been on the shelf too long.

Because bottled spring water is not allowed to be chlorinated, the bottles are rinsed several times in sterile water before they are filled at the bottling plant. But completely eliminating bacteria is not that easy. Over time nutrients leach out of the plastic and provide food, which enables any bacteria to mutiply. So even if the water was “pure” when it went into the bottle, when it comes out again it may not be. All the same, many people buy it because they think that bottled water is “pure” (whatever you may think that means) and tap water is not. 

Why, some may think, have I dwelt so long upon the matter of bottled water? Simple! For many years I have answered countless questions about the purity and packaging of essential oils, but how many query their bottled water?!

Meanwhile, I have just discovered my old “Sodastream” CO2 machine (how many remember those?) and so am off to make a siphon of sparkling Adam’s Ale for a fraction of the cost of a bottle of Perrier!

Exploiting Yucca.
What do you know about Yucca? e-mailed an old friend the other day. A Swiss banker, I suspected that he was probably more interested in the plant’s commercial potential than its medicinal properties.

About forty species of the genus Yucca grow in the warmer parts of North America, and a few species are hardy in colder climates. These members of the family Agavaceae are widely cultivated, particularly in the South. My friend has a philanthropic interest in Costa Rica.

The plants, with their stiff, usually sword-shaped leaves, may or may not have an erect, central stem. Many have descriptive common names which are much more widely known than their botanical designations, in the United States at least. Yucca aloifolia L. is called Spanish-bayonet or dagger plant; Yucca brevifolia Engelm. is the well-known Joshua tree; Yucca glauca Nutt. is referred to as soapweed; Yucca whipplei Torr. is our-Lord’s-candle; and Yucca schidigera Roezl. ex Ortiges is designated Mohave yucca.

Yucca species, together with other agaves, are known to contain large quantities of saponins. These bitter, generally irritating principles are characterized by their capacity to foam when shaken with water. The saponins in yucca are steroid derivatives and have been extensively studied because of their potential ability as starting materials for the synthesis of cortisone and related corticoids. The specific identity and the amounts of the numerous saponins in yucca were found to vary markedly with the part of the plant tested and the season when it was collected [Hegnauer, R. Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen, Volume 2. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 1963, pp.27-36].

Major saponins in yucca are sarsapogenin, found in sarsaparilla (Smilax spp.), and titogenin, found in fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). It is the sarsapogenin in the root of sarsaparilla that gives true ginger ale its fizz and bubbly nature. Y. glauca and Y. brevifolia also share a constituent nearly identical with diosgenin, which is found in the Mexican Yam (Dioscorea spp.), from which the sex hormone, oestrogen, can be produced.
Nevertheless, what probably put yucca on the map was a study, titled Yucca Plant Saponin in the Management of Arthritis, which appeared in 1975 [Bingham, R., Bellew, B.A., and Bellew, J.G. Journal of Applied Nutrition 27(2-3): 45-51, 1975]. Essentially, the researchers claimed to have shown that a “saponin extract” of the “desert yucca plant”, taken four times daily, was both safe and effective in treating the various forms of arthritis. However, neither the species nor the plant part from which the saponin extract was obtained was revealed, nor was its method of preparation specified. Also, the researchers did not differentiate between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, two very different diseases. Thus, it was concluded by the Arthritis Foundation that “.....there is no proper scientific evidence that yucca tablets are helpful in treating rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis; that they are probably harmless; and that the real danger would be in taking yucca tablets instead of following proper and proven procedures, which could lead to irreversible joint damage and possible disabilities.” All the same, having reviewed the results, 60.7% of the 165 patients had favourable ‘specific’ relief, and 90.9% suffered no side effects.

Shortly afterwards, a medical team in Colorado researched the flowers of common yucca. They found that an extract of the flowers significantly reduced tumours and malignant melanoma. The two most active materials, however, are only present in the fresh (not dried) flowers and absent from the seeds, leaves, fruits or roots [Ali, M.S., Sharma, G.C., Asplund, Roy O., et al. 1978. Isolation of Antitumour Polysaccharide Fractions from Yucca glauca Nutt. Growth 42: 218].

Unfortunately, these scientists soon discovered that it takes an enormous amount of plant material in order to process a little anti-cancer substance therefrom. Thirty tons of yucca yielded just 10 grams of the relatively pure substance! Let’s see what the Native American Indians make of it.

The Ramah Navajo put yucca to use in several interesting ways. The root is pounded with rocks to remove the bark and to soften it. It is then stirred vigorously in warm water to whip up suds. These are used for washing wool or clothing, shampooing the hair, bathing the body and for ceremonial and purification rites.

The Moapa Paiute of Nevada would take great bowls of yucca suds and set them before the bride and bridegroom, who in turn would wash each other’s hands as part of the ceremonial marriage rituals.

Native American tribes living in the Southwest learned to use yucca fibre for many different things: tying ceremonial equipment like prayer-sticks, hoops, and chant arrows; woven into rope, mattings, baskets, lattice works for chair seats and beds; employed as needle and thread for sewing; the manufacture of blankets, sandals, brooms, hair brushes, and fishing nets.  

For agricultural needs, the steroidal saponins extracted from yucca root and leaves have been used to increase the growth rate of citrus crops, strawberries, cotton, onions, potatoes, alfalfa, tomatoes and golf course greens in desert communities. The saponins also help these plants to withstand the stress of excessive heat.

The desert yucca yields saponins which are effective as cleansing and clarifying agents in swimming pools where mineral and salt content of the water is high, such as in the American Southwest. Experimentation has proved that these saponins accelerate the breakdown of organic wastes by microscopic plants (bacteria, yeasts, fungi, etc.) so that it has been tried out in waste disposal plants with significant success.

Still, if none of these appeal, and if it grows in Costa Rica, my friend might consider a recent survey that found extracts of Mohave yucca greatly reduced faecal odour when added to cat and dog food, as rated by a panel of experienced olfactory observers! [Lowe, J.A. & Kershaw, S.J. Research in Veterinary Science 63: 61-66, 1997.]

Serious help required.
Do you have experience of massage on Parkinson’s patients or head injury patients or, better still, have you dealt with the combination of the two? If you have, Corrin Prew, who can be contacted on 01582 881115, would like to hear about the most effective massage techniques and essential/carrier oils that could be used, as well as those that definitely should be avoided, because her patient has Parkinson’s disease and a serious head injury.

Parkinson’s disease and postencephalitic parkinsonism have been attributed primarily to depletion of striatal dopamine in the basal ganglia as a result of the loss of neurones in the substantia nigra. Striatal dopamine deficiency results in loss of the normal functional balance between dopaminergic and cholinergic activity and treatment aims to increase the former and/or decrease the latter.

It is a slow progressive disorder that affects the parts of the brain which control movement. The cause of Parkinson’s has not been established although environmental and genetic factors superimposed on a background of neuronal loss related to ageing has been suggested. There is no cure for the disease. Although the possibility of using drug therapy to slow the progressive neurodegeneration is being investigated no drug so far has a proved neuroprotective effect as far as I know.

Therefore, treatment is palliative and symptomatic and consists mainly of drug therapy supplemented when necessary with physical treatment such as physiotherapy and speech therapy. However, with the increase of interest in complementary medicine, many with the disease are turning to aromatherapy to lessen the side-effects from their medication as, at worst, they find their condition remains unchanged and, at best, their mobility is increased, their pain decreased and, due to the relaxing properties of the oils selected, they are less tense and anxious and sleeping much better. Also, many side-effects such as constipation can be helped by essential oils.

Currently, the hospital is using a blend of Frankincense and Roman Chamomile in Sweet Almond, but do others have alternative, and perhaps more effective, suggestions? As the patient has developed a very dry skin, Corrin is particularly keen to hear of any carrier oils that might relieve this condition.
As the patient is also receiving considerable medication, it is imperative to consider the compatibility of any essential/carrier oils with the cocktail of drugs currently being taken,
which includes.....

Sinemet, which inhibits the peripheral decarboxylation of levodopa to dopamine and as, unlike levodopa, it does not cross the blood-brain barrier, effective brain concentrations of dopamine are produced with lower doses of levodopa.

Clexane, a low-molecular-weight heparin with anticoagulant properties.

Ranitidine, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist with actions and uses similar to those of cimetidine, which inhibits gastric acid secretion and reduces pepsin output.

Domperidone, a dopamine antagonist, which is used as an antiemetic for the short-term aid of nausea and vomiting of various aetiologies, including control of gastro-intestinal effects of dopaminergic drugs. In the UK, it is limited to a maximum twelve weeks’ treatment in nausea and vomiting induced by antiparkinsonian treatment.

Paracetamol is also occasionally given if the patient is in pain, and Movicol to relieve any constipation.         

A change in skin condition does not entirely surprise me, as some of these drugs can cause adverse effects on the skin. For example, there have been cases of vasculitic rash occurring in patients undergoing ranitidine therapy, and Henoch-Schonlein purpura which developed in a 68-year-old patient being treated for Parkinson’s appeared to be due to either carbidopa or an excipient of the preparation containing the carbidopa (Sinemet). [Niedermaier G, Briner V. Henoch-Schonlein syndrome induced by carbidopa/levodopa. Lancet 1997; 349: 1071-2.]

If you would prefer to channel your suggestions through me, so that I might pass them on to others as well, please do not hesitate to drop me a note (if Royal Mail is back in action) or an e-mail.

A cure for lichen planus?
My friend has been diagnosed with Lichen planus of the finger nails, after previously being told it was psoriasis. Are there any suitable oils to cure his long-standing problem? asked Donald Docker.

Lichen planus is an inflammatory skin disorder with itchy papular lesions arising usually on the extremities. Its cause is uncertain although sufferers do have a higher incidence of auto-immune disease than normal. In most patients lichen planus remits spontaneously and, if mild and localised, little or no treatment is needed. Still, let us see what the aromatherapy literature suggests.

Invariably, when confronted with such a question, I reach for Bensouilah and Buck’s most informative book Aromadermatology. Their suggestion does not really surprise me as there is some research to support its efficacy - twice-daily treatment with neat Tea Tree oil - but I would also give Sea Buckthorn oil a go, or perhaps a blend of both, because I have received favourable reports on the use of this carrier oil in the treatment of the ailment.

All the same, it would be interesting to know the precise condition of Donald’s friend’s finger nails, as Bensouilah and Buck suggest that the clinical signs of lichen planus are a thin nail plate, longitudinal grooving and ridging, complete nail loss, and adhesion of proximal nail fold to nail bed, whereas psoriasis presents as pitting, thickening, irregular separation of nail from nail bed as scale accumulates, and brown or yellow discolouration. Is the diagnosis now actually correct? Whatever, I still think that Sea Buckthorn is worth a try!


Essential oils and epilepsy.
Can you let me know the current advice/contraindications regarding epilepsy and essential oils, I was asked recently.

Most aromatherapy books suggest that there are several essential oils which can provoke an epileptic seizure, which has been defined as a paroxysmal discharge of cerebral neurones accompanied by clinical phenomena apparent to the patient or to an observer. The phenomena may be of a motor, sensory, or autonomic nature and there may also be impairment or total loss of consciousness.

Motor disturbances, with which many are probably most familiar, may include convulsions, which are involuntary, violent, and spasmodic or prolonged contraction of skeletal muscles. The word ‘fit’ is often commonly used to describe an epileptic seizure. Epilepsy is defined as a condition characterized by a recurrence of such seizures. A patient should not be described as having epilepsy until a second non-febrile seizure occurs.

Effective management of epilepsy requires a detailed and accurate classification of the seizure type, of which there are several, and therefore any attempt to treat epilepsy by aromatherapy alone, although there are some essential oils which are considered anti-convulsive, should be avoided unless, perhaps, the aromatherapist is also medically qualified.

In any event, it is most important to be certain that a person does not suffer from epilepsy before beginning any treatment. A properly trained aromatherapist will always include this in the questions asked before the first treatment. 

However, as many now use essential oils at home and are unlikely to know that they might be susceptible to an essential oil-induced epileptic-type fit, the oils to avoid are Spanish Sage (Salvia lavandulaefolia Vahl.), Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.), and Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Batt. & Trab.), all of which have proven epileptogenic effects.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), however, which personally I would include in the list as well, seems to be the subject of some debate. Jean Valnet [The practice of aromatherapy] recommends its use on epileptics, whereas Tim Betts [Sniffing the breeze. Aromatherapy Quarterly 40: 19-22] was of the mind that it might induce epileptic fits in epileptic patients receiving massage with the oil.

Interestingly, Patricia Davis [Aromatherapy an A-Z] mentions that she had talked with a friend who had worked in a residential village for handicapped children, many of whom suffered from epilepsy, and whenever a child had a fit they would rub a little Weleda Rosemary Bath under the nose or on the cheeks, which quickly brought them out of the fit. This bath preparation contains Rosemary essential oil in almond oil and a soft soap base. Therefore, one can only conclude that the amount of Rosemary applied to the child would be very, very small indeed. All the same, if in any doubt at all, I would not use the oil. Similarly, I have doubts about the use of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) on epileptics, but that is only a personal hunch. Therefore, any comments or, better still, any experiences with the use of lavender on epileptics would be particularly welcome. Also, a less likely oil to view with caution is Helichrysum Italicum (Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don), which Ron Guba suggests should probably not be used in those prone to epilepsy [Wound healing. International Journal of Aromatherapy 9(2): 67-74].

Essential oils for leg ulcers.
I’m doing an assignment on the use of essential oils for infected leg ulcers and wondered if you or any of your readers could point me in the right direction, but I have to analyse what information I find out. Is there much evidence/research to help?

Beyond me I’m afraid, particularly when I am coming to the end of a Newsletter! But I have always been particularly impressed by a Case Study in the third edition of Aromatherapy for Health Professionals, as the oils were selected very carefully for their constituent properties, which collectively addressed the pain, the infection and the healing. Perhaps these will give Kathryn Brown-Warr some hints. Meanwhile, any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

The 91-year-old patient had an ulcer 3 inches in diameter, located on the outside calf of the left leg, which was being treated once a week with compression bandages, but the condition had remained unchanged for some considerable time.

After consultation with the doctor it was agreed that for the aromatherapy intervention the bandage could remain off for 3 days during the day, being replaced at night.

For the first week of treatment essential oils were to be used in distilled water in a spray.

The four oils selected were: 15 drops Bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso & Poit); 20 drops  Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl.); 25 drops Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.); and 10 drops Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden & Betche) Cheel) in 100ml warm water. 

These oils were chosen because Bergamot is anti-infectious and cicatrizant; Myrrh antiseptic, antiinflammatory and cicatrizant; Lavender analgesic, antiinflammatory, antiseptic and also cicatrizant; and Tea Tree analgesic and antiinflammatory. An interesting choice, to my mind, as I would probably have suggested the Chamomiles, Roman (Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All.) and German (Matricaria recutita L.), instead of Bergamot and Myrrh. What do others think?

On the first visit, the patient’s wound was sprayed when the nurse removed the bandage (shaking the bottle well before use), and the patient sprayed the wound at intervals six times during the day until the nurse replaced the bandage at night. This was repeated each day.

On the second visit, three days later, the commencement of healing was evident. Wearing protective gloves, the same blend of essential oils was applied directly to the wound (in a 3% dilution using Calendula (Calendula officinalis L.) as a carrier) before the nurse applied the compression bandage. This was to be left for a week until the next bandage, and repeated thereafter.

After three months the ulcer was closed - the only evidence of it having been there was a small area of discoloured skin, which later improved.

Finally.....
Do read Gillian Avart’s most amusing piece, All Bottled UP!, in the latest edition of the IFA’s Aromatherapy Times (Autumn 2007), because it just goes to show that running an oil supply business is not as easy as it appears, but nor is a home I can tell you now!



charles@essentiallyoils.com

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