Finding great research on specific essential oils can be time consuming but if you are a research junkie like me, here are some great resources that I pulled together for the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy.
Research Sites
American Botanical Council
The School for Aromatic Studies is a member of the American Botanical Council!
At the American Botanical Council, we are passionate about helping people live healthier lives through the responsible use of herbs, medicinal plants. We are an independent, nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information for consumers, healthcare practitioners, researchers, educators, industry and the media.
Pubmed
The PubMed search system provides access to the PubMed database of bibliographic information, which is drawn primarily from MEDLINE and PREMEDLINE. In addition, for participating journals that are indexed selectively for MEDLINE, PubMed includes all articles from that journal, not just those that are included in MEDLINE. Finally, PubMed also provides access to the molecular biology databases included in NCBI’s Entrez retrieval system. It is expected that access to additional National Library of Medicine databases will be added in the future.
CAM on PubMed
CAM on PubMed, a database on the Web developed jointly by NCCAM and the National Library of Medicine, offers citations to (and in most cases, abstracts of) articles in scientifically based, peer- reviewed journals on complementary and alternative medicine. It contains 220,000 citations, has links to full text, and allows searchers to limit retrievals by publication type. Look for the Alerts and Advisories, treatment information, resources, links to other organizations (FDA, AHRQ, ODS etc.).
The PLANTS Database
The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, plant links, references, crop information, and automated tools. PLANTS reduces costs by minimizing duplication and making information exchange possible across agencies and disciplines.
HerbMed®
An interactive, electronic herbal database – provides hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health. It is an impartial, evidence-based information resource for professionals, researchers, and general public, provided by the nonprofit Alternative Medicine Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
Science Direct
Science Direct is a leading full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books.
Some Research Articles
Click on name of article and this will link you to the research paper!
The Sleep-Enhancing Effect of Valerian Inhalation and Sleep-Shortening Effect of Lemon Inhalation
Effects of Fragrance Inhalation on Sympathetic Activity in Normal Adults
Immune-Modifying and Antimicrobial Effects of Eucalyptus Oil and Simple Inhalation Devices
Anxiolytic Effect of Aromatherapy Massage in Patients with Breast Cancer
Neurobehavioral effect of essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus in mice
Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) Oil: a Review of Antimicrobial and Other Medicinal Properties
A novel treatment of postherpetic neuralgia using peppermint oil.
Inhalation of neroli essential oil and its anxiolytic effects in animals (Research paper)
Analysis of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Essential Oil from its Aerial Parts – Antinociceptive Effect and GC/MS (note: chemistry different from many of the chemotypes used in aromatherapy)
Antidermatophytic activity of essential oils
Essence of Peppermint, a History of the Medicine and its Bottle
Clinical and Experimental Studies on Oxidized Fragrance Terpenes as Contact Allergens by Johanna Bråred Christensson
European Medicines Agency
PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THE USE OF HERBAL MEDICINAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING ESTRAGOLE
EPA Summary of Test Plan for Estragole including Toxicity Information
International Agency for Research for Cancer (IARC) Monograph on Methyl eugenol
