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Essential oils used in aromatherapy: A systemic review
Authors: Babar Ali, Naser Ali Al-Wabel, Saiba Shams, Aftab Ahamad, Shah Alam Khan, Firoz Anwar
Number of views: 386
Nowadays, use of alternative and complementary therapies with mainstream medicine has
gained the momentum. Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies which use
essential oils as the major therapeutic agents to treat several diseases. The essential or
volatile oils are extracted from the flowers, barks, stem, leaves, roots, fruits and other parts
of the plant by various methods. It came into existence after the scientists deciphered the
antiseptic and skin permeability properties of essential oils. Inhalation, local application
and baths are the major methods used in aromatherapy that utilize these oils to penetrate
the human skin surface with marked aura. Once the oils are in the system, they remodulate
themselves and work in a friendly manner at the site of malfunction or at the affected area.
This type of therapy utilizes various permutation and combinations to get relief from
numerous ailments like depression, indigestion, headache, insomnia, muscular pain, respiratory
problems, skin ailments, swollen joints, urine associated complications etc. The
essential oils are found to be more beneficial when other aspects of life and diet are given
due consideration. This review explores the information available in the literature
regarding therapeutic, medical, cosmetic, psychological, olfactory, massage aromatherapy,
safety issues and different plants used in aromatherapy. All the available information was
compiled from electronic databases such as Academic Journals, Ethnobotany, Google
Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and library search.