The great history of essential oils

If for centuries, aromatics and resins have been used in religious ceremonies, sacrifices and to embalm the dead, it is difficult to fix the exact date of the first extraction of "essential oil".

The oldest testimonies concerning the obtaining of natural products are contained in the Sanskrit books of Ayurveda.

The Hindus knew about fermentation and obtained products by distillation, such as the essences of calamus and andropogon. But these were alcoholic solutions: the first distillations were used to obtain alcohol from wine, spirit from fermented honey.

Egyptians and Persians, experts in the art of distillation. The Egyptians and Persians were experts in the art of distillation. They isolated perfumes and knew the essence of turpentine from the resin of the "Pistacia terebenthus" plant: probably the first essential oil extracted by dry distillation.

The Greeks made much of perfume oils. They used them to heal. During the plague epidemic in Athens, Hippocrates (377 BC) prescribed large fires of juniper, cedar, fragrant woods and aromatic plants. In the 1st century AD, a Greek physician from Asia Minor, Discorides, wrote a work "About the Medical Matter" evoking the medical uses of distilled waters.

The Romans, great users of perfumes, used aromatics in the form of aromatic fat or perfumed oil. They knew the antibacterial and antiseptic properties of the aromatic plants they cultivated. During the great plague epidemic, Aesculapius would have advised fumigations of plants with essences such as rosemary, laurel, sage, cinnamon and clove.

The Arabs, experts in "Alchemia", medicine and natural spring water, invented, in the High Middle Ages, the coil to improve the cooling of the distilled product.

In the 9th century, the writings of Geber give a description of dry distillation and aqueous distillation.

In the 13th century, Arnold Villanova de Bachone gave, with turpentine and rosemary, the first serious description of the distillation of essential oils. Raymond Lulle succeeded in distilling sage. At the same time, the distillation of bitter almond, rue, cinnamon, rose and sandalwood was successful. But it was in fact aromatic distilled water.

Distillation apparatus evolvedIn the 14th century, distillation apparatus evolved. Only turpentine oil represented a true essential oil.

At the end of the 15th century, a doctor from Strasbourg, Jérôme Brunschwig, mentions only the oils of aspic, turpentine, juniper wood and rosemary, but these distillates were still highly alcoholic.

In the 16th century, Giovanni Battista della Porta wrote the book "De Distillatione" in which he distinguished between fatty oils, essential oils and the way to separate essences from aromatic distilled waters.

In the 17th century, essential oils were first used as such. In Provence in particular, apothecaries and herbalists gradually prescribed essential oils of lavender, thyme and rosemary.

At the end of the 19th century, with the advent of organic chemistry, essences gradually revealed their secrets: they are the mixture of many components, terpenes, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones, phenols...

It is only around 1970-1980, that some doctors specialize in phytotherapy and aromatherapy - Dr. Jean Valnet signed the first treatise in 1976 - and prescribe magistral preparations based on essential oils such as capsules, suppositories, ointments, syrups, salves, gels, creams, massage oils and drops in treatment, a therapeutic set capable of relieving and even curing. It is still necessary to respect the dosage and the duration of the treatment.

Conclusion

To claim that aromatherapy cures all syndromes every time would be an exaggeration, but the well understood and patient use of these treatments, minimizes or eliminates problems, especially chronic illnesses and brings well-being for sure.

The use of essential oils has the rare privilege of being both the oldest and the most current therapy for prevention and cure. "Many things will be reborn, which were long forgotten" wrote Horace already. A visionary?