subject: Alternative Health Research: Essential Oils Show Anti-cancer Action [print this page] While acceptance by the mainstream of conventional medicine may be a ways off, essential oils used in aromatherapy are proving themselves to be potential potent allies in the treatment of cancer. The alternative medicine called 'aromatherapy' might actually suffer from a misunderstanding of its name -- aromatherapy, often confused with the use of a Glad Plug In Air Freshener, is actually an entire branch of medicine with specific treatment protocols for a wide variety of illnesses. This practice is slowly gaining credibility with patients (perhaps more slowly with doctors) partaking in the conventional medical system of the United States. Their healing power, like that of most natural therapies, can not only transform difficult disease states, but can have a long-term positive effect on one's overall wellness. They are readily available, inexpensive, and just happen to smell nice -- but there's a whole lot more to them than that...
Essential oils have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Simply being an extract of leaves, fruits and other plant materials, their potential as healing agents is often misunderstood. One can really compare their use to that of any herbal medicine treatments. And like other herbal medicines, their efficacy is now being proven by modern science. Anyone can browse the research abstracts on the internet, and find many, many studies with very positive results. Among the most interesting of these are the studies noting the remarkable anti-cancer actions of some of certain oils -- anti- cancer actions which actually target cancerous cells specifically, while leaving healthy cells in their healthy state. Here's a look at the latest research in this promising field of alternative medicine.
A study in the journal BioMed Central journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, March 2009, titled: "Frankincense oil derived from Boswellia carteri induces tumor cell specific cytotoxicity" concludes with: "Frankincense oil appears to distinguish cancerous from normal bladder cells and suppress cancer cell viability. Microarray and bioinformatics analysis proposed multiple pathways that can be activated by frankincense oil to induce bladder cancer cell death. Frankincense oil might represent an alternative intravesical agent for bladder cancer treatment." ...while a bit technical, this is very, very promising -- essentially saying that this easily obtained, inexpensive, NON-TOXIC natural compound can eradicate cancer cells without harming normal, healthy cells in the same organ. Frankincense has a long, long history of medicinal use, and searching for 'frankincense cancer' produces 30 results just for this material. If choosing an essential oil of Frankincense, the 'carteri' species has been the subject of most research, with cold-process Carbon Dioxide distilled oils considered the most therapeutic (seek CO2 or SCO2 distilled oils or extracts).
The oil distilled from the leaves of Lemongrass, an herb with a long medicinal history itself, also shows similar action. In an evaluation of the essential oil from the Lemongrass species Cymbopogon flexuosus, the oil was found cytotoxic to a number of cancer cell types, and was active particularly in affecting that 'hallmark of cancer cells', the 'dysregulation of apoptosis' -- the natural process of cell death. One study concluded "The easy and abundant availability of the oil combined with its suggested mechanism of cytotoxicity make CFO (Lemongrass Oil) highly useful in the development of anti-cancer therapeutics". Inexpensive, easy to make, and effective: virtues of all of Nature's finest medicines!
Linalool is a very common essential oil constituent. Essential oils are naturally made up of many individual chemical constituents, and linalool is a sweet, relaxing aromatic found in many floral and sweeter spice essential oils. Linalool itself, separated from the essential oil of Coriander (Cilantro seeds) was the subject of research published in the June 2009 issue of the journal of Chemico-Biological interactions. Linalool was found to completely eradicate the HepG2 liver cancer cell line in VERY low concentrations. Linalool has a great many other effects, having been shown to lower anxiety and even significantly improve sleep. And now it even has anti-cancer effects! So even if one is notle directly targeting cancer, but using aromatherapy in a more 'casual' application, there may be important protective effects occurring at the same time.
While the studies above show essential oils potential efficacy at treating cancers of internal organs, a number of studies show oils can both eradicate skin cancers and act as protectants from cancer-causing agents. Sandalwood has a very long history in Ayurvedic medicine, the paste from the wood being used in a great many treatments. The oil distilled from the heartwood of the Sandal tree has been the subject of many studies demonstrating its protective action -- the oil has a significant effect in the prevention of tumors when skin is exposed to tumor-inducing chemicals and even UV radiation. Tea Tree oil, a well known antiseptic, exhibited anticancer action by impairing the growth of human m14 melanoma cells -- and even showed great effect on those melanoma cells which are resistant to other treatments. Many essential oils have significant antioxidant activity, and may be excellent additions to pre-sun skin lotions to lessen radiation absorption and oxidative radical formation.
The common spice oils of Thyme and Oregano have large concentrations of constituents that have been shown to protect human DNA from damage. Alteration through chemical and radiation exposure of our DNA is thought to be one of the primary causes of tumor development. Considered to be common essential oil constituents, exposure to both Carvacrol and Thymol lead to cells being significantly more resistant to DNA damage from exposure to hydrogen peroxide (a potent oxidative chemical). A similar study investigated this effect specifically on human lymphocytes (white blood cells) with the same results. The oil from the spice Turmeric has been the subject of many studies, not only examining its anti-tumor action, but elucidating the specific chemical pathways though which this action occurs. Many other 'spice' oils have been the subject of similar studies, indicating that these spices that have for so long played a part in the cuisines and cultures of the world also have played a role in the health of mankind. The essential oils of these spices offer highly-concentrated, easily absorbed preparations of these plants, with significant therapeutic potential.
This is but a cursory look into the current body of essential oil research pertaining to cancer treatments. Many not-so-commonly used essential oils display therapeutic effects as well, and there are likely many more plants whose oils are just waiting to be discovered. While it is important to recognize these therapies have yet to be completely defined for sound, effective treatments, there is hope their efficacy will be embraced by the world's conventional medical systems. Certainly as the costs of technology-based treatments skyrockets, essential oils will continue to look more attractive -- particularly to the 'end users', or the 'customers' of the medical establishment. Please be aware that essential oils can be contra-indicated with many modern cancer treatments (chemotherapy specifically), so be sure a physician is consulted before any oils are used by someone undergoing treatment. Otherwise, essential oils are quite safe when simply therapeutic guidelines are followed, and their wonderful protective effects are already available to all of us.
