Essential Oil Safety

783 Pages·2013·14.94 MB·English

Essential Oil Safety
Biography
RobertTisserand
Robertisinternationallyrecognizedforhispioneeringworkinmanyaspectsofaromatherapy.Hestartedpracticingasatherapistin
1969,foundedacompanytomarketaromatherapyproductsin1974,andwrotethefirstbookinEnglishonthesubjectin1977:The
ArtofAromatherapy.Roberthaswrittentwofurtherbooksincludingthisone,co-foundedseveralaromatherapyorganizations,and
hastaughtandlecturedextensively.For12years,RobertwastheprincipaloftheTisserandInstituteinLondon,andduringthe
sameperiodhepublishedandeditedtheInternationalJournalofAromatherapy.TodayRobertlivesinCaliforniaandhisactivities
includewriting,onlineeducation,liveevents,andworkingasanindependentindustryexpert.Robertisoneofonlytworecipients
oftheAllianceofInternationalAromatherapistsLifetimeAchievementAward.Followhisblogatwww.roberttisserand.com/blog
RodneyYoung
Originallytrainedasachemist,RodneyobtainedaBScfromtheUniversityofLondonin1965andaPhDinmedicinalchemistry
fromtheUniversityofEssexin1968.Heworkedformanyyearsinthepharmaceuticalindustryasaresearchchemist,focusingon
modulatorsofhistamine,serotoninandinositolphosphates.Rodneyhaspublishedwidelyinthefieldofscientificliterature,andhas
taughtatUniversityCollege,London,OxfordBrookesUniversity,EdinburghNapierUniversity,andtheUniversityofEastLon-
don.Hehasalongstandinginterestinthepharmacologicalandmedicinalpropertiesofplantnaturalproductsandinpromoting
evidence-based botanical medicine, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Herbal Medicine and the Journal of
AlternativeandComplementaryMedicine.
ContentStrategist:ClaireWilson/KellieWhite
ContentDevelopmentSpecialist:CaroleMcMurray
ProjectManager:SukanthiSukumar
Designer:ChristianBilbow
IllustrationManager:JenniferRose
Illustrator:AntbitsLtd
Essential Oil Safety
A Guide for Health Care Professionals
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
Robert Tisserand
Expert in Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Research
Ojai, CA, USA
Rodney Young
PhD
Lecturer in Plant Chemistry and Pharmacology
University of East London, London, UK
F or e w o r d by
Elizabeth M Williamson
Professorof Pharmacy and Director of Pharmacy Practice, University of Reading, UK;
Editor, Phytotherapy Research;
Chair, Herbal and Complementary MedicinesExpert Advisory Group, British Pharmacopoeia Commission,
Medicinesand Healthcare RegulatoryAgency,Department of Health,UK
Edinburgh London New York Oxford Philadelphia St Louis Sydney Toronto 2014
Biography
RobertTisserand
Robertisinternationallyrecognizedforhispioneeringworkinmanyaspectsofaromatherapy.Hestartedpracticingasatherapistin
1969,foundedacompanytomarketaromatherapyproductsin1974,andwrotethefirstbookinEnglishonthesubjectin1977:The
ArtofAromatherapy.Roberthaswrittentwofurtherbooksincludingthisone,co-foundedseveralaromatherapyorganizations,and
hastaughtandlecturedextensively.For12years,RobertwastheprincipaloftheTisserandInstituteinLondon,andduringthe
sameperiodhepublishedandeditedtheInternationalJournalofAromatherapy.TodayRobertlivesinCaliforniaandhisactivities
includewriting,onlineeducation,liveevents,andworkingasanindependentindustryexpert.Robertisoneofonlytworecipients
oftheAllianceofInternationalAromatherapistsLifetimeAchievementAward.Followhisblogatwww.roberttisserand.com/blog
RodneyYoung
Originallytrainedasachemist,RodneyobtainedaBScfromtheUniversityofLondonin1965andaPhDinmedicinalchemistry
fromtheUniversityofEssexin1968.Heworkedformanyyearsinthepharmaceuticalindustryasaresearchchemist,focusingon
modulatorsofhistamine,serotoninandinositolphosphates.Rodneyhaspublishedwidelyinthefieldofscientificliterature,andhas
taughtatUniversityCollege,London,OxfordBrookesUniversity,EdinburghNapierUniversity,andtheUniversityofEastLon-
don.Hehasalongstandinginterestinthepharmacologicalandmedicinalpropertiesofplantnaturalproductsandinpromoting
evidence-based botanical medicine, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Herbal Medicine and the Journal of
AlternativeandComplementaryMedicine.
ContentStrategist:ClaireWilson/KellieWhite
ContentDevelopmentSpecialist:CaroleMcMurray
ProjectManager:SukanthiSukumar
Designer:ChristianBilbow
IllustrationManager:JenniferRose
Illustrator:AntbitsLtd
©2014RobertTisserandandRodneyYoung.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic
ormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,
withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Detailsonhowtoseekpermission,further
informationaboutthePublisher’spermissionspoliciesandourarrangementswithorganizationssuch
astheCopyrightClearanceCenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency,canbefoundatourwebsite:
www.elsevier.com/permissions.
ThisbookandtheindividualcontributionscontainedinitareprotectedundercopyrightbyRobertTisserand
&RodneyYoung.
Firstedition2002
Secondedition2014
ISBN978-0-443-06241-4
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
Notices
Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchandexperience
broadenourunderstanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,ormedicaltreatmentmay
becomenecessary.
Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledgeinevaluating
andusinganyinformation,methods,compounds,orexperimentsdescribedherein.Inusingsuchinfor-
mationormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafetyandthesafetyofothers,includingpartiesfor
whomtheyhaveaprofessionalresponsibility.
Withrespecttoanyessentialoilsorproductsidentified,readersareadvisedtocheckthemostcurrent
informationprovided(i)onproceduresfeaturedor(ii)bythesupplierormanufacturerofeachessential
oilorproducttobeadministered,toverifythesafestandmosteffectivestrategyforadministration,
includinganycontraindications.Itistheresponsibilityofpractitioners,relyingontheirownexperience
andknowledgeoftheirpatients,tomakediagnoses,todeterminethebesttreatmentforeachindividual
patient,andtotakeallappropriatesafetyprecautions.
Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors,contributors,oreditors,
assumeanyliabilityforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersonsorpropertyasamatterofproductsliability,
negligenceorotherwise,orfromanyuseoroperationofanymethods,products,instructions,orideas
containedinthematerialherein.
The
Publisher's
policy is to use
paper manufactured
from sustainable forests
PrintedinChina
Foreword
I warmly welcome the second edition of this book, expanded Theeffectsofaromatherapymassagedependtoalargeextent
andupdated,sincethefirsteditionhasalwaysbeenthefirstref- onpenetrationthroughtheskin,sogeneralsafetyconcernsare
erenceIgotoforreliableinformationonthesafetyandcompo- similar to thosefor essential oils even when ingested orally or
sitionofessentialoils. inhaled. As befits a book about safety, toxicity in its many
About300essentialoilsarecommonlytradedontheworld forms–includingskinsensitization,genotoxicity,neurotoxicity
market,whichwasestimatedtobeworthover$1000millionin andreproductivetoxicity–isdealtwithearlyinthebook,very
2013.Theyareverywidelyusedinthecosmetics,pharmaceu- comprehensively,andinanimpartialmanner.Itisasimportant
tical,foodandhouseholdgoodsindustries.About20%ofessen- todebunkmythsabouttoxicityasitistohighlightit,because
tial oils are consumed by the flavor industry for use in food essential oils are used so widely and must be used with
products, about 20% by the pharmaceutical industry, and the confidence.
rest by the fragrance industry, in cleaning products, hair and Partsofthebookarehighlytechnical,whichisnecessaryto
skincare,aswellasinaromatherapy.Sotheirsafetyisofhuge make the points that must be made, and it is very well refer-
importancetoeveryone,andalthoughtheinformationgivenin enced. This ensures that the book also has the widest usage
this book is highly relevant to aromatherapists, it is also an possibleinthecosmeticsandpharmaceuticalindustries,andthat
essentialreferencesourceforanyonedealingwithessentialoils, it is credible to the harshest of critics. It will help all health-
inanycapacity. care practitioners, whether or not they eventually decide to
Thereisnoquestionthatessentialoilshavepharmacological recommend aromatherapy to their patients, and of course to
activity, and there is an extensive body of literature on this aromatherapists,whowillhaveconfidenceintheirpractice.
topic. In this book, the authors have critically appraised evi-
dence from a variety of sources, both reliable and unreliable. ElizabethMWilliamson
vii
Acknowledgments
Theauthorsgratefullyacknowledgetheconsiderablehelpofthe Butch Owen, Appalachian Valley Natural Products,
followingpeopleingivingvaluableinformationandadvice. Friendsville,Maryland,USA.
RobPappas,EssentialOilUniversityDatabase.
For supplying or helping to source information on essential oil
GillesRondeau,Solarome,MontCarmel,Quebec,Canada.
composition
GurpreetSingh,GurooFarms,Rudrapur,India.
Mohammad Abdollahi, Tehran University of Medical
OlivierSonnay,Olison,Switzerland.
Sciences.
Jessica Teubes (Jessica Lutge), Scatters, Randburg, South
JulienAbisset,Greco,Grasse,France.
Africa.
Jean-Fran¸cois Baudoux, Pranarom International, Ghislenghien,
Art Tucker, Dept. of Agriculture & Natural Resources,
Belgium.
DelawareStateUniversity,Dover,DE,USA.
OlivierBehra,Antananarivo,Madagascar.
ElisabethVossen,Vossen&Co.,Brussels,Belgium.
TonyBurfieldhttp://www.users.globalnet.co.uk.
NaiyinWang,SinaeTradingCompany,Orpington,Kent,UK.
Chris Condon, Natural Extracts of Australia, Los Angeles,
California,USA.
Forotherassistance
Charles Cornwell, Australian Botanical Products, Hallam,
AnneMarieApi,RIFM,Hackensack,NewJersey,forinforma-
Victoria,Australia.
tionaboutmelissaandlavendercottonoils.
Ermias Dagne, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa,
SalaamAttar,IsabelleAurel,JuliaGlazer,CathyMiller,Judith
Ethiopia.
Miller, Elise Pearlstine and Stephanie Vinson for information
John Day, The Paperbark Company, Harvey, W.A., aboutasthmaticsreactingtoessentialoils.
Australia.
JanettaBensouilah,forcommentsonChapter5.
HusseinFakhry,A.Fakhry&Co.,Cairo,Egypt.
Jennie Harding, Rhiannon Harris and Danielle Sade, for help
Earle Graven, Grassroots Natural Products, Gouda, South withtheamountofoilusedinmassage.
Africa.
GabrieleLashlyforGerman-Englishtranslation.
Jasbir Chana and Keith Harkiss, Phoenix Natural Products,
BillMcGilvrayforsafetyinformationaboutbluecypressoil.
Southall,Middlesex,UK.
DeborahRoseforcritiquingchaptersforreadability.
LarryJones,Spectrix,SantaCruz,California,USA.
JaninaS(cid:1)rensen,forDanish-Englishtranslation.
DanielJoulain,Robertet,Paris,France.
ArtTucker,forassistancewithbotanicalnomenclature.
Bill McGilvray, Plant Extracts International, Hopkins,
JoannaWang,forChinese-Englishtranslation.
Minnesota,USA.
LucieMainguy,Aliksir,Grondines,Quebec,Canada.
ix
First Edition Preface
Themanybooksnowavailableonthepracticeofaromatherapy bookistoreassure,whenappropriate,aswellastohoistsome
usuallytouchonthepossibleadverseeffectsofcertainessential redflags.
oils,whilenaturallyconcentratingontheirtherapeuticproper- Thesameintentiontoinformisbehindourinclusionofphys-
ties. However, there is no text written with aromatherapy in iology and biochemistry. We explain how different forms of
mindwhichisconcernedspecificallyandindetailwithessential toxicityariseandwhytheuseofcertainoilsissometimesinad-
oiltoxicology.Thisbookisdesignedtofillthatgap. visable. We believe that this is much more useful than simply
Thefragranceandflavourindustriesalreadyhavetheirown presentingsummariesof‘safe’or‘dangerous’oils.
guidelines for controlling essential oil safety. These, however, There are two approaches one can take when dealing with
arenotnecessarilyappropriateforaromatherapy. issues of safety. The first is to assume that the materials in
At the time of writing there appear to be no regulations question are hazardous until proven to be safe. This is the
governingthesaleoruseofessentialoilsinaromatherapythat approach taken when dealing with pharmaceutical drugs. The
effectively protect the consumer. The increasing availability second approach is to assume that substances are safe unless
ofundilutedessentialoils,someofwhichundoubtedlypresent proven hazardous. This line is taken in the food and fragrance
apotentialhazard,iscauseforconcern.IntheUKandtheUSA industries.
atleast,itiscurrentlypossibletopurchase,bymailorder,the Ingeneral,wehavetakentheapproachthatessentialoilsare
majority of the essential oils which we recommend should safe unless proven hazardous. It seems unnecessary to treat
notbeavailabletothegeneralpublic. essentialoilsaspharmaceuticals,especiallyiftheyareonlyused
We suspect that in many countries, there may be too few externally.Therearecaseswherewehaveflaggedanessential
controls on the minority of essential oils which do present a oil as hazardous even though absolute proof may not be avail-
hazard. We believe that the most responsible course of action able. In practice one must steer a middle course, and use all
forthose,suchasourselves,whohaveinformationaboutknown, theinformationavailable,bothpositiveandnegative.
orsuspectedtoxicity,istomakeitpublic.Boththosewhosell, Inthecontextofthesedilemmaswehaveattemptedtogivea
andthosewhouseessentialoils,willthenbeinabetterposition balancedview.Weacknowledgeboththatanimaltoxicitymay
totakeinformeddecisionsaboutwhichoilsaresafetouse,and be relevant to the human situation, and that experimental
inwhichcircumstances. dosesalmostalwaysgreatlyexceedthosegiventherapeutically.
Wearenotsimplytalkingaboutbanningorrestrictingcertain Wehavegivendetailedinformationconcerningtherelevanceor
essential oils. There is also a need to improve labelling, giving otherwise of specific animal tests to humans. Toxicologists
warningswhereappropriate,andtomakepackagingsafer,espe- increasingly acknowledge that giving excessive doses of a sub-
ciallywithregardtoyoungchildren.Thereisaneedforagreater stance to a genetically in-bred mouse living in a laboratory
awareness of the potential dangers among those who package, maynothavegreatrelevancetothehumansituation.
sellanduseessentialoils. Our hope is that this book constitutes a practical, positive
In recent years there have been many ‘scare stories’ in the basis for guidelines, both in the essential oil retail trade and
media about the dangers of essential oils. Some of these have the aromatherapy profession. While it is primarily written for
beenquiteaccurate,butoftentheinformationgivenismislead- the aromatherapy market, it will be of interest to all those
ingand basedmoreon rumourthanfact. Webelieve that itis whouseessentialoils,whetherinfragrances,flavourings,toilet-
vitalforthearomatherapycommunitytoaddresssafetyissues, ries or pharmaceuticals. Pharmacists, doctors, nurses and poi-
andtotakeresponsibleaction,inordertosafeguarditsfuture. sonsunitsmayfinditaparticularlyusefulsummary.
Weareawarethatabooksuchasthiscouldhavetheeffectof ThisbookreplacesTheEssentialOilSafetyDataManualby
presentingessentialoilsasgenerallydangeroussubstances–this RobertTisserand,firstpublishedin1985.Thistextwaslargely
iscertainlynotourintention.Onthecontrary,thereareseveral an extrapolation of toxicological reports from the Research
instanceswherewehaveshownthatsupposeddangersdonotin Institute forFragrance Materials (RIFM). TheRIFM datastill
fact exist. The majority of essential oils turn out to be non- formaveryimportantpartofthecurrentvolumewhich,how-
hazardousastheyareusedinaromatherapy.Thefunctionofthis ever,containsmoredetailaboutagreaternumberofhazardous
xi
FirstEditionPreface
oilsthanitspredecessor,andagreatdealmoretoxicologicaland aromatherapyprofessionandthetrade,arethoroughlyfamiliar
pharmacologicalinformation. withthehazardswhichdoexist,andwhich,inafewcases,are
Theaimofthebookremainsthesame:toprovideinforma- ratherserious.
tionforthebenefitofallwhoareinterestedinthetherapeutic
useofessentialoils,sothataromatherapymaybepractised,and RobertTisserand
productsmaybedeveloped,withtheminimumofrisk.Thiscan TonyBalacs
only be accomplished if all those involved, in both the Sussex,1995
xii
Second Edition Preface
Thisrevisededitiontook12yearstocomplete,andisconsider- safety advice on drug interactions, and overall there are more
ably longer than the previous edition. There are three reasons cautions. The new material is reflected in over 3,400 new
for the comprehensive revision. First, since the text was first references. A number of minor changes have also been made,
publishedin1995,therehavebeenmanynotabledevelopments such as the styling of references and the categorization of
intheareaofessentialoilsafety.Inadditiontonewdatabeing constituents.
published,manyguidelinesandrestrictionshavebeenrevisedor The book’s premise is that understanding safety is not pri-
issuedbyvariousauthorities,andwehaveintroducedsomeof marilyaboutknowinglegalorinstitutionalguidelines,butabout
ourown. understanding the biological action of essential oils and their
Second, significant changes and improvements have been constituents.Thereisacritiqueofcurrentregulations,including
made to the text, especially in the area of profiles, some of someoftheIFRAguidelines,andtheEU‘allergenslegislation’.
these in response to reader feedback. The structure of both Thereisconsiderablediscussionofcarcinogens,thehumanrel-
theEssentialOilProfilesandtheConstituentProfileshasbeen evance of some of the animal data, the validity of treating an
considerablyelaborated,andnewmaterialhasbeenadded.This essentialoilasifitwasasinglechemical(forexample,discussing
edition includes 400 Essential Oil Profiles, compared to 95 rose oil as if it contained nothing but methyleugenol) and the
previously. arbitrarynatureofuncertaintyfactors.Forcarcinogens,wehave
For each essential oil there is a full breakdown of constitu- given IFRA guidelines, EU guidelines and also our own guide-
ents, and a clear categorization of hazards and risks, with linesforimpactedessentialoils.
recommended maximum doses and concentrations. All the Finally,whenTonyBalacsandmyselfwereinearlystagesof
compositionaldataforessentialoilshasbeenrevised,expanded therevision,Tonydecidedthathecouldnolongercommitthe
and referenced. There are 206 Constituent Profiles, and this necessary time to the project and bowed out. An intensive
section is 15 times that of the previous edition. Constituents searchforareplacementco-authorleadmetoRodneyYoung,
arecross-referenced:eachConstituentProfileliststheamount who has honed considerably much of the pharmacology and
ofthatsubstancefoundineachofthe400profiledessentialoils. chemistry, and has contributed massively to this extensive
Third,thestructureofthebookhasbeendeveloped.There revision.
arenowseparatechaptersonthenervous,urinary,cardiovascu-
lar,gastrointestinal,andrespiratorysystems.Somesectionsof RobertTisserand
text have moved from one chapter to another, and repetitive Ojai,California
or outdated material has been deleted. We now have detailed October2012
xiii