AROMATHERAPY: HISTORY, HOW IT WORKS, POSSIBLE BENEFITS - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The Aromatherapy is the use of different materials such as essential oils, odorous compounds and plant extracts to improve physical and psychological wellbeing. It is normally used as an adjunct to more conventional treatments, but it can also be practiced as a form of alternative medicine.

Although the term aromatherapy did not begin to be used until the 20th century, the use of aromatic oils for healing purposes apparently began thousands of years ago. Today, a large number of people claim to have experienced the benefits of this discipline on their own skin.

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Despite being a fairly established form of alternative medicine, there is still considerable controversy as to whether or not the use of aromatic oils can actually have therapeutic effects. The scientific evidence in this regard is confusing, and more research is still needed in this field today.

In this article we tell you everything you need to know about aromatherapy; from what it consists of and how it began to be practiced, to what its supposed benefits are and what science says about it. If you've ever been curious about this discipline, read on.

History

Ancient civilizations

Some of the first civilizations already used plants and their scents to promote well-being. For example, the Chinese burned incense and aromatic plants to create harmony in the body and spirit, although it is believed that they were not yet capable of distilling essential oils.

Later, the Egyptians created the first device capable of distilling some plants. From this moment, this civilization began to use oils such as cloves, cinnamon or myrrh to embalm their dead.

But the Egyptians not only used plant preparations to treat their dead, but also for spiritual, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. It is believed that the term "perfume" was first used by this civilization, which made great strides in preparing these substances.

Greece and Rome

The Greeks learned a lot from the Egyptian civilization, but they advanced a lot in the use of plants within the field of medicine. Hippocrates, father of many of the ideas that are still used today in this discipline, used aromatic oils to treat certain diseases and ailments.

On the other hand, a perfumer named Megalo created a perfume (the "megaleion") that supposedly had several beneficial properties; among others, it served to reduce inflammation in the skin, and helped heal wounds.

The Roman Empire once again advanced in the use of plants on a medicinal level. A Roman citizen named Discórides wrote a book, De Materia Medica, which described the properties of approximately 500 different species, in addition to studying distillation.

However, in this period the use of aromatic and essential oils at the healing level was not yet too widespread.

From the Middle Ages on

The centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire were instrumental in the development of aromatherapy. In the 11th century, an inventor named Avicenna developed a contraption capable of distilling essential oils more easily and efficiently. During this century and the next, research continued on different plants and their properties.

In the thirteenth century, the pharmaceutical industry appeared as such; and from that moment on, more and more plant extracts were used as medicine.

For example, during the Black Death epidemic, it was believed that wearing handkerchiefs impregnated with the oils of certain flowers could reduce the chances of contagion.

In subsequent centuries, the use of aromatic plants in both perfumery and medicine became increasingly common, and the technologies that made it possible to extract essences from plants became more refined.

Twentieth century

The 20th century brought a great change to the way plants were used for healing: it was possible for the first time to separate the ingredients of essential oils and create synthetic medicines and compounds. This gave rise to modern medicine and made the more traditional use of oils fall out of use.

However, a French chemist named René - Maurice Gattefossé became interested in the use of essential oils in the field of medicine. From his work, he coined the term "aromatherapy" and began to spread the use of these substances for healing purposes.

From this moment on, the use of essential oils and other natural products began to grow and regained some popularity.

Today, the search for alternatives to synthetic compounds and traditional medicine has made aromatherapy very fashionable in certain environments.

How does it work?

Aromatherapy works by using certain scented products that are either inhaled by patients, or absorbed through their skin. Some of the most common are bath salts, body oils or creams, diffusers, masks, inhalers…

All of them use one or more plant compounds to take advantage of their supposed healing abilities. Normally, the most used are essential oils, extracts that are obtained by distilling a plant or flower.

Each of these essential oils has different properties; and they can be combined with each other to achieve a greater therapeutic effect. Some of the most popular are eucalyptus, rose, lavender, lemon, ginger, or chamomile.

Why are there positive effects?

There are two commonly used explanations to try to explain the beneficial effects of aromatherapy. The first one focuses on the changes that aromas cause in the brain, while the second talks about the inherently healing properties of the plants used.

According to the first explanation, our sense of smell is very powerful, and therefore certain smells have a great effect on our brain.

By inhaling a certain aroma, our limbic system triggers a chain reaction, which can help reduce problems such as stress, anxiety, or even pain.

A variant of this first explanation is that the smells of plants would cause the release of endorphins in the brain. If true, this would explain why the use of certain scents could help reduce pain or promote physical and mental relaxation.

The second explanation focuses on the beneficial properties of plants, which are absorbed by the skin when using essential oils. This would occur, for example, when using essential oils and other similar products in massages and baths.

Possible benefits

According to its advocates, aromatherapy has all kinds of benefits, both for the body and the mind. However, it is necessary to note that there is still some controversy as to whether these benefits are real or not.

Still, millions of people around the world claim to have noticed the positive effects of aromatherapy on their own meats. Here we will see some of the most important.

Reduce pain

Supposedly, one of the main benefits of aromatherapy is that the application of essential oils can significantly reduce all kinds of physical aches and pains.

For example, the use of this discipline theoretically improves joint pain, reduces headaches and migraines, relieves stomach discomfort, relaxes muscles, and can even reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.

Calm the mind

According to experts in this discipline, the scents of the different substances used in aromatherapy are capable of reducing anxiety, stress, reducing mental agitation and causing a state of deep relaxation.

This, for example, can be very helpful in helping to improve the symptoms of certain mental disorders, to combat insomnia, and to elevate mood.

Helps fight some diseases

Lastly, advocates of aromatherapy say that aromatherapy can improve the immune system and kill certain types of pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Due to this, it would have certain beneficial properties when fighting some diseases.

What does science say?

Scientific evidence regarding the true effectiveness of aromatherapy is scant. Despite the fact that many supposedly serious statements about its benefits have been made over the years, the latest studies on it are not conclusive at all.

Several reviews of a large number of studies on the effectiveness of aromatherapy reveal that most of them were not done correctly.

Either the samples were very small, or it could not be determined that the benefits of applying this discipline were actually due to the odors or the properties of the plants.

Because of this, aromatherapy is normally considered a pseudoscience, and within scientific circles it is not given any credibility. Still, thousands of people around the world claim that this discipline has helped them with different problems.

In any case, it is necessary to carry out more studies in this regard to be able to clearly determine if aromatherapy is a valid alternative to traditional medicine or not.

Until this occurs, it should only be used as a supplement and not as a substitute for more conventional medical treatment.

References

1. "What is aromatherapy" in: Health Line. Retrieved on: December 07, 2018 from Health Line: healthline.com.
2. "History of aromatherapy" in: Aromaweb. Retrieved on: December 07, 2018 from Aromaweb: aromaweb.com.
3. "What is aromatherapy?" in: Web MD. Retrieved on: December 07, 2018 from Web MD: webmd.com.
4. "What is aromatherapy?" in: Aromatherapy Associates. Retrieved on: December 07, 2018 from Aromatherapy Associates: aromatherapyassociates.com.
5. "Aromatherapy" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 07, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.