Aromatherapy: Revival of an Ancient Art

Treating illness with highly concentrated oils extracted from plants is known as aromatherapy. These highly scented extracts -- called essences or essential oils -- contain the substances that give plants their smell. Aromatherapists believe that many also have medicinal properties.

Nobody knows exactly where and when the ancient healing art of aromatherapy began. The medicinal use of plant oils is recorded in some of the earliest Chinese writings. The ancient Persians also valued flower waters distilled from roses and orange blossoms, and used them both as cosmetics and as remedies for sickness. In the 11th century, the Persian philosopher and physician, Avicenna, refined the distillation process and produced purer essential oils.

Chinese knowledge of medicinal oils is thought to have reached the West through the Greeks and Romans. The first recorded use of plant oils in Britain was in the 13th century. From then on, manufacturing increased and the oils became widely used as perfumes, antiseptics, and medicines, until the 19th century. Cheaper, chemical copies of the oils were then made. They did not have the same medicinal properties, but they almost ended the therapeutic use of natural oils.

The early 20th century saw a revival of interest in natural treatments, and with it an increasing demand for genuine plant oils. The pioneer of their use in modern medicine was a French chemist, Professor Rene Gattefosse, who accidentally discovered the healing power of lavender essence when he plunged his hand into it after receiving a bad burn. In a short time, the burn had healed without forming a blister or leaving a scar.

Gattefosse went on to treat soldiers wounded in the first World War, and discovered many other healing oils. Later, his work was built on by a French physician, Dr. Jean Valnet, and a French biochemist and beautician, Marguerite Maury. Valnet used essential oils to treat cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes, and other serious illnesses, and claimed many successful cures. Maury developed techniques, such as massage and various beauty and skin care treatments, using essential oils.