Effects of complementary-alternative therapy on the decrease of obesity (cellulite) focusing on aroma therapy

Controlled Breathing With or Without Peppermint Aromatherapy for Postoperative Nausea and/or Vomiting Symptom Relief: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of this study was to compile existing scientific evidence regarding the effects of essential oils (EOs) administered via inhalation for the alleviation of nausea and vomiting. CINAHL, PubMed, and EBSCO Host and Science Direct databases were searched for articles related to the use of EOs and/or aromatherapy for nausea and vomiting. Only articles using English as a language of publication were included. Eligible articles included all forms of evidence (nonexperimental, experimental, case report). Interventions were limited to the use of EOs by inhalation of their vapors to treat symptoms of nausea and vomiting in various conditions regardless of age group. Studies where the intervention did not utilize EOs or were concerned with only alcohol inhalation and trials that combined the use of aromatherapy with other treatments (massage, relaxations, or acupressure) were excluded. Five (5) articles met the inclusion criteria encompassing trials with 328 respondents. Their results suggest that the inhaled vapor of peppermint or ginger essential oils not only reduced the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting but also decreased antiemetic requirements and consequently improved patient satisfaction. However, a definitive conclusion could not be drawn due to methodological flaws in the existing research articles and an acute lack of additional research in this area. The existing evidence is encouraging but yet not compelling. Hence, further well-designed large trials are needed before confirmation of EOs effectiveness in treating nausea and vomiting can be strongly substantiated.

The awareness and usage of aromatherapy applications are increasing day by day in society. The current study aims to evaluate the thoughts and attitudes of individuals toward aromatherapy in Türkiye and to determine factors affecting the use of aromatherapy. This community-based descriptive study is conducted throughout Türkiye. Nine hundred eighty-five questionnaires were suitable for data quality. SPSS 23.0 statistical package program was used, and the statistical significance level was accepted as P value of less than .05. Approximately 72.4% of the participants have heard of aromatherapy. The rate of hearing about the concept of aromatherapy was found to be statistically significantly higher among women (P = .000), those residing in a province/district (P = .011), and those working in an income-generating positions (P = .003). It was determined that 58.9% of the participants used any essential oil. The 5 most commonly used essential oils are lavender, tea tree, peppermint, rose, and thyme, respectively. The rate of essential oil use in women is higher than in men (P = .000). The conditions in which essential oils are most frequently used are to provide beauty to the skin (51.7%), skin diseases (51.0%), and respiratory tract diseases (46.0%), respectively. The most common sources of information about the essential oils used by the participants are the Internet/social media (57.6%) and pharmacists (53.4%). The results of this research revealed that the awareness and use of aromatherapy practice in the community are high according to the literature. Considering the high tendency to use these products among the public, physicians, pharmacists, and nurses must provide consultancy services on the use of these products.

Aromatherapy is a method of treatment using natural essential oils injected into the body through the respiratory tract, skin and (or) mucous membranes. Currently, about 3,000 essential oil plants have been studied, from which over 500 organic compounds have been isolated and identified, the number of which in the composition of one essential oil can vary from 120 to 500, and no essential oil has yet been fully investigated.
 Essential oils are multicomponent organic compounds of terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and other hydrocarbons produced by essential oil plants. Biologically active substances of essential oils have a low molecular weight and therefore easily penetrate the skin through the bloodstream. The effect exerted on a person by essential oils is determined in two ways ― neuro-reflex and humoral. Each essential oil is multifunctional. The composition of essential oils can include up to 300 components, so they can have several medicinal properties at the same time, but there is a general trend in the action of essential oils. All of them have immunomodulatory, pronounced bactericidal and antiseptic effects, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
 In medical practice, the method of hardware aromatherapy is used, the active factor of which is a therapeutic respiratory environment that simulates the natural air background over plants. The study of the effect of essential oils in children's institutions showed their positive effect on the general condition of children, emotional tone, immunological reactivity and nonspecific protection factors, the frequency and severity of respiratory pathology, the course of the adaptation period. The beneficial effect of the complex effect of aromatherapy in the sensory room is shown.
 Thus, the high efficiency of hardware aromatherapy, good tolerability, the availability of domestic equipment allows us to recommend the method for wide use in therapeutic and preventive and sanatorium-resort institutions.

Use of aromatherapy to promote a therapeutic nurse environment

Essential oils (EOs) are predominantly known for their use in aromatherapy, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. Combination of EOs may result in holistic synergistic effects due to a blended biocompatible mixture. In this study, three EOs were selected out of the seven EOs tested for their efficacy against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria based on the results of disc diffusion. The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of EOs from Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) and Syzgium aromaticum (clove) were determined against Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli ATCC 11775. The EOs were analysed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify the volatile organic compounds. Geranial, neral, neryl acetate and β-caryophyllene were present in highest concentrations among 48 chemicals identified in lemon grass essential oil (LGEO). GC-MS identified 17 chemical compounds in clove EO (CEO) with eugenol, eugenol acetate and β-caryophyllene present in highest concentrations. A total of 52 compounds were identified with terpineol-4, γ-terpinene, α-terpipene and 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) being the most prevalent compounds in tea tree EO (TTEO). Response surface methodology (RSM) using central composite design (CCD) was used to develop a mathematical model that determined the optimal concentrations of LGEO, TTEO and CEO as 0.10%, 0.11% and 0.10%, respectively. This investigation highlighted the importance of microbiological techniques and statistical optimization tools to study the synergistic effect of selected EOs towards developing a combined EO - based antibacterial treatment technology. Overall, this study showed the potential of developing a biocompatible hand sanitizer which resulted in marked log reduction of bacteria. Further study on the efficacy of the developed EO-mixture against viruses, fungi and nematodes will provide useful scientific knowledge.

Complementary therapies have become more commonly used over the last decade and have been applied to a range of health problems, including dementia. Of these, aroma therapy is reported to be the most widely used in the British National Health Service (Lundie 1994) and might be of use for people with dementia for whom verbal interaction may be difficult and conventional medicine of only marginal benefit. Aroma therapy has been used for people with dementia to reduce disturbed behaviour (e.g. Brooker 1997), promote sleep (e.g. Wolfe 1996), and stimulate motivational behaviour (e.g. MacMahon 1998). To assess the efficacy of aroma therapy as an intervention for people with dementia. The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register was searched on 29 October 2002 to find all relevant trials using the terms: aroma therap*, "aroma therap*", "complementary therap*", "alternative therap*" and "essential oil". The CDCIG Register contains records from all major health care databases and is updated regularly. Additionally, relevant journals were hand searched, and 'experts' in the field of complementary therapies and dementia contacted. All relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered. A minimum length of trial and requirements for a follow-up were not included, and participants in included studies had a diagnosis of dementia of any type and severity. The review considered all trials using fragrance from plants defined as aroma therapy as an intervention with people with dementia. Several outcomes were considered in this review, including cognitive function, quality of life, and relaxation. The titles and abstracts extracted by the searches were screened for their eligibility for potential inclusion in the review, which revealed 2 RCTs of aroma therapy for dementia. Neither of these had published results in a form that we could use. However, individual patient data from one trial were obtained (Ballard 2002) and additional analyses performed. Analysis of co-variance was used for all outcomes, using a random effects model. The additional analyses conducted revealed a statistically significant treatment effect in favour of the aroma therapy intervention on measures of agitation and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Aroma therapy showed benefit for people with dementia in the only trial that contributed data to this review, but there were several methodological difficulties with this study. More well designed large-scale RCTs are needed before conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of aroma therapy. Additionally, several issues need to be addressed, such as whether different aroma therapy interventions are comparable and the possibility that outcomes may vary for different types of dementia.

Background:Essential oils have been used as an alternative and complementary treatment in medicine. Citrus fragrance has been used by aromatherapists for the treatment of anxiety symptoms. Based on this claim, the aim of present study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy with essential oil of orange on child anxiety during dental treatment.Materials and Methods:Thirty children (10 boys, 20 girls) aged 6-9 years participated in a crossover intervention study, according to the inclusion criteria, among patients who attended the pediatric department of Isfahan Dental School in 2011. Every child underwent two dental treatment appointments including dental prophylaxis and fissure-sealant therapy under orange aroma in one session (intervention) and without any aroma (control) in another one. Child anxiety level was measured using salivary cortisol and pulse rate before and after treatment in each visit. The data were analyzed using t-test by SPSS software version 18.Results:The mean ± SD and mean difference of salivary cortisol levels and pulse rate were calculated in each group before and completion of treatment in each visit. The difference in means of salivary cortisol and pulse rate between treatment under orange odor and treatment without aroma was 1.047 ± 2.198 nmol/l and 6.73 ± 12.3 (in minutes), which was statistically significant using paired t-test (P = 0.014, P = 0.005, respectively).Conclusion:It seems that the use of aromatherapy with natural essential oil of orange could reduce salivary cortisol and pulse rate due to child anxiety state.

Aromatherapy is broadly defined as 'treatment with odours' (Buchbauer, 1992). However, in England it involves the application of a very diluted essential oil (EO) or mixture of EOs (1-2 per cent) in a carrier oil like almond oil, which is massaged into the skin; either on hands, feet, head or the total body (Ryman, 1991; Worwood, 1991; Westwood, 1991; Price, 1993). Aromatherapy can also mean the addition of drops of EO to the bath or a basin of hot water, or the volatilization of the EO(s) using various burners. It usually involves counselling about diet, exercise, life-style etc. by the aromatherapist, who may have absolutely no qualifications to offer such advice. In France, Germany and other parts of Europe, aromatherapy takes on a different meaning as it involves the internal usage of EOs as medicines, and is practised by medicallyqualified doctors (Lis-Balchin, 1997). This includes oral, rectal and vaginal introduction of EOs into the body, as well as massaging in of more concentrated EOs into the body. This 'clinical aromatherapy' has also spread to England and the United States, where totally unqualified people practise internal usage of various EOs after making their diagnosis of the client's medical condition. Other herbs, novel medicinal plant extracts, hydrolats, herbal oils, phytols, infusions etc. are often included in the aromatherapy treatment, although the herbal knowledge of the aromatherapists may be lacking (Lis-Balchin, 1999). Many of the attributes of lavender oil were mistakenly taken from herbals, for example, Culpeper (1653), who used alcoholic extracts or teas, not distilled EOs and was also interested in astrology, hence every plant had an assigned planet. The definition and application of aromatherapy can therefore range from a mixture of the paranormal aspects of plant essences and their energetics to the medical and scientific aspects of the EOs as chemicals.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world and in Iran. Prevalence of this disease in Iran 21.4% was reported. One of the main alternatives for treating breast cancer is chemotherapy which causes complications such as acute and delayed nausea and vomiting. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aromatherapy with peppermint oil on nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy among breast cancer patients. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial on 100 women who suffering from Breast Cancer and receiving chemotherapy as outpatient's hospital care in Imam Khomeini. Before chemotherapy and after obtaining informed consent the patients with random sampling block were randomly allocated into intervention and control group. Intervention group received routine medications for controlling nausea and vomiting as well as aroma therapy with peppermint for five days. Meanwhile, the control group received only the routine medications. The data were gathered by using demographic and Rhodes Standard Questionnaire (about severity and number of nausea and vomiting). The results obtained from both groups were compared by using the SPSS version 11.5 software and descriptive and analytic statistics. Results: The results showed there were no statistical differences between two groups in some variables such as age, duration of cancer, history of alcohol use, history of nausea and vomiting (p>0.05). Use of aromatherapy with peppermint in acute phase lead to decreased of nausea and vomiting without any complications (p 0.05). Indeed more than half of samples stated that they are satisfied with aromatherapy and recommend it to others. Conclusions: Aromatherapy with peppermint in breast cancer patients could decrease nausea and vomiting in acute phase after chemotherapy. It is suggested that nurses use this aroma therapy as a complementary treatment, inexpensive and without complications for relieving the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

The definition of aromatherapy is the controlled use of essential oils (2). Essential oils are steam distillates obtained from aromatic plants. Aromatherapy is a fairly new complementary therapy, although its roots are in herbal medicine, one of the oldest known forms of medicine. Aromatherapy is an accepted part of nursing care in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and Canada, and many nurses in the United States are beginning to use aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is particularly useful in cardiology (see Table 1), because the use of familiar smells and gentle touch can be deeply reassuring. Essential oils have many other properties that can be useful in cardiology-hypotensor, sedative, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic, analgesic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral. This chapter covers the use of aromatherapy for borderline hypertension and for fear and anxiety associated with myocardial infarction (MI) or cardiac surgery and outlines interesting case and small clinical studies addressing the effect of essential oils on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Table 1 Essential Oils for Specific DiagnosisFull size table KeywordsInescapable ShockBorderline HypertensionDipropylene GlycolNasal OintmentGalvanic Skin ConductionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical wellbeing. Aromatherapy is a therapeutic remedy that has helped millions of people down the years. Aromatherapy has a variety of helpful properties, which include antibiotic, antiseptic, anti-infl ammatory, antifungal agents and so on. Essential oils, unlike prescription drugs, work only on those areas that are ‘broken’, which means they do not go on the healthy tissues and work there. Th ey travel around the body, look for illnesses and target those alone. Aromatherapy is often used in conjunction with massage therapy, acupuncture, refl exology, herbology and other holistic healing therapies. Key words: Essential oils, steam distillation, inhalation

Geranium macrorrhizum is an aromatic plant native to the Southern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. In Europe, it is increasingly cultivated for its ornamental flowers, as well as for use in aromatherapy and traditional herbal medicine due to its broad spectrum of biological activities. Essential oil of G. macrorrhizum is highly valued in perfumery and is also used as a food-flavouring agent. In this work, we report the essential oil composition, total phenolics and antioxidant activity of several samples of G. macrorrhizum collected from natural habitats in Croatia (Mt Biokovo) and Greece (Mt Smolikas, Mt Olimbos and Mt Giona). Some of these samples were cultivated in the greenhouse or botanical gardens at separate locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), France (Orsay) and Denmark (Copenhagen). Since the plant samples had different cytotypes, a possible correlation between ploidy level, phenolic content and antioxidant activity was examined in this study. It was found that the total phenolic content, as well as the radical scavenging activity of residual water remaining after hydrodistillation of G. macrorrhizum, is related to the plant ploidy level. The essential oil composition, however, clearly depends on environmental factors. The main components of almost all essential oils of cultivated plants were oxygenated sesquiterpenes with germacrone as the most abundant compound (34.7–62.9%), while essential oil of plants growing wild was rich in long-chain alkanes (27.0–40.0%).

Aromatherapy is a healing practice that has been used for centuries to promote physical and psychological wellbeing. The practice involves the use of essential oils (EOs) extracted from plants to treat a variety of conditions. Aromatherapy is believed to work by stimulating the sense of smell and the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for emotions, memories, and learning. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a safe essential oil with well-established sedative and hypnotic properties Additionally, the properties of essential oils obtained from different species of Cedrus, such as C. atlantica, have been reported for their use in aromatherapy to obtain many clinical benefits traditionally attributed to the genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and cutaneous systems. However, the role of essential oil in the treatment of nocturnal anxiety and respiratory disorders in sleep is unclear, which makes clinical studies necessary to reinforce this hypothesis. Here, we present a clinical case of an adult patient with daily anxiety attacks and nocturnal breathing disorders effectively treated with the inhaled use of essential oil of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica).

Background : Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are infections acquired in health care centers such as hospital, clinic or other health care sites due to microorganisms. Research conducted by WHO showed 3-10% of all patients treated in hospitals were victims of HAI and 90% were mainly caused by bacteria, the rest by viruses, fungi or protozoa. Lemon peel aromatherapy is one of the essential oils from plants having antimicrobial activity and are beneficial to health reducing bacterial growth by inhibiting the function of cell membranes. This study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of lemon peel aromatheraphy againts airborne bacteria. Design and Method : This experimental study used post test only control groups design. The number of airborne bacteria colonies obtained from ICU room of Sultan Agung Islamic Hospital Semarang treated with lemon peel aromatherapy at the concentration of 100 % and the control group (-).The data were analyzed for normality using Shapiro Wilk followed by independent T-test Result : independent inT-test Independent showed a significant differences in the number of bacterial colonies between the treated groups receiving 100% concentration of lemon peel aromatherapy and control group (-) (p < 0.045). Conclusion : Aromatherapy extracts of lemon peel has effect on reducing the number of airborne bacteria in the ICU of Sultan Agung Islamic Hospital Semarang (Sains Medika, 4(1):71-77).