Essential oils: How safe? How effective?

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doi:doi: 10.12788/jfp.0672

Applied Evidence

Essential oils: How safe? How effective?

J Fam Pract. 2023 November;72(9):374-381 | doi: 10.12788/jfp.0672

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References

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Other EOs such as cardamom and peppermint show promise as an adjunctive treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting as well.³⁸

Postoperative nausea. A 2013 randomized trial of 303 patients examined the use of ginger EO, a blend of EOs (including ginger, spearmint, peppermint, and cardamom), and isopropyl alcohol. Both the single EO and EO blend significantly reduced the symptom of nausea. The number of antiemetic medications requested by patients receiving an EO also was significantly reduced compared to those receiving saline.¹⁵

The use of EOs to reduce nausea after cardiac operations was reviewed in an RCT of 60 surgical candidates using 10% peppermint oil via nebulization for 10 minutes.¹⁶ This technique was effective in reducing nausea during cardiac postoperative periods. Although the evidence for the use of EOs for postoperative nausea is not robust, it may be a useful and generally safe approach for this common issue.

Behavioral health

Insomnia. EOs have been used as a treatment for insomnia traditionally and in complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine. A 2014 systematic review of 15 quantitative studies, including 11 RCTs, evaluated the hypnotic effects of EOs through inhalation, finding the strongest evidence for lavender, jasmine, and peppermint oils.²⁹ The majority of the studies in the systematic review used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to evaluate EO effectiveness. A more recent 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis that evaluated 34 RCTs found that inhalation of EOs, most notably lavender aromatherapy, is effective in improving sleep problems such as insomnia.³⁰

Findings from multiple smaller RCTs were consistent with those of the aforementioned systematic reviews. For example, in a well-conducted parallel randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 100 people using orally ingested lemon verbena, the authors concluded that this intervention can be a complementary therapy for improving sleep quality and reducing insomnia severity.³¹ Another RCT with 60 participants evaluated an inhaled EO blend (lemon, eucalyptus, tea tree, and peppermint) over 4 weeks and found lowered perceived stress and depression as well as better sleep quality, but no influence on objective physiologic data such as stress indices or immune states.³²

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