Essential oils are not essential but they smell nice
Channel: Peter Allen
Date: 2021-11-08

Allen Lab Vlog 317, 11/7/2021 

I have been thinking about the two meanings of the word "essential." One definition means “necessary for life” and the other means is “of the essence.” Both have scientific roots, but only one has a real experimental basis. Essential amino acids are essential in a very different way than essential oils.

First, let's talk about essential amino acids. There are 9 amino acids the body cannot synthesize from simpler building blocks. That means that those amino acids must come from food. The only time essential amino acid deficiency would be a problem is if someone were to subsist entirely on a single grain (like an all-rice diet). Foods that have all of the amino acids are considered “complete protein.”

When people talk about essential oils, it might as well be a different word. Essential oils contain "the essence" or "the stuff that smells like" their source material. It is a very imprecise idea: you heat some plant matter and collect the vapors that come off. The molecules that vaporize from heated orange peels will smells just like oranges (surprise?). Why do people treat them like drugs?
 
References:
Kennedy, David, Edward Okello, Paul Chazot, Melanie-Jayne Howes, Samuel Ohiomokhare, Philippa Jackson, Crystal Haskell-Ramsay, Julie Khan, Joanne Forster, and Emma Wightman. “Volatile Terpenes and Brain Function: Investigation of the Cognitive and Mood Effects of Mentha × Piperita L. Essential Oil with In Vitro Properties Relevant to Central Nervous System Function.” Nutrients 10, no. 8 (August 7, 2018): E1029. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10081029.

Rasch, Björn, Christian Büchel, Steffen Gais, and Jan Born. “Odor Cues during Slow-Wave Sleep Prompt Declarative Memory Consolidation.” Science (New York, N.Y.) 315, no. 5817 (March 9, 2007): 1426–29. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1138581.

Snoussi, Mejdi, Emira Noumi, Najla Trabelsi, Guido Flamini, Adele Papetti, and Vincenzo De Feo. “Mentha Spicata Essential Oil: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities against Planktonic and Biofilm Cultures of Vibrio Spp. Strains.” Molecules 20, no. 8 (August 7, 2015): 14402–24. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules200814402.