AROMATHERARY HISTORY

Page 4

Europe
From the 9th century to the 15th century a Medical University at Salerno, Italy emerged as a center of learning and botanical medicine. The University drew scholars from the East and the West. Italy became the leader in Europe of aromatics, cosmetics and perfumes. survival. By the late Middle Ages, apothecary guilds were being established in northern Europe. Essential Oils from the East were being used again to enhance the quality of life and improve the average European's chance Inrestingly enough, it was the apothecaries and the perfumers who daily worked with Essential Oils that escaped the plagues and epidemics that swept through Europe. During the 18th century, the French discovered that tuberculosis bacillus could be deactivated by clove Essential Oil and that thyme helped vanquish the typhus bacteria. During
the 16th century, Europeans believed that bathing was unhealthy, so perfumes were used to cover the person's offending odor. The French used fragrances in everything from public fountains, stationary, wines, drinking water, in their homes, on their clothes, bodies and hair. By this time many of the Essential Oils used today had been isolated and were commonly in use. During the Rococo period, a time of great excess, perfume slowly moved away from their original medicinal and religious uses and became the symbol of great excess, luxury and grandeur. In 1868 the first synthetic fragrance was produced. This was the first of thousands of synthetic fragrances that were unsuitable for medicinal use. In 1887, Dr. Chamberland in Paris published the first modern documented research of the antiseptic properties of Essential Oils. His research confirmed that Essential Oils kill viruses, bacteria and fungus. Before WWII Essential Oil research drew as much scientific interest as the exploration of other drugs. Identifying the components of natural Essential Oils was an important task. The study ultimately was central in the development of many chemical successes. Nobel prizes were awarded to Otto Wallach and Adolf von Baeyer for their contributions in uncovering the secrets of Essential Oils. Chemists isolated the active principles within plants and manufactured them synthetically. The thought was that the properties of the plants should be isolated and used separately. As the science of chemistry became more sophisticated, herbs and Essential Oils where replaced by synthetic drugs. Synthetic drugs could be totally controlled, standardized and monopolized. Essential Oils were public domain and as such not able to be patented, so synthetic won out due to profit.

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