New Research: Peppermint helps with pregnancy itch

New Research: Peppermint helps with pregnancy itch

Peppermint helps with pregnancy itch! About 1% of pregnant women experience severe itching in the late stages of pregnancy. This can be extremely unpleasant. However, using a steroid cream may not the ideal choice because of potential side effects, and many pregnant...
Powers of Aromatherapy: Pain Management Meta-Analysis

Powers of Aromatherapy: Pain Management Meta-Analysis

Powers of Aromatherapy: Pain Management There is in-vitro research, there is clinical research and then when there is enough clinical data, researchers compile meta-analyses. These put together all the results of previous studies to see if there are consistent...
GC-MS analysis: what it can and cannot do

GC-MS analysis: what it can and cannot do

We asked Alexis St-Gelais, one of the founders of Phytochemia, to shed some light on gas chromatography – mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). He covers the basics, and then examines in detail what GC-MS can… and can’t do. Providing a GC-MS analysis is rapidly...
Lavender promotes trust

Lavender promotes trust

New research: Lavender aroma promotes interpersonal trust A 2015 controlled study of 90 healthy young adults investigated whether trust can be influenced by an environmental fragrance. The hypothesis was that a calming scent will induce a more inclusive state of mind,...
The Rose Otto Myth – busted

The Rose Otto Myth – busted

Is Rose otto the most complex of all essential oils? Not really, although it does make it into the top 10. Rose oil (Rose otto) has enjoyed the reputation of being the most complex essential oil known, as it was presumed it has more than 300 compounds. A recent report...
Bath safety II : Dispersing essential oils

Bath safety II : Dispersing essential oils

An aromatherapy bath can be a very relaxing and therapeutic experience, and it is one of the most popular ways to use essential oils. However, it can very easily turn unpleasant if you don’t follow one simple rule – disperse! Essential oils are not water...