Can essential oils be anti-viral?
Posted by Sinead Duffy on
There's been news about what does and doesn't help with Covid-19. A through hand-washing and social distancing are the best line of defence.
Can essential oils supplement these measure? Yes! Many studies (see below) have shown that certain essential oils can inhibit the growth of a specific virus. Each virus is different - so not all of anti-viral oils are effective against all viruses - and different oils effect the same virus at different stages of its life-cycle and of course. NO tests have been done on Covid-19 - so best policy is to:
a) do what the Health Authorities are telling us and
b) use a variety of oils that have been shown to have anti-viral actions throughout your day - both in the home and when you go out to SUPPLEMENT your thorough hand-washing (and other measures).
What essential oils have been shown to be anti-viral? If you're interested there's LOTS of studies online - they're very complex and technical, but it's great that this research is being done. Among others that have been lab-tested and shown to interupt the 'normal' path of a virus are - Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Tea-tree, Manuka, Ravensara, Lemongrass, Lemon, Grapefruit (and you'll see more in the studies mentioned below)
Again - different oils effect different viruses - and NO studies have been conducted on this particular virus, but some essential oils have a good strong CV when it comes to messing with viruses!
How to use? As the virus enters via the respiratory tract - inhaling them is an obvious choice If you don't have a diffuser - now's a good time to get one - we don't sell them here at Yogandha - but if you need advice, just shoot me a message. Use any of the oils above - ideally a combination of 2-3.
What about Yogandha oils?
Again - its ONLY to supplement all the measures that you are doing - but using oils that have been shown to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties as part of your day makes sense EVERY DAY - not only when there's scary unknowns looming! My advice would be to use as many essential oils blends as part of your day as you possibly can - whether they are ours or you make them yourself.
eg After you wash your hands (the elongated version) - apply Yogandha Detox (lemongrass is specifically mentioned in this study
- Instead of/as well as moisturiser - apply Yogandha Relax (contains essential oils with sesquiterpenes which have proven effective against SOME viruses)
but the one I'd have with me an ALL times is Salute (yes, the wonderbra comes to the rescue again!). simply becausue the roll-ons are more concentrated than the body oils (still the concertration is too low to be considered 'medicinal' in any sense - necessarily so for safe use on skin).
Salute contains Rosemary, Ravensara and Grapefruit - all of which are mentioned in the studies below.
The study "Mechanisms of Antiviral Action of Plant Antimicrobials against Murine Norovirus" states "Many plant essential oils, extracts, and their individual components have been shown to possess antibacterial properties in previous studies (30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). Some have also been shown to have antifungal (30, 42, 43, 44, 45) and antiviral (30, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54) properties. Each number is a link to another study - so there's a lot of anti-viral evidence activity proven on a wide variety of viruses.
This study shows Rosemary halps inhibit the growth of Hep A virus on the flesh of fruit
Of course theres no study on any essential oil's activites on Covid-19 and there probably won't be before we get on the other side of this pandemic. And there's simply no substitute for doing exactly what the health authorities are telling us. But I hope in supplement - you'll be open to the anti-viral and immune-boosing properties that essential oils can offer.
Blessings,
Sinead
