Active compounds of essential oil such as 1,8-cineole are absorbed and can be detectable in the blood serum after exposure and inhaling an oil’s aroma. Moreover, higher concentrations of absorbed 1,8-cineole can influence cognitive performance positively. These were the elicited results of a clinical experimental trial in the UK that was published in a 2012 paper. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in this closed-door clinical trial that was held in testing cubicles measuring 2.4 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and 2.4 meters high. Before providing an introduction to the participants, four drops of rosemary oil were poured on the diffuser pads of an aroma stream which was switched on for five minutes. The diffuser was placed in the testing cubicle’s bench to perfume the rooms. Four, six, eight, or ten minutes before completing the cognitive tests, the participants were exposed to the rosemary essential oil’s aroma in a cubicle. Administering the aroma at varying times was intentionally done to determine the level of compounds that could be absorbed by the participants. To identify the connection between plasma 1,8-cineole levels and cognitive performance, subjective mood assessment tools and cognitive function activities such as serial subtraction and visual information processing tasks were performed while staying in a rosemary aroma-diffused cubicle. Moreover, one 5 ml blood sample was taken per participant by a trained phlebotomist. Results of the study yielded that 1, 8-cineole could absorbed into the body and be detectable in the blood serum after exposure and inhaling rosemary essential oil’s aroma. Absorbing higher concentrations of 1,8-cineole can positively influence cognitive performance, particularly the number of correct responses and reaction times, and mood. This result demonstrates that rosemary oil has a pharmacological activity because, upon the inhalation of its aroma, active compounds present in it are absorbed through the nasal or lung mucosa and reach the blood. Moreover, during the participants’ interview, they reported that they didn’t feel that the rosemary’s oil odor affected them badly in any way.(1)
Reference:
(1) Moss, M., & Oliver, L. (2012). Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma. Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology, 2(3), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125312436573
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