Exploring the Mystery of Aromatherapy Through Biotechnology

Aromatherapy originated in Ancient Egypt. About acould combat micro-organism in the air, thus purifying
hundred years ago, a pharmacist from France used anthe air. He also said that although the effectiveness
innovative method which led to a breakthrough infigures for fungus seem low, but that is desirable
aromatherapy techniques. In recent years, under thebecause this would mean that it would not be harmful
strong promotion by Sathelyne Group, Bel'Airto the body.
aromatherapy came into being to benefit manyAfter obtaining such positive and encouraging results,
consumers.Bel'Air has worked even harder to carry out the 2nd
For centuries, people have experienced and haveexperiment. This program made detailed analysis and
come to recognise that essential oils have manyrecords of the chemical compositions of these 5
benefits. Essential oils can help to combat bacteria andessential oils, and tests were done to determine their
other diseases, repel mosquitoes, prevent tooth decay,chemical and biological safety.
fight oxidisation, inflammation and even enhance theProfessor Tsai carefully selected Ginseng, Green Tea,
immune system, calm nerves, etc.Green Bamboo, Lotus and Eucalyptus as the 5
But with so many types of essential oils around, whichessential oils for the experiment. The reason for such
essential oils will benefit you? Which are the safest?a selection was because the 1st four essential oils are
These are questions that researchers are still unableplants from the East, of which not enough researches
to answer exactly.had been carried out in the West. The selection of
Since 2002 when Bel'Air set up our factory in France,Eucalyptus was to act as a test reference for the
there has been interest in testing the safety andother 4.
effectiveness of our essential oils. With theseChemical and Biological Safety Experiment
concerns in mind, Bel'Air worked closely with professorThe 2nd experiment went through the following steps:
Tsai from Taiwan National Yang Ming University inUsing GC-MS to analyse the chemical composition of
setting up our very own Bel'Air Bio-tech Researchthese 5 essential oils.
Centre. Professor Tsai Ying Chieh is head of TaiwanBased on their individual chemical compositions,
National Yang Ming Biotechnology Department andanalysis was done to determine the safety for use of
head of Taiwan National Yang Ming University Medicalessential oils.
Science Department. He expressed that his interest inUsing GC_MS to determine the after effects of these
aromatherapy research is enhanced by the fact thatessential oils, whether any by-products or toxins were
research and academic publications in this field areproduced in the combustion process.
scarce. The Bel'Air Bio-tech Research Centre hopesUsing Ames test to test the before and after changes
to strengthen the foundation of botanic essential oilof these essential oils.
research and further the investigation of essential oilsUsing skin cells, fat cells and HepG2cancer cells to
and their various properties, effects and benefits.determine essential oils effects.
Professor Tsai also hopes to share knowledge withFind out what effects these essential oils have in
international institutions and publish academic papers. Atcombating bacteria and killing micro-organism such as
the same time, he aims to educate the public onmold, yeast and fungus (MIC).
aromatherapy.The 2nd experiment results proved that these
The Effects of Essential Oils on Micro-organismsessential oils have compositions that are mild, low in
Present in the Airtoxins, do not irritate skin and have low light-sensitivity.
Between August 2000 and September 2002, Bel'AirThe Ames test also proved that these essential oils do
Bio-tech Research Centre carried out a researchno go through major changes before and after the
program to determine whether Green tea essential oil,combustion process. What is more encouraging is that
Ginseng essential oil, Eucalyptus essential oil andbefore the test, these essential oils already contained
Lavender essential oil have an influence on the amountbeneficial compositions, but after the test, these
of micro-organism (mold, yeast, fungus, bacteria) in thebeneficial compositions diffused into the air and these
air. The researchers conducted tests on Green Teaare what the body needs exactly. Moreover, the body
essential oil, Ginseng essential oil, Eucalyptus essentialdoes not easily absorb these compositions in our daily
oil and Lavender essential oil. They burned these 4activities.
types of essential oils in a sealed room, and recordedThese experiments carried out by Bel'Air and Yang
readings at different time intervals. Readings wereMing University have achieved positive results, and we
taken at the beginning of experiment (0 min), during thehope that in future, there will be more of such
experiment (30, 50, 70, 90 mins) and after theexperiments to make the benefits known to
experiment (30, 60, 90,120,150,180,210 mins). Theconsumers.
experiment was repeated several times based on aThe Aims of Bio-technology in the Medical Applications
sample of 500 litres of air. The experiment resultsof Aromatherapy
proved that:1. To determine the plant essences and their scientific
Green Tea has 90% effectiveness in killing bacteria;applications, their methods of production and
and 61% effectiveness in killing fungus.theirrelevance for health therapy and health
Ginseng has 90% effectiveness in killing bacteria; andmaintenance.
62% effectiveness in killing fungus.2. To establish the concepts and the operational
Eucalyptus has 52% and 48% effectivenessmodels.
respectively, as pertaining to the items above.3. To bring aromatherapy into the realm of medical
Lavender has 66% and 71% effectivenesstreatments.
respectively, as pertaining to the items above.4. To employ modern methods of making new
Professor Tsai expressed excitement and interest inmedicinal products in setting up aromatherapy
such results, because the experiment proved thatprocesses, so as to develop aromatic medical science.
Sathelyne Bel'Air's aromatherapy products indeed