Essential Oil-Related Brain Disorders: An Unexplored Under-recognized Conundrum

Essential oils are obtained from a plant or its parts by various extraction and concentration techniques. The word essential is a misnomer and denotes “essence or concentrate” of the plant or its parts and not essential for human beings. These essential oils are omnipresent especially in various balms, ointments, cosmetic products, toothpaste, and over-the-counter medications including those of complementary and alternative systems. Essential oils from certain plants have brain stimulatory properties especially those of camphor and eucalyptus. These pro-convulsant essential oils may induce or provoke neuropsychiatric disorders like seizure, epilepsy, migraine, cluster headache, and anxiety disorders and may also be addictive. As most physicians are unaware of the side effects of these essential oils, they are unable to recognize and connect these neuropsychiatric disorders with essential oils. In this chapter, we will be exploring the probable scientific relationships between these brain stimulatory essential oils and neuropsychiatric disorders.