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          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
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          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
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        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
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        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
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      • GARDEN DESIGN >
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        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
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        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
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        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
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      • SOIL compost >
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        • SOIL pH guide
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        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
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        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
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        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!
  • HOME
    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • 2024 Master Gardener training
    • Demonstration GARDEN
  • Request Our Help
    • Horticulture Help Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
    • Speaker
  • Garden Zone
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
  • Consider a Donation
  • OTHER
    • Gardening Articles >
      • VEGETABLES >
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
        • Peas Edible Landscape
        • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
        • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
        • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
        • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
        • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
        • Tomato Primer the basics
        • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
        • Grow Lettuce
        • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
        • Okra is more than a vegetable
        • Hill of Beans
        • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
      • HERBS >
        • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
        • Herbs Uses, History And Cultivation >
          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
          • Basil Essential Oil for Memory & Concentration
          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
      • FOOD Health Organics >
        • Eat Local
        • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
        • Carolina Produce
        • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
        • Grow Top 6 Veggies
        • Okra Southern Food
        • Sweet Potatoes
        • Let Us Eat Lettuce
        • Green Leafy Friends
        • Canning Basics 101
        • Snappy Green Beans
        • Tasty Peas
        • Gardener Skin Care
        • Summer Heat Safety
        • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
      • BULBS, Rhizomes >
        • Coo-Coo for Crocus
        • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
        • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
        • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
        • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
        • Silly Scilla! in September
        • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
      • NATIVE Plants >
        • Natives With Winter Interest
        • Native Plants for All Seasons
        • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
        • Native Plants With Spring Interest
        • Tough Plants for Tough Times
      • Invasive Exotics
      • FAVORITE Plants >
        • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
        • Spring Woodland Gift
        • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
        • How to Stop A Car!
      • FRUIT >
        • D - Easy Fruit Growing
      • PERENNIAL Flowers >
        • Gardening Basics
        • Seeds for Winter Sowing
        • Right Plant Right Place
        • Black Lenten Rose
        • Trillium
        • Amur Adonis
        • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
        • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
        • Chrysanthemum
        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
        • Toadflax Canon J. Went
        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
        • Pruning Boxwoods
        • Paperbush Edgeworthia
        • Camellia Primer
        • Spider Azalea
        • Garden Borders
      • LAWNS Groundcover
      • GARDEN DESIGN >
        • Rain Gardening
        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
        • Eastern Red Cedar
        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
        • Dogwood Primer
        • Growing Bamboo
        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
        • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
      • SOIL compost >
        • SOIL in the Piedmont
        • SOIL pH guide
        • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
        • RABBITS defend your garden
        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
        • MOLES what works
        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!

 Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments for skin Conditions and respiratory Systems

by Tonya Banbury
Essential oils [EO] are highly concentrated compounds extracted from plants.  Playing a very important role in plant metabolism, EOs serve to attract beneficial insects as pollinators, which ensures plant survival and defense against harmful microorganisms.  EOs allow plants to send and receive signals and communicate with one another.  As gardeners, these statements are no stretch for our belief systems—we are well aware of the powers inherent in the plant kingdom.  
Eucalyptus is another example of different species delivering different effects in the world of aromatherapy.  
There are hundreds of varieties of Eucalyptus around the world, each producing a different essential oil, so the common name may not clearly identify the plant source.  

Eucalyptus radiata, E. globulus and E. citriodora are three we’ll discuss for their medicinal values.  Treatments for respiratory and skin conditions are commonalities.  Both globulus and radiata species are good expectorants suitable for treating cold symptoms, and are often blended together with other oils in recipes for colds and bronchitis.  Delivery by diffuser or steam is the best system and clinical studies have shown that, for inhalation, only minimal dosages should be used, just enough to produce a very faint scent. 

Eucalyptus globulous, probably the most recognized and easily obtainable, is also a valuable antimicrobial agent.  Adding a few drops on a soapy sponge is a great way to wipe down a bathroom or kitchen.  

Eucalyptus radiata has such a broad spectrum of action that it has become the number one all-purpose Eucalyptus, treating coughs, sniffles and hoarse scratchy throats.  Chemically found to be antiviral, expectorant and anti-inflammatory, it could be considered an aromatherapist’s designer oil since it also has an attractive fragrance and is reasonably priced. 

Eucalyptus citriodora with its high citral content, make it a good choice for treating herpes outbreaks, especially when blended with E. radiata and Geranium oil and applied undiluted to the affected area.  The citronellal found in E. citriodora is among the components with the strongest sedative effect when given orally.  In the laboratory, these oils had the best therapeutic effect when administered at the lowest possible doses, a fact that is consistent with experiences in aromatherapy.  TB 2010 
Bay Laurel
Sources: Advanced Aromatherapy: The Science of Essential Oil Therapy by Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt; 
Emily Via at her Web site: www.eoils.net.
Tonya Banbury garden author
Tonya Banbury is an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer with Mecklenburg County, NC.  Her series of articles on Medicinal Herbs: Essential Oils is based upon documented research and personal usage experience.  


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