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Pharmaceutical Drug Interactions or Contraindications

For those who are taking pharmaceuticals, it is important to know how using natural "remedies" might interact or contradict their effect. I offer the following information in an effort to help you make an informed, responsible decision about whether or not to use essential oils alongside allopathic medications.

Price writes in Aromatherapy for Health Professionals: "Essential oils are known to be active: they gain access to cells by virtue of being fat soluble and are metabolized by the body. As active agents they may react with other drugs present in the body, although there has been no evidence so far that would imply any significant adverse reaction, and essential oils have been used together with allopathic drugs successfully in hospitals." Price continues: "Until laboratory investigations into possible reactions between essential oils and other drugs have been carried out, it is possible only to surmise what may happen."¹

David Stewart quotes from Dr. Jean Valnet: "[Valnet] mentions that 'some essences have been found to complement the action of antibiotics.' He gives Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia) as an example of an oil that 'will increase the activity of streptomycin and penicillin.' Valnet also mentions that some oils containing aldehydes and ketones can 'inactivate antibiotics.' Other than these examples, Valnet does not discuss any other essential oil/drug interactions." Oils high in aldehydes (citral, citronellal cinnamic and decanal) include Cinnamon Bark, Lemongrass, May Chang, Melissa, Orange and Ginger. Oils high in ketones (menthone and camphor) include Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage and Spike Lavender.

Stewart continues: "The fact that Valnet only briefly mentions them while Pénoël and Friedmann, two other medical doctors, do not mention them at all in their books, suggests that adverse interactions between drugs and oils is not a serious problem - hardly worth mentioning."²

A "dose" of an essential oil, which is a combination of a number of components found in a whole plant, is far less than a single, concentrated dose of a single component found in pharmaceuticals. An essential oil provides a safer "dose" but may take longer to resolve the issue than a synthetic drug.³

All substances applied topically or taken internally must be metabolized (processed) by the body so that the individual cells can thrive. Metabolism and detoxification is a combination of both breaking down material and filtering out the toxic or unusable material. All that we eat, drink and apply to our skin including drugs, herbs and essential oils must go through this process. Detoxification mainly takes place in the liver, which removes the unusable or toxic substance from the blood, breaks it down and ushers it to the kidneys or intestines to be eliminated. The rate of detoxification determines how often a drug should be taken.

There are variables to this detoxification rate, and the rate can be affected by other substances the person eats or applies topically. Tisserand writes: "It is difficult to predict the probability of essential oil interactions with drugs, as a wide array of mechanisms could be involved . . . . Detailed information is scarce in most cases, but interactions with enzymes may be common. Some essential oil components [not the whole, but a single, isolated constituent] increase the production of certain metabolic enzymes. This action is referred to as enzyme induction. Induction of a particular enzyme may increase the rate at which a medication is metabolized and thereby decreases its blood levels and therapeutic actions. Inhibitors of drug metabolizing enzymes would have the opposite effect, causing blood levels to rise, and possibly increasing any side effects."⁶

Grapefruit?
Research shows that grapefruit juice blocks a special enzyme in the wall of the intestine that prevents many drugs from being absorbed into the body, making it easier for these medications to pass from the gut into the body, raising the blood levels of these drugs, which can create dangerous, toxic effects. So the question is asked, "What about the essential oil of Grapefruit?" You cannot equate the use of a whole herb or fruit with the use of an essential oil. Essential oils are only a small fraction of the whole plant. They are only the volatile aromatic molecules, which is typically less than 1% of the plant. Grapefruit juice is from the meat of the fruit, while essential oils are expressed or distilled from the rind. They are not one and the same.

I have no personal experience using essential oils with pharmaceuticals, but I do know of people who have found that they could use both and then wean themselves off of drugs that they have relied on for years. This territory has many variables, so the responsibility for how to go about using both and/or weaning off has to be with the user. I wish I could be of more help on this issue, but at this point, this is the extent of what I have to offer. Although there is very little research on actual drug interactions with essential oils, we are aware that some individual components of essential oils may slow down the process or potentiate it. The following information is noted by Tisserand to be "theoretical cautions." Also included are comments by David Stewart and Rhiannon Harris.