Aromatherapy With Essential Oils (PDQ) — Health Professional Version
National Cancer Institute (NIH)
National Cancer Institute's evidence-graded summary of aromatherapy: extraction chemistry, preclinical antimicrobial and sedative findings, and human trials for anxiety, nausea, sleep and pain, each scored by study design. Documents adverse effects and the weakness of most trial evidence.
More resources on Essential Oils
About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products (MSK Integrative Medicine)
Clinician-maintained database of over 300 botanicals and supplements, including monographs on lavender, tea tree and peppermint oil. Each entry summarizes constituents, proposed mechanism, clinical trial results, adverse reactions and herb-drug interactions, with references.
Essential Oils' Chemical Characterization and Investigation of Some Biological Activities: A Critical Review
Open-access review of essential oil chemistry: terpene biosynthesis through the mevalonate and shikimate pathways, extraction and GC-MS characterization, and assessment of reported antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities alongside the methodological caveats limiting those findings.
Chemistry of Aromatherapeutic Oils
Explains essential oil composition by functional group — terpenes, esters, aldehydes, ketones, phenols, oxides — alongside distillation and extraction methods, quality-control testing, and how constituents act on pharmacological targets. Includes composition charts for 89 oils and structural diagrams.
Tisserand Institute Safety Pages
Free safety hub covering dilution ratios by age and application area, infographics on skin sensitization and phototoxicity, hazard-versus-risk reasoning, bath and diffusion cautions, and a searchable database of adverse reactions reported by users and practitioners.
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils: A Map of the Evidence
Department of Veterans Affairs evidence map synthesizing 25 systematic reviews covering 171 trials across 26 conditions, plotting effect direction and reviewer confidence for inhaled and topical use. Finds moderate support for dysmenorrhea pain and insufficient evidence for most other claims.
Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals (2nd Edition)
Reference toxicology text covering 400 essential oil profiles and 206 constituent profiles, with maximum dermal concentrations, drug interactions, pregnancy and pediatric cautions, and roughly 4,000 citations. The standard authority practitioners cite for dilution limits and contraindications.