Props to Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO), the company that has popularized "Thieves" as a natural alternative to chemical alcohol-based sanitizers. Their blend is a patented mixture of cinnamon bark, clove, lemon, rosemary and eucalyptus oils. I have adapted this blend of oils for use as a DIY hand sanitizer, adding 1-2 drops of each oil (but 5 drops of the lemon oil - or grapefruit or orange, if you prefer) to a small dispenser bottle filled with filtered water and 1 tsp aloe vera gel. We use it at the Whole Child Center and it's been the feature of my last 2 Earth Day presentations at my children's school. We even made a cute how-to video.
The origin of this blend is rumored to date back to the Middle Ages.
"As the bubonic plague decimated Europe in the year 1413, four thieves were captured and charged with robbing the dead and dying victims. When the thieves were tried, the magistrate offered leniency if they would reveal how they resisted contracting the infection as they performed their gruesome acts. They explained that they were perfumers and spice traders and told of a special concoction of aromatic herbs, including cloves and rosemary, that they rubbed on their hands, ears, and temples."
Supposedly after confessing to King James of England, the thieves were summarily, um, silenced - but their secret lives on today.
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Research articles of note:
- 1. Lett Appl Microbiol. 2008 Sep;47(3):167-73.
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Comparison of bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity of 13 essential oils against strains with varying sensitivity to antibiotics.
Antibiology Laboratory, CHU Hospital Nord, Saint-Etienne, France.
AIMS: To compare the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity of 13 chemotyped essential oils (EO) on 65 bacteria with varying sensitivity to antibiotics. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-five bacterial strains were tested with two methods used for evaluation of antimicrobial activity (CLSI recommendations): the agar dilution method and the time-killing curve method. EO containing aldehydes (Cinnamomum verum bark and Cymbopogon citratus), phenols (Origanum compactum, Trachyspermum ammi, Thymus satureioides, Eugenia caryophyllus and Cinnamomum verum leaf) showed the highest antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) <2% (v/v) against all strains except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Alcohol-based EO (Melaleuca alternifolia, Cymbopogon martinii and Lavandula angustifolia) exhibited varying degrees of activity depending on Gram status. EO containing 1.8-cineole and hydrocarbons (Eucalyptus globulus, Melaleuca cajeputii and Citrus sinensis) had MIC(90%) > or = 10% (v/v). Against P. aeruginosa, only C. verum bark and O. compactum presented MIC < or =2% (v/v). Cinnamomum verum bark, O. compactum, T. satureioides, C. verum leaf and M. alternifolia were bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at concentrations ranging from to 0.31% to 10% (v/v) after 1 h of contact. Cinnamomum verum bark and O. compactum were bactericidal against P. aeruginosa within 5 min at concentrations <2% (v/v). CONCLUSIONS: Cinnamomum verum bark had the highest antimicrobial activity, particularly against resistant strains. Significance AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity of EO on nosocomial antibiotic-resistant strains.
PMID: 19552780 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- 2. J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 2009 May 25. [Epub ahead of print]
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The battle against multi-resistant strains: Renaissance of antimicrobial essential oils as a promising force to fight hospital-acquired infections.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Kiel, Germany; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
Hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to be major health concerns worldwide. Particularly problematic is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its ability to cause severe soft tissue, bone or implant infections. First used by the Australian Aborigines, Tea tree oil and Eucalyptus oil (and several other essential oils) have each demonstrated promising efficacy against several bacteria and have been used clinically against multi-resistant strains. Several common and hospital-acquired bacterial and yeast isolates (6 Staphylococcus strains including MRSA, 4 Streptococcus strains and 3 Candida strains including Candida krusei) were tested for their susceptibility for Eucalyptus, Tea tree, Thyme white, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Cinnamon, Grapefruit, Clove Bud, Sandalwood, Peppermint, Kunzea and Sage oil with the agar diffusion test. Olive oil, Paraffin oil, Ethanol (70%), Povidone iodine, Chlorhexidine and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) served as controls. Large prevailing effective zones of inhibition were observed for Thyme white, Lemon, Lemongrass and Cinnamon oil. The other oils also showed considerable efficacy. Remarkably, almost all tested oils demonstrated efficacy against hospital-acquired isolates and reference strains, whereas Olive and Paraffin oil from the control group produced no inhibition. As proven in vitro, essential oils represent a cheap and effective antiseptic topical treatment option even for antibiotic-resistant strains as MRSA and antimycotic-resistant Candida species.
PMID: 19473851 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Dear Dr. Rosen,
I repeatedly tried to get a historical reference for the thieves story (and other stories the Young Living organization disseminates) from YL distributors with no avail. If you have a close connection to the organization, maybe you will succeed. Otherwise one needs to assume that these are just stories - good for business but without historical evidence.
Most recently one of their distributors quoted on his web site French research which claimed that scenting the ambient air kills systemic infections. Again my request for the reference stayed unanswered.
By the way, cinnamon bark is a very aggressive oil and needs to be used with caution. There are much milder highly germicidal oils.
Please contact me through my web site.
Christoph Streicher, PhD
www.amrita.net
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1607660421 | September 09, 2009 at 12:59 PM