Blood-Brain Barrier And Essential Oils
By David Stewart, Ph. D.

A question has come up regarding the so-called Blood-Brain Barrier and the use of essential oils. It would be more accurate to consider it a sieve or filter through which only molecules of a certain size or smaller can penetrate. Most of the molecules of the substances used in chemotherapy are too large to pass through the Blood-Brain Filter, which is why doctors say that chemo doesn't work on brain cancer.  Some of the molecules get through, but not the whole suite of drugs intended.

When it comes to essential oils, small molecules are what they are made of. That is why they are aromatic. The only way something can be aromatic is for the molecules to be so small that they readily leap from the surface of the substance and circulate in the air so they can enter our noses and be detected as odor and smell. That is why massage oils (fatty oils) such as corn, peanut, safflower, walnut, almond, olive, and other oils pressed from seeds are not aromatic.  Sure, they have a smell, but you can't smell them across the room in minutes (or seconds) as you can when one opens a bottle of peppermint or other essential oil.

Back to the so called Blood Brain Barrier. Essential oils are mixtures of dozens, even hundreds, of constituents all of which are primarily composed of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. The molecules of Essential oils are all very tiny and most of which can pass through the Blood Brain Barrier. All essential oils are principally composed of a class of organic compounds built of "isoprene units"; where each unit is a set of five connected carbon atoms with some hydrogens attached. Molecules built of isoprene units are all classified as "terpenes"; Terpenes are what make essential oils unique in the world of oily substances.

Terpenes with molecules containing only one isoprene unit are called Phenylpropanoids and are found in Clove (90%), Basil (75%), Cinnamon (73%), and to a lesser extent in most other essential oils. Among other functions, Phenylpropanoids cleanse receptor sites. 

Sesquiterpenes (substances containing three isoprene units or fifteen carbon atoms per molecule) are principally found in Cedarwood (98%), Vetiver (97%), Sandalwood (90%), Black Pepper (74%), Patchouli (71%), Myrrh (62%), Ginger (59%), as well as Vitex, German Chamomile, Spikenard, Galbanum, and Frankincense (8%). Sesquiterpenes deprogram miswritten codes in the DNA.

Monoterpenes are substances containing two isoprene units or ten carbon atoms per molecule. Monoterpenes are found in most essential oils, but especially in Spruce (38%), Valerian (34%), and Juniper (14%) as well as Cistus, Fir and Pine. Among other functions, Monoterpenes reprogram the DNA at a cellular level which is why healings via essential oils are often permanent, I.E., the miswritten codes in the cells has been corrected.

There are also Diterpenes (substances containing four isoprene units or twenty carbon atoms per molecule), as well as Triterpenes and tetraperpenes containing thirty and forty carbons er molecule each respectively. 

All of the Terpen family of molecules are small enough to penetrate the blood brain barrier. Sesquiterpene molecules have the capability of carrying oxygen, like hemoglobin does in the blood. Hence they are oxygenating to human tissue and are especially effective in fighting cancer cells which cannot tolerate oxygen. 

The combination (triple punch) of Phenylpropanoids, Sesqueterpenes, and Monoterpenes is especially healing with cancers and every other type of illness. That's because with this combination you:  (1) first clean the receptor sites allowing proper transfer of hormones and proper information between cells;  (2) second, you deprogram or erase the wrong information from cells stored in the MRNA and DNA; and  (3) third, you reprogram the cells with the correct information so they can function properly and effect a permanent healing.  To one extent or another, most essential oils contain some of all three of these three types of terpens which is the secret to their healing power.

So there you have it in a nutshell: The Blood-Brain Barrier and the chemistry of how Essential Oils work to support the body's own healing intelligence.

The information expressed above is from what I have learned from Dr. Gary Young in his Level 1 and Level 2 seminars as well as the Essential Desk Reference, Dr. Young's other writings and tapes, and other Organic Chemistry texts I have studied.

David Stewart, Ph.D.
Rt. 4, Box 646
Marble Hill, MO 63764
www.raindroptraining.com