The Bollocks Page: Books

3. From Clinical Aromatherapy in Nursing by Jane Buckle pub. Arnold 1997

p143: terpenes may have analgesic properties…Paracymene (sic) is found in…

Comment: para-Cymene is an aromatic chemical not a "terpene" (in the sense intended in the text, specifically it is not a monoterpene hydrocarbon).

p137-8 American Wormseed….produces an effective essential oil which has been used for hundreds of years and appear safe enough for children. (This last statement is referenced Erichsen-Brown C. (1979) Medicinal and other uses of North American Plants. New York: Dover.) …there is confusion between C. ambrosioides L. var. anthelminticum and Chenopodium botrys…

Comment: I am worried that this may be irresponsible advice, and hope that readers do not follow it with regard to any intended human use. The book itself relates to UK Clinical Aromatherapy practice, and Chenopodium oil from C. ambrosioides L. var. anthelminticum is prohibited from retail sale or supply in the UK under Act of Parliament 1978 (Retail Sale or Supply of Herbal Remedies) Order 1977. It can of course (in theory) be obtained, subject to certain conditions being fulfilled, as a medicinal product from a registered pharmacist.

Secondly I have seen ascaridole contents in C. ambrosioides L. var. anthelminticum in traded oils external to the UK vary from 15 to 70%. Six drops of wormseed oil have proved fatal to children Mele A. 1952 "Acute fatal poisoning with Chenopodium oil" Folia Medica 35, 955-963

Thirdly, IFRA (International Fragrance Research Association) have suggested that Chenopodium oil should not be used as a fragrance ingredient.

This Bollocks page does seek to be fair however, and in the author’s defence there would appear to be a distinction between Chenopodium ambrosioides var. ambrosioides which is low in ascaridole (the variety to which I think Jane Buckle was alluding to) and American Wormseed oil Chenopodium ambrosioides L. var. anthelminticum (L.) Gray (syn. Teloxys ambrosioides (L.) W.A. Weber as noted in A.O.Tucker & M.J. Maciarello "Some toxic herbs in North America." In Food Flavours, Formation, Analysis and Packaging Influences. Eds E.T. Contis, C-T Ho, C.J. Mussinan, T.H. Parliament, F. Shahidi and A. M. Spanier, 401-414 Elsevier. Amsterdam (1998). The information in this paragraph obtained from B.M. Lawrence "Progress in Essential Oils" Perf & Flav. 24 Nov/Dec 1999 p45-6.

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