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15. Using Aroma to Fight Infection

In traditional medicine practiced by different cultures it is customary to burn plant parts and use the smoke for different purposes. Sometimes a whole house is fumigated to get rid of insects, pests and other disease bearing organisms. Fumigation of a house is particularly recommended if there is a sick person in the house or if there is epidemic in the neighbourhood. It is also possible to fumigate the body using special herbs or to inhale the vapour generated by putting plant parts into a bowl of hot water.  One may ask if there is any scientific rational for such practices and if there is anything in the smoke or the vapour that helps in fighting disease.  

Kebericho is the common Amharic name of a tuberous plant, known botanically as Echinops kebericho, which belongs to the family Asteraceae. It is an endemic plant of Ethiopia i.e. not known elsewhere. The rhizomes are sold in markets and are commonly used to fumigate homes. The smoke has a strong characteristic odour that lingers around for some time. Women use the smoke for body care and especially to protect themselves from diseases affecting them.

A chemical study conducted in the Department of Chemistry (Addis Ababa University) revealed that the main biologically active component of Kebericho is a compound called dehydrocostus lactone (DHCL). This compound is also the principal insecticidal and anticancer compound in a famous Japanese medicinal plant known as Mokko. It is interesting to note that two communities, one in Ethiopia and the other in Japan, separated by thousands of miles use two different plants that have the same bioactive compound. This author, using gas chromatography, established that the smoke of Kebericho contains DHCL, clearly substantiating the traditional way of using smoke as a vehicle to deliver bioactive substances.

Our second example is myrrh, Kerbe in Amharic, a gum-resin derived from the tree Commiphora myrrha. Myrrh is harvested from the wild, mainly from the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and also from Somalia. Like Kebericho its smoke is also used for different purposes including against diseases affecting women. The Somalis use smoke of myrrh to get rid of snakes and insects. Myrrh is exported to China, where it is used in Chinese. In 1996 Italian scientists discovered analgesic compounds from myrrh and published their results in the prestigious journal Nature. Ethiopian scientists, in a report published in the Dec. 2003 issue of SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science, found that myrrh, even at large doses, is not toxic to mice. These facts substantiate what aromatherapists, both traditional and modern, have been saying for ages i.e. use aroma to combat not only infections but also a variety of other diseases.

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