Lavender and Tea Tree create Media Furor

The publication of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine [subscription required for the full paper] and a related article in the NIH News have led to a media frenzy about Lavender and Tea Tree oils.

A study published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that repeated topical use of products containing lavender oil and/or tea tree oil may cause prepubertal gynecomastia, a rare condition resulting in enlarged breast tissue in boys prior to puberty, and for which a cause is seldom identified.

The story has been picked up by the news services and the article has gained widespread coverage and is being published in local papers.

This information has been around since the paper was first presented at a conference last summer, and Tony Burfield covered it thoroughly in Cropwatch Newletter #4. As he concludes:

So…. any estrogenic activity of tea tree & lavender oils is not much supported in the literature by historical or anecdotal observations (apart from some very loose association with lavender), and no active substances found in lavender & tea tree oils causing these alleged associations readily spring to mind. It will be interesting therefore to see if the findings of Henley & Reiter can be independently confirmed with pure essential oils 100% derived from the named botanical source, and a direct biological mechanism derived for the process. Further, since other common natural phytochemicals such as linoleic acid have also been suggested as weakly estrogenic agents, it will be interesting to see how widespread the causes of this medical phenomena might potentially be - we are aware for example of the use of the seeds of Black Cumin Nigella sativa L. to plump out women’s breasts in Egyptian times (Genders 1986), but we have no information on whether the essential oil of Black Cumin has similar properties

The study is also being discussed on the Blogs.  Abel Pharmboy at Terra Sigillata seems to like the study, but points out that:

the offending components of each oil are not investigated or mentioned by name. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia or L. officinalis) and tea tree (Melaleuca alternafolia) are among the most highly investigated medicinal and fragrance plants because their monoterpene compounds largely smell good and have been linked with anti-anxiety (lavender) and anti-bacterial (tea tree) effects. Howes et al. surveyed the estrogenic activity of many essential oil constituents and found that some compounds were weak estrogen agonists while others antagonized estradiol.

Comments?

Blogmistress comments: NIEHS researcher and co-author of the study,  Ken Korach, PhD, covered his you-know-what: "Although we found an association between exposure to these essential oils and gynaecomastia, further research is needed to determine the prevalence of prepubertal gynaecomastia in boys using products containing lavender and tea tree oils."  Methinks the paucity of conclusive scientific evidence and flawed research should nip this in the bud.  However, probably not.   I've been watching Senator Henry Waxman's Oversight Committee, in which findings reveal political influence on scientists to water down their findings on climate change, along with disturbing revelations about the pressure on FDA scientists.  More about that as we move along.