Table 2.
Essential oils with proconvulsive activity.
| EO or Constituent | Study Type | Dosage | Effects | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,8-Cineole (isolated constituent) | animal | 0.5 mL/kg | Induced tonic-clonic seizures | [71] |
|
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| Blend (rosemary EO and camphor constituent) | human adult man | unknown, applied topically | Breakthrough (relapse) seizure in an epileptic patient after 8 years free of seizures | [72] |
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| Blend (eucalyptus, pine, and thyme EOs) | human (12 months) | unknown, applied topically | Three episodes of tonic convulsions lasting one minute each. Hundreds of similar seizures the next day. As a result, the patient developed long-term status epilepticus and showed developmental delay for at least 4 years following the event. | [73] |
|
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| Camphor (isolated constituent) | animal | 0.5 mL/kg | Induced tonic-clonic seizures | [71] |
|
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| Camphor oil | human (3 years) | about 1 teaspoon taken internally | Generalized tonic-clonic seizure and respiratory depression within 20 minutes | [74] |
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| Camphor oil | human (15 months) | about 20 mL | Generalized tonic-clonic seizure after 10 minutes | [74] |
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| Fennel oil | human adult woman | unknown but large amount | Tonic-clonic seizure lasting 45 minutes | [75] |
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| Hyssop oil | animal | 0.13 g/kg; 1.25 g/kg | Caused convulsions; lethal dose | [76] |
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| Pennyroyal oil | human infant | 25 ng/mL blood pulegone content and 41 ng/mL blood menthofuran content | Epileptic encephalopathy in and liver failure | [77] |
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| Sage oil | animal | 0.5g/kg; 3.2 g/kg intraperitoneally | Caused convulsions; lethal dose | [76] |
|
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| Sage oil | human (53 yrs) | 10 drops taken internally | Tonic-clonic seizure followed by 15-minute coma | [73] |
|
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| Sage oil | human (54 yrs) | mouthful-sized amount taken internally | Tonic-clonic seizure, unconscious for 1/2 hour following the seizure | [73] |
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| Sage oil | human (33 days) | unknown, taken internally | 33-day old boy experienced tonic-clonic convulsions lasting 20 minutes | [78] |
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| Sage oil | human (5 1/2 yrs) | 5 mL taken internally | Generalized tonic-clonic seizure lasting 10 minutes | [78] |
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| Sage, cedar, thuja, hyssop | human (multiple cases) | unknown, taken internally | Tonic-clonic convulsions in humans | [76] |
|
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| Thuja (arborvitae) oil | human (7-months) | unknown, applied topically | 8 tonic-clonic seizures at different times | [79] |
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| Thujone (isolated constituent) | animal | 25 mg/kg; 50 mg/kg | All animals experienced seizures; all animals died | [80] |