Could essential oils replace antibiotics?

Recently, I wrote a post about the massive changes that are unfolding in the field of medical research.

Here is one: more and more pre-eminent scientists are researching the effects and composition of natural substances that mankind have used for millennia. In 2015, the Nobel Prize went to a piece of research that examined how the extract of a Chinese medicinal herb could cure malaria. Dismissed by Western medicine for a long time, essential oils (and the scientists who rediscover them) are making more and more headlines.

One of the hottest topics is antibiotics – which could become obsolete in the near future. The limitless and reckless use of antibiotics has spurred the revolution of ever more resistant bacteria. As a result, humanity will have to find new ways to cure diseases which have hitherto been cured with antibiotics. And the clock is ticking fast.

Experts predict that antibiotics could become virtually useless as soon by the end of this century – and finding an effective replacement for them is fast becoming one of the paramount challenges of 21^st century medicine.

Another cause for concern is global industrial (and less than animal-friendly) husbandry – an industry struggling to supply the ever-growing human population with cheap meat and other animal products. Without the use of antibiotics in agriculture, mankind will face difficult choices: either millions of people have to go vegan or new solutions have to be found to replace antibiotics.

A number of research teams and institutions are examining the use of medicinal herbs in conventional medicine – so in a couple of decades we may see oregano-, cinnamon-, rosemary-, thyme-, cloves- and tea tree essential oils replace conventional disinfectants, nutrition supplements, feedstock and antibacterial substances.

Read about it in more detail here: http://goo.gl/DhghCM