July 12, 2023

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a chronic condition that occurs due to an injury or disease of the somatosensory system. Generally, Neuropathic pain affects 7%–10% of the world's population and its prevalence is likely to increase with ageing, cancer survival and other chronic disease. The currently available drugs used for the management of NP are inadequate due to poor efficacy and tolerability. Anxiety, depression and other mood disorders are comorbidities that characterize about 34% of patients with Neuropathic pain, extensively affecting the patient's quality of life. However, there are no effective and safe treatments that can deal with the symptoms and comorbidity of Neuropathic pain. An increasing number of patients choose alternative medicine to relieve the symptoms of various pathological processes, including pain and aromatherapy, consisting in the medicinal uses of essential oils extracted from aromatic plants, is one of the most used. Several clinical studies have reported that massage or inhalation with selected essentials oils reduced symptoms associated to pain and anxiety.

Ylang-ylang essential oil is obtained from the flowers of the tropical tree Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook. f. & Thomson (family Annonaceae). It is generally used as fragrance and is approved for food use by US Food and Drug Administration. The chemical composition of Ylang-ylang essential oil has been reported in several phytochemical studies and the main constituents of Ylang-ylang essential oil include monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and phenylpropanoids. Traditionally, different parts of C. odorata plants have been used to treat fever, asthma, and inflammatory pain and it is commonly used in aromatherapy for improving cognitive function and reducing anxiety. One of the great things about essential oils is that they frequently attack the emotional responses we have to pain as well as the pain itself. This was shown in a preclinical model of neuropathic pain when oral administration (roughly 4 drops in a human dose) of ylang ylang relieved not only the neuropathic pain but the anxiety associated with it. Other essential oils can be helpful as well when they are used topically such as frankincense, copaiba, peppermint, vetiver, and geranium