Introduction
Human clinical trials are the gold standard of scientific research because they provide directly generalizable data about how the subject under study affects us in the real world. Human clinical trials are also extremely difficult to get approved, organized, conducted, and are also expensive. Although there are more than 10,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies on essential oils published in PubMed indexed journals (the most widely used search engine for life science and biomedical science research), a very small percentage of these are clinical trials in humans. As the first name in essential oil science, doTERRA is doing something about it. With its second published human clinical in 2018 (more are currently in the works), doTERRA examined the effects of its proprietary AromaTouch Hand Technique(ATHT) and two of our most soothing essential oils, Deep Blue Soothing Blend and Copaiba. The effects were more powerful than any of doTERRA's scientists could have imagined.
The study
doTERRA scientists recruited 36 participants for the recently published AromaTouch® Hand Technique clinical study, and divided them into a treatment and control group. After a thorough evaluation by a physician and documentation of baseline measurements, including a questionnaire and several functional assessments, all participants received the ATHT twice daily for five consecutive days. The treatment group received the ATHT with a combination of doTERRA Deep Blue Soothing Blend and Copaiba, while the control group received the same protocol with Fractionated Coconut Oil.
To prevent participants and ATHT administrators from using their sense of smell to determine which treatment group the participant was in, both participant and administrator wore surgical masks to which a drop of lemon essential oil had been applied. Both the participant and the administrator wore the masks during each ATHT session. Furthermore, blue dye and Spearmint essential oil were added to the fractionated coconut oil to mimic the light blue color and aroma of the preparation used in the treatment group.
At the end of the five-day trial period, all participants were reassessed with the same questionnaire and functional tests. Participants in the treatment group reported clinically relevant improvements in metrics evaluated on the questionnaire and statistically significant progress in functional tests compared to the control group, providing robust evidence of the efficacy of Deep Blue Soothing Blend and Copaiba and the patented ATHT application method. doTERRA scientists are currently planning future clinical studies to further assess the benefits of other CPTG® essential oils and blends and the patented AromaTouch application techniques on various markers of health and well-being.
Conclusion
The results of the AromaTouch® Hand Technique clinical study represent a totally new area of research, not only for doTERRA, but also for the essential oil industry as a whole. doTERRA science validates what we know from years of use and the breadth of in vitro and in vivo research and makes it relevant and generalizable in the real world, so you can be sure you are using and sharing the highest quality and most effective essential oils in the industry.