Does the ubiquitous use of essential oil-based products promote indoor air quality? A critical literature review

Volatile organic compound and particulate matter emissions from an ultrasonic essential oil diffuser

“…These data suggest that VOCs released during ultrasonic diffusion have the potential adsorb to indoor surfaces and emit back into the air over time, even with the extensive cleaning procedures employed during the experiment. This adsorptive/desorptive behavior has been shown to occur on a variety of indoor surfaces, and these findings imply that it could be a significant factor in indoor VOC exposure when ultrasonic essential oil diffusers are used 1,7,44–48 . The present study did not use blanks before each experimental run to quantify how effective the cleaning practices used were at removing sorbed particles and VOCs from the chamber walls, which should be done in future experiments.…”

“…The relative concentrations of VOCs measured in eucalyptus oil were close to the expected trends. Eucalyptus was expected to be composed of eucalyptol at 20%–64% w/w, and the measured value was slightly higher at 69% w/w 1,6,39,40 . Similarly, α‐pinene was expected to make up 4%–5% w/w and was measured at 7% w/w 1,6,39,40 …”

“…The chemical makeups of the essential oils have been extensively studied; however, the composition of each oil can vary as a function of genetic, environmental, and extractive parameters. 1,[34][35][36] The average and normalized VOC outputs over 15 min for each of the oils are displayed in Figure 1 and Figure 2, respectively, and a table of values for the output can be found in Table S2 and Table S3 in the SI. Chemical information about the VOCs measured can be found in Table S4 in the SI.…”

“…Indoor scenting sources using combustion (such as candles and incense) have received significant attention in the literature 2,3,6,12–14 . Particular attention has been paid to the physical and psychological effects of exposure to the PM and VOCs produced by these sources 1,13,15,16 . Evidence suggests that the use of essential oil vapors can induce various positive health effects, ranging from psychological impacts on anxiety to physical antimicrobial action 6,17–20 However, the direct and secondary emissions of indoor scenting products are also known to have negative health impacts 16 .…”

Efficacy of anti-microbial gel vapours against aerosolised coronavirus, bacteria, and fungi

“…This resulted in approximately 87% reduction in influenza viral titres, but only 25-42% reduction in M13 titres [27]. Bioactive compounds are present in the essential oils at significantly greater concentration compared to the antimicrobial gel used in this study, and there are concerns about the impact of vapouring these indoor and their impact on human occupants [53]. The low concentration of the active compounds present in the antimicrobial gel are unlikely to impact human health.…”