Advancing scientific research
Research and development at Pranarôm is the beating heart of the laboratory. Since the beginning, this is where both product quality criteria and the development of new therapeutic ranges are created.
We have become a scientific point of reference, thanks to a comprehensive research programme and partnerships with the best universities, hospitals and research centres in Europe.
— Sergio Calandri
PubMed, the world’s largest search engine for scientific articles, lists more than 25,000 works on or with essential oils. Ninety per cent of them are less than 20 years old. Scientific research on aromatherapy is growing rapidly and every day brings further proof of its effectiveness, or new avenues to find promising solutions to sometimes very complex health problems, such as the treatment of cancers or bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
One objective: to provide tangible proof of the effectiveness of essential oils
Pranarôm is one of the pioneers in essential oil research. Abdesselam Zhiri, research director at Pranarôm, recalls: “In the 1990s, there was a lack of evidence of therapeutic, clinical and pharmacological effects of essential oils. To be credible, we gave ourselves every means to highlight tangible evidence of the effect of essential oils, in terms of their biological properties and their therapeutic indications.”
Ongoing research work at Pranarôm
There is no shortage of work to be done. Pranarôm has one of the most complete databases on scientific research into essential oils and aromatherapy:
fifty thousand scientific publications, more than a thousand books and summary manuals, encyclopaedias of traditional plant-based medicines, the main standards and current norms, etc.
The laboratory develops partnerships and has more than forty collaborations with the scientific and academic world. It launches numerous research projects and supervises theses. Pranarôm is interested in many subjects:
- the biological effects of essential oils
- to decipher their properties and indications;
- the mechanisms of action of essential oils
- to explain how they work;
- the effectiveness of essential oils to demonstrate their benefits,
- via tests, surveys and clinical studies conducted in collaboration with hospitals and nursing homes…
Pranarôm also undertakes extensive research on the toxicity of essential oils, to ensure their safety of use, going so far as to establish genetic toxicity tests in collaboration with Spanish, French and Moroccan universities.
In addition to human health, Pranarôm’s research also focuses on animal health, and even agronomy and agriculture, in partnership with companies in the field of agrobiotechnology, to find environmentally friendly alternatives to standard herbicides and pesticides.
An exciting and challenging research environment
In addition to the staggering number of publications and ongoing research on essential oils, the researchers’ enthusiasm is palpable.
Pascal Debauche, a doctor of science, notes the anti-viral action and “disconcerting effectiveness” of Tea Tree essential oil against N1H1 “and this, at a concentration of only 0,0006%” he points out, “and it’s not even the most powerful essential oil!”
Dominique Baudoux cites recent work in antibiotic therapy: the combination of an antibiotic and an essential oil has overcome resistant bacteria. “We should not be overly surprised of a future in which a Nobel Prize is awarded to a research team manipulating essential oils”, he says, looking to the future.
In this stimulating context, Pranarôm continues its daily quest for new areas of application for its products, and publishes the results of its work in renowned international journals, to continue to help as many patients as possible.
40 partnerships
and academic collaborations
More than
30 publications by Pranarôm
in renowned international journals
25 theses
and supervised papers
Knowledge about aromatherapy is constantly expanding. We must be ever more rigorous, provide evidence and publications. We keep our skills up to date and remain on the lookout for new developments, which is also the role of our scientific department.
— Cécile Adant
innovating to make aromatherapy
accessible to all
Innovation means constantly seeking to improve our products, and listening to what consumers have to say about their needs and uses. At Pranarôm, innovation is part of our daily life.
Taking care of yourself naturally in 2021 is becoming instinctive: Three out of four French people say they have previously bought a natural health product in a pharmacy*. How can patients be better treated? How can we help them to use essential oils correctly and safely? How can we meet people’s needs in a simple way? These are the questions that drive the daily work of Pranarôm’s biomedical laboratory teams.
Guided by our founding values, our objective is to help people discover the therapeutic power of essential oils, to bring them daily well-being, to naturally preserve and improve their health.
— Jean-Pascal Delahaye, Marketing Director
The spirit of innovation at Pranarôm
On the product side, each development is based first and foremost on scientific research and the mastery of product composition. In terms of use, the Pranarôm teams, uncompromising about the quality of the products, pursue a permanent quest for simplicity, with the aim of offering access to the best essential oils to as many people as possible. “Not to mention the fact that our path will inevitably lead us towards one medicinal registration or other, a promise of a bright future for this approach initiated only a few decades ago,” says Dominique Baudoux.
Regular innovations over the years
As a pioneer in natural therapies and to meet the ever-increasing demand from users, Pranarôm creates ranges of finished, ready-to-use products.
There are many examples
2002 Aromaforce, a complete range for coughs and colds
With Aromaforce, Pranarôm has developed a complete range of products to prevent and treat respiratory diseases (colds, coughs, etc.): nasal spray, throat spray, syrup, respiratory balm, pastilles, sanitising spray for the home, etc.
2009 Oléocaps, a simple galenic form to treat yourselfr
Because it is essential to dose essential oils correctly, Pranarôm has developed galenic forms that make their use safer and simpler. Among them, the Oléocaps, pre-measured and ready to use capsules, which were a “never-seen-before” innovation on the market, when launched in 2009.
2012 PranaBB, the only approved range for babies from three months
Pranarôm is the first laboratory to develop a complete range (Prana BB) for babies from three months of age, based on the main needs of children: digestive comfort, respiratory balm, bruises and bumps gel, soothing blends for diffusers (for sleep, to cleanse the room, etc) and massage oils that stimulate natural defences or that promote relaxation and sleep.
And others
The list is far from exhaustive: essential oils still have an important role to play in global health issues and Pranarôm is committed to constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation.
- The Aromaself range
A complete range of DIY accessories, empty bottles and neutral bases for the creation of personalized essential and vegetable oil based cares and remedies.
Essential oils and covid-19 : a challenging year for Pranarôm
“The demand for essential oils has never higher than during the pandemic. The development of a range of products that reinforce protective measures has been our priority for over a year. However, urgency must never takes precedence over effectiveness and the safety of our consumers.
Agile, expert and motivated, our teams took up the challenge of creating a hydroalcoholic spray for hands and small surfaces in three months. We have expanded our “Protection” offer by diversifying the fragrances and formats, with hydroalcoholic gels that smell good and do not dry out the hands in the AROMAFORCE range. Finally, in September, children will return to school better protected thanks to the Aromaforce Junior range, composed of immune gums and a hydroalcoholic gel.
All these new products have been tested by an independent laboratory and are AFNOR certified.”
— Violaine Dengremont,
Pranarôm Marketing Manager
* Arcane Research study, Natural Health Products: Market trends and development opportunities, 2019.
Atmospheric diffusion of (essential) oils
Pranarôm is also a forerunner in the field of atmospheric diffusion,” explains Anne-Catherine Baudoux, Product Manager. “We were the first to propose ultrasonic diffusion, with essential oils suspended in water rather than by direct diffusion.
Beyond the olfactory pleasure, diffusion also helps to purify, cleanse and deodorise the air or to induce an atmosphere of relaxation.”
— Anne-Catherine Baudoux,
Product manager
Pranarôm develops exclusive diffusers with a contemporary design and also creates unique blends of essential oils for diffusion with harmonious and balanced fragrances.
