It is hard for me to put into words the feeling I left West Lafayette with after this event. The education we received and more importantly the group dynamics became what I consider one of the top events of my educational life.

The program was offered at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, one of the top two major agricultural and plant science universities in the USA. Purdue's Department of Horticulture established a research and educational program in aromatic, spice, and medicinal plants in 1984 and their Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy is internationally renown for its contributions to medicinal plant research. Although the first of its kind, this advanced program on essential oils was quite efficiently led by Dr. James Simon, whose expertise in aromatic and medicinal plants left no questions unanswered. James Simon is Head of Center for New Crops and Plant Products The program was in collaboration with Keith Shawe, Natural Research Institute (UK) and Charla Devereux, trans-Atlantic coordinator of Natural Oils Research Association (NORA).

The program focused on essential oil history, botany, ecology, chemistry, distillation, commercial production and marketing and provided instruction in the collection, preservation and improvement of aromatic plants; oil extraction; oil analysis and evaluation; the development of production and processing systems; standards of quality control; the oil trade; the development of industrial government-producer partnerships; electronic information retrieval systems; and new technologies impacting the industry. Training covered aromatic plant chemistry, biochemistry, extraction and processing and essential oil analysis. Definitely an in-depth and 'eye-opening' study of natural (and natural') oils and their plants, production, trading, & new crops.

The dynamic lecturers, Jim Simon and Keith Shawe, shared some very informative subjects. Jim Simon' topics included "From Ancient to Modern Methods of Distillation", "Cameroon bioprospecting: Ancistrocladius karupensis: A source of michellamine B, an anti-HIV agent from the Rain forest - a case study", "Commercial production of North American and selected tropical essential oil plants", and individual oil profiles. Keith Shawe, a botanist (UK) delivered powerful lectures on botanical and ecological issues in "The role of essential oils and aromatic plants in traditional cultures", "Taxonomy and distribution of essential oil bearing plants", the "Anatomy and function of essential oils glands in plants", the "Ecological importance of essential oils", "Environmental issues in developing countries and legislation" and the "Conflict of sustainable production versus over-exploitation" as seen in the case study of Rosewood. He also led us through the process of collection and preservation of aromatic plants, and mounting botanical specimens. In addition, Keith led a wonderful "Incense" lecture during which we burned some frankincense, myrrh and the rare and quite expensive Aquillaria malaccensis wood, commonly known as 'aloes' wood. Ben Alkire, (Purdue) presented a wonderful slide show and talk on "Essential oils of Indonesia" including showing oil samples of clove, nutmeg, vetiver and patchouli that he obtained while consulting with distillers there. Efraim Lewinson, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Israel, explained essential oil chemistry (with a wonderful accent!) in an understandable and fascinating manner In The Essential Oils lab practicum to follow, along with Purdue's Denys Charles, who patiently explained Gas Chromatography, graduate students Zhigang Hao and Liangli Yu led us through the procedures of steam distillation of peppermint oil, solvent extraction and analytical methods: TLC (Thin layer chromatography), boiling points, and specific gravity. etc. In addition, computer sessions included searching data bases, and Internet use for research.

Dr. Varro Tyler, (Purdue, Lilly Distinguished Professor of Pharmacognosy, author Herbs of Choice, The Honest Herbal), although well versed on the use of herbs in modern and traditional health care systems with his expertise in folkloric heritage and medicinal plant chemistry, admitted he had recently just ‘brushed up’ on Aromatherapy. He pointed out the lack of adequate scientific research, indicated by the small number of articles to be found in the literature and need for the profession and industry to unite and create standards for ourselves, perhaps, he suggested, following on the coat tails of the herbal industry.

Jim Simon assumed we worked like he does (6 a.m. to 2 a.m.!) and kept us busy the entire long days beginning at 7:45 AM. Field trips included the basil and peppermint fields, visit to a portable distillation unit on Purdue's research farm, commercial peppermint distillation, a botanical supply house and an essential oil supplier. Evenings held more lectures, banquets and surprises including a productive roundtable discussion led by Charla Devereux. Group discussion evolved into a group commitment to begin a serious endeavor, the results of which you may have heard about in the form of a letter to concerned persons to unite and create standards for education and oil quality (called the Purdue Initiative). Twenty five students, who originally brought an energy and wealth of enthusiasm which was inspiring, left after 6 days, very weary, but informed and stimulated with hope for the future of Aromatherapy.

Although the program was titled Essential Oils, 90% of the class were from the Aromatherapy profession/industry. Many were familiar faces to me and others were familiar names in the aromatherapy world. The group dynamics were some of the most powerful I have ever felt in a class. Because of this, many important connections were made and a commitment to carry Aromatherapy into the future. I definitely would recommend this course to everyone who is serious about Aromatherapy. Although if you do not have basic Chemistry (analytical, biochemistry) physiology, and basic botany under your belt, you may be lost!!! Do your homework before signing up for the next class (August, 1997). We also need to complete a research paper or project to be turned in by December, then we will meet again for Part Two in February.

In summary, although it is very hard to put into words, the feeling of joy I found there with the fellow students and the mutual respect and honoring of each other was overwhelming. This alone was worth the expense. And the commitment we all began, that to standardize the educational aspects and organize ourselves, was an important outcome. And we taught Purdue something about the Aromatherapy world while they taught us about theirs. On the other hand, we reinforced our knowledge that the scientific method, although often criticized in our Aromatherapy world, is extremely important and valid and it must be applied by all in this field if we are to unite with the world of complementary therapies. Just as I felt at the end of Purdue's Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Program I attended in 1993 (a longer and more rigorous training!), we have to be able to speak from this level if we are ever going to be respected - it is just the way the world works. If we want to be taken seriously, we must act seriously.