Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil: Uses, Benefits, and Blends
Botanical Name: Litsea Cubeba
Origin Country: China
Plant Part: Berries
Method Of Extraction: Steam Distilled
Use: Breathe, Outdoor, Uplift
Note: Top - Middle
Aroma Type: Citrusy, Herbaceous
Season: Spring/Summer
Aromatic Profile: camphor, green, lemony
Understanding Aromatic Notes: Green
What Is Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil?
Litsea Cubeba, often referred to as "May Chang," is a small tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, particularly China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Its essential oil comes from the steam distillation of the tree's small, peppercorn-like fruits. The plant belongs to the same Lauraceae family as cinnamon and bay laurel.
Litsea Cubeba has gained popularity in aromatherapy and cosmetic formulations thanks to its affordability and its benefit on mood
What Does Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil Smell Like?
Litsea Cubeba essential oil has a lemony aroma with sweet and slightly spicy undertones. Its fragrance is sometimes described as a blend of lemongrass and sweet orange. It is soft and refined with a clean, refreshing scent that instantly uplifts. The main ways to use Litsea Cubeba is in energizing blends, refreshing deodorants, and natural air fresheners.
What Blends Well with Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil?
Pair this oil with citrus and floral oils, or go with earthy or spicy oils for added depth.
Excellent blending partners include
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Citrus oils: Sweet Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit
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Floral oils: Lavender, Ylang-Ylang, Geranium
These combinations work well in essential oil diffusers, natural perfumes, and handcrafted soaps or candles.
Chemical Constituents of Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil
Litsea Cubeba essential oil contains several important chemical constituents
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Geranial (citral A): Geranial has strong antimicrobial actions as well as being uplifting in nature. Geranial is a very strong insect repellent.
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Neral (citral B): Neral also has antimicrobial actions and is relaxing.
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Limonene: Again, limonene is antimicrobial, antibacterial, and is very good for mood. It is the sunny scent of citrus. It is often used as a natural solvent in cleaning products.
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Beta-pinene and alpha-pinene: They have strong anti-inflammatory properties and are wonderful for offering respiratory support.
Historic Uses of Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil
Historically, the indigenous people of Taiwan used the essential oil to treat headaches, inflammation, intoxication, bronchitis, and dyspepsia. (Lee, 2021)
Litsea Essential Oil Benefits for Mood
The major component of the oil is citral, which has two isomers, neral and geranial. Citral exhibits several effects on the central nervous system, including improving learning, memory, attention, and arousal. Meanwhile, it is relaxing and sedative. It has ameliorating effects on pain and if benefician for sleep. (Dobetsberger, 2011)
The main reason most people use Litsea Cubeba essential oil is because of its ability to uplift mood. Light and airy, it has a spring in its step. It is often added to natural perfumery because despite being lemony fragranced, it does have a bit of depth to it, so it weighs blends down a bit, so they hang around longer.
It feels sunny, tropical, and very carefree, so it's a great essential oil to use if you feel a bit out of sorts, melancholy, or anxious.
Scientific Research into Litsea Cubeba for Alzheimers
This is early days research, done on rodents, but…
Rodents were genetically bred to have the same sorts of brain tangles and plaques as someone with Alzheimer’s Disease would have. Then, these rats were placed into a maze.
The rats that inhaled the Litsea Cubeba oil did not try to escape as often and were less panicked by being in there. (Lee, 2021)
The effects of L. cubeba essential oil were revealed to decrease oxidative stress and brain atrophy, as well as the actual Aβ plaques that cause the problems in Alzheimer's.
They also gave the rats Litsea Cubeba essential oil orally for eight weeks, which improved their spatial and working learning as well as reduced their memory deficit. (Lee, 2021)
Be clear, though; these are rodent trials, not human ones, and the tests were done by ingesting the oil. The amounts used would be different from human trials, which have not yet been proven, so we would advise simply staying with using Litsea Cubeba essential oil topically or using inhalation.
So then, let’s take that to the next level..
Research into the Effects of Litsea Cubeba on Human Mood
Researchers from the Innovation Center for Holistic Health at Chiang Mai University in Thailand studied how inhaling Litsea Cubeba essential oil (LEO) affects mood and stress in 15 healthy volunteers. They used a Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire to measure any mood changes. Then, they also used ELISA tests to check for levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in saliva.
The results showed that inhaling Litsea Cubeba essential oil greatly improved overall mood and reduced feelings of confusion.
Inhaling the essential oil also lowered the levels of cortisol, which demonstrated that the participants were less stressed, but interestingly, it had not affected either their heart rates or blood pressure. (Chaiyasut, 2020)
A further study then showed the effects the essential oil had on brain waves. Studies done on healthy female university students demonstrated that L. cubeba essential oil is the sedative effect because it decreases alpha and beta brain waves (Sattayakhom, 2021)
Benefits of Litsea Cubeba on Sleep
Studies also show that Litsea Cubeba essential oil has anxiolytic and analgesic activities on mice and can also prolong how long they sleep. (Chen, 2012)
Scientific Research into Litsea Cubeba for Food
As already stated, the May Chang tree is a close relative to cinnamon and bay laurel trees, both of which are extremely powerful antimicrobials. They are also edible, of course - which Peasant Pepper (the local name for Litsea Cubeba) also is. So naturally, there is a great deal of interest in ways these might be able to be used within the food industry.
It is now proven that Litsea Cubeba essential oil (LCEO) helps keep food fresh by stopping spoilage and killing germs and bacteria like Serratia marcescens and Micrococcus luteus. Even in tiny dilutions, LCEO also protects fresh foods like apples, pears, potatoes, and kohlrabi by guarding against many harmful bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. (Borotova, 2022)
Additionally, it is also insect repellent to many bugs, including Pyrrhocoris apterus (Firebugs) that feast on seeds and can be problematic in cereals. So, Litsea Cubeba may well be included in natural technologies to keep food safe and fresh for longer.
Polymers
One such technology was published by a Brazilian team in 2022 in the Journal of Applied Polymers, which is interested in technologies with plastics.
Scientists wanted to see if they could make an eco-friendly packaging that could both protect their packaged food from bacteria and also be recycled later. Their specially designed biodegradable plastic was made using methylcellulose, and then they added cinnamon and Litsea Cubeba essential oils to see how it changed. Importantly, usually, when you add oils to plastic, they can be corrosive and thus could have damaged the packaging, but the plastic stayed smooth and even.
The plastic containing the cinnamon essential oil was more effective in killing bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. However, the Litsea Cubeba oil plastic was better at fighting the free radicals that cause food to deteriorate... They decided the cinnamon plastic could be great for stopping germs in packaging, while the Litsea Cubeba plastic could protect food as antioxidant packaging. Both types of plastic broke down in soil within 20 days. (Pinheiro dos Santos Acosta, 2022)
Ways to Use Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil
Aromatherapy for Mood Enhancement
Litsea Cubeba essential oil boosts energy and improves focus. Diffuse it in your home office to clear mental fog and create an uplifting atmosphere. Add a few drops to your morning shower gel for an invigorating start to the day.
Natural Perfumes and Room Sprays
The citrusy aroma of Litsea Cubeba adds a fresh top note to natural perfumes and DIY room sprays. Combine it with floral oils like geranium or earthy oils like vetiver for a balanced scent
Skin Care
Thanks to its antimicrobial and astringent properties, Litsea Cubeba essential oil works well in facial cleansers and toners for oily or acne-prone skin. Always dilute it with a carrier oil before applying it to your skin.
Natural Cleaning Products
Use Litsea Cubeba essential oil to create eco-friendly cleaning sprays. It effectively cuts through grease and leaves your home smelling fresh and clean..
Litsea Cubeba in Diffusers
Litsea Cubeba is cooling, refreshing, and brightening. Use it in diffusers to replace a bit of zing after a hard day or in natural deodorants in the summer.
Precautions of Using Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil
Tisserand and Young cite a potential risk of certain constituents in this essential oil that can cause abnormalities in embryos. Therefore, we advise the avoidance of this essential oil during pregnancy.
It can be a little acerbic on the skin, so use it in low doses. Always dilute it into a carrier oil and do a skin patch test first. Avoid use on hypersensitive or broken skin, and this would not be a good choice for children under the age of two, who may not have developed strong enough skin to deal with this oil.
The suggested maximum dilution is 0.8% for adults.
The liver metabolises this oil in the same way as drugs metabolized by CYP2B6 Cytochrome P-2B6 are, for the most part, pain killing drugs such as methadone and fentanyl, as well as diabetes medications. However, this is a large group, so always check your medication documentation before use to see the risk.
Diffuser Blend With Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil
You Will Need:
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Small measuring jug
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Stainless steel spoon
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Small funnel
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5 ml dropper bottle
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Oil-proof label
Happy Place Diffuser Blend With Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil Recipe
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3 drops May Chang essential oil (Litsea Cubeba)
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2 drops Sweet Basil essential oil (Ocimum basilicum)
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1 drop Cedarwood Himalayan essential oil (Cedrus deodara)
Safety: Not designed for topical Use
Why Choose VINEVIDA
At VINEVIDA, we love botanicals and the planet they come from. We believe in stocking the best at affordable prices and supplying to the discerning, which is why we are also members of both the Alliance of International Aromatherapists and the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy. In recognition of our excellent product, we are proud to hold a 2021 Certificate of Registration as a Cosmetic Products Establishment with the U.S. Drugs and Food Administration.
Our joy at seeing people make beautiful things means we stock from the smallest amounts to the largest. Our bulk essential oils’ prices begin with our smallest essential oil of 10ml to our largest of 396lb, meaning any manufacturing company can afford to stock as many or as few oils their business can accommodate without running the risk of spoilage of some of nature’s most precious commodities. So, why not see if you can save money by buying your Litsea Cubeba essential oil in bulk? Remember how stable it is proven to be, so as long as you store it carefully, it should last and last.
Don’t forget too; we like to look after our customers with reasonable prices and excellent customer service and reward the loyal ones with money off discounts over the year.
Conclusion
So, why not check out if you qualify for our loyalty scheme and start saving today with an environmentally friendly choice of oil for skin and hair, massage oils, and soapmaking? Add VINEVIDA Litsea Cubeba essential oil to your cart today.
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