New research data on bitter apricot essential oil (BAEO) suggests that it is a naturally occurring substance that promotes the healthy life cycle of cells leading the cell death by functioning as a potent pro-apoptotic factor for human keratinocytes. This means that BAEO leads to normal cell death, or apoptosis, of the skin’s keratin cells, named keratinocytes. Apoptosis is a natural cycle for cells, where cells undergo a sequence of growth and other events which gradually lead to death of the cell, and is part of the normal cell ageing process. It is widely agreed that psoriasis is a condition where there is an over proliferation of keratinocytes. This pro-apoptotic role makes BAEO a promising candidate to treat psoriasis.

This research also reaffirms that conventional therapeutic approaches are not effective or necessarily safe for treating symptoms due to the serious side effects and resistance to currently prescribed drugs.

Traditional Oriental Medicine has long prescribed apricot seed (Semen Armeniacae amarum) to treat skin diseases. While modern medicine has no cure for psoriasis, only potentially unsafe treatments, it makes sense that the recent research delved into bitter apricot essential oil (BAEO) to find out exactly how it works to relieve psoriasis.

When looking for a psoriasis cure we often come to a cross road where traditional medicine has maintained its integrity as a cure for generations but without the ‘analysis paralysis’ of modern medical science. This is juxtaposed with modern and tested scientific treatments that offer short-term relief but with mysterious long-term harmful effects on our bodies.

We welcome and salute the intersection of traditional vs modern science. This research into BAEO is exciting because it is a modern and scientific validation of what has withstood the test of time.

Here are the facts about why makes BAEO work so well on psoriasis:

• BAEO inhibits proliferation of HaCaT cells. Explanation: The research used HaCaT cells that are human keratinocyte cells that have been transformed to become immortal through DNA alterations. The HaCaT cells have been mutated to undergo cell division indefinitely in test laboratories, rather than die naturally in the course of their healthy life span. This allows the researchers to see that BAEO can slow or stop the indefinite cell growth and division on human skin keratinocytes that are responsible for psoriasis.
• BAEO induces apoptosis through both death receptor and mitochondrial pathways. Explanation: BAEO brings on normal death of keratinocyte cells, which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development except in the keratinocytes of psoriasis.

For the love of apricots, thank you traditional medicine!

Reference

Li, Keyou; Yang, Wenhua; Li, Zhe; Jia, Wangwang; Li, Jiazhou; Zhang, Pengfei; Xiao, Tiancun, 2016. Bitter apricot essential oil induces apoptosis of human HaCaT keratinocytes. International Immunopharmacology, [Online]. 34, 189-198.