What is plant essential oil?

Essential oil, highly volatile substance isolated by a physical process from an odoriferous plant of a single botanical species. The oil bears the name of the plant from which it is derived; for example, rose oil or peppermint oil. Such oils were called essential because they were thought to represent the very essence of odour and flavour.

Distillation is the most common method for isolation of essential oils, but other processes—including enfleurage (extraction by using fat), maceration, solvent extraction, and mechanical pressing—are used for certain products. Younger plants produce more oil than older ones, but old plants are richer in more resinous and darker oils because of the continuing evaporation of the lighter fractions of the oil.

Sources and Chemical Composition

Several plants contain essential oils, however, parts of plants, which serve as the major source of essential oil can be different (Table 1). Those include roots, peels, leaves, seeds, fruits, barks, and so on. Plant essential oils are usually the complex mixture of natural compounds, both polar and nonpolar compounds (Masango 2005). Dominant compounds in various essential oils are presented in Table 2. In general, the constituents in essential oils are terpenes (monoterpenes and sesquerpenes), aromatic compounds (aldehyde, alcohol, phenol, methoxy derivative, and so on), and terpenoids (isoprenoids) (Bakkali and others 2008; Mohamed and others 2010). Compounds and aroma of essential oils can be divided into 2 major groups: terpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds.

Therapeutic effect

★ Lavender oil: Calming, promoting bile secretion, guicuresis, diuresis, menstruation, hypnosis, blood pressure, sweating and other effects, and excellent aroma, "like perfume", France, after transplantation from the Mediterranean Alps around the world, now Italy, Russia, Hungary, Britain, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Spain, Australia, the United States are cultivated, China's Xinjiang, Shaanxi and other places also have a base production, good quality.

★ Rosemary oil: cough, wind, treatment of hypotension, stomach function, also promote bile secretion, diuresis, menstruation, sweating effect. Its cool, sharp herb aroma, some like lavender, eucalyptus leaves, camphor, nutmeg oil, gives a refreshing feeling, strong aroma, open, and long. Europeans prefer, originated in the Mediterranean countries, our country originally only scattered cultivation in the flower beds around, there are several places ready to expand the planting area, open into a base.

★ Lemon oil: drive wind, purify, diuretic, antipyretic, blood, hemostasis, blood pressure, cooling effect, originated in China or India, spread to Europe, Mediterranean coast countries, the larger production of Italy, the United States, Cyprus, Spain, Brazil, Guinea and other countries. The quality of cold-pressed oil produced in Sichuan is very good, and a small amount is also produced in Yunnan and Guangxi. It should be noted that lemon oil and bergamot oil have different aromas and different curative effects, so do not confuse.

★ Bergamot oil: It is only known to have a sedative effect, so it is not valued.

★ Clove oil: It also has the effect of driving wind, guaiac and stomach, and the aroma is also better. Mainly produced in Madagascar, Tanzania, Malaysia's Penang Island, India's Molucca and other places, China is also introduced and a small amount of production supply, clove oil has bud oil, leaf oil, stem oil, net oil (extracted from clove bud extract) points, bud oil, leaf oil, stem oil, net oil (extracted from clove bud extract) points, bud oil and net oil effect is better.

★ Peppermint oil: It has the effect of driving wind, menstruation and strengthening stomach. China produces Asian peppermint oil, while the United States and Europe are domestic peppermint oil, the latter has a better aroma, sweet and beautiful, but the curative effect of the two is similar.

★ Cinnamon oil: has the function of menstruation, hemostasis, stomach-strengthening, produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, is one of the famous essential oils exported earlier in China. The Shennong Herbal Classic lists cinnamon as a top medicine. The aroma of cinnamon oil is strong and warm and sweet, which is loved by Europeans and Americans, but Asians feel that the "medicinal taste is too heavy" and are less used for bathing.

★ Thyme oil:It has the effect of driving wind, promoting bile secretion, diuresis, menorrhea, phlegm removal, treatment of hypotension, stomach strengthening, sweating, mainly produced in Spain, Morocco, Turkey and other countries, China also has production. Thyme oil has a strong and rough aroma, is a cool and dry herb fragrance, and has strong bactericidal power, so bathing with thyme oil can also kill bacteria in water and on the skin, and has curative effect on some skin diseases.

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