Essential Oils 101 (3) ：Essential Oils and its Chemistry
Essential oils are not simple substances. Each oil is a complex structure of hundreds of different chemicals. A single essential oil may contain anywhere from 80-300 or more different chemical constituents. The power of an essential oil lies in its constituents and their synergy, which makes them very diverse in their effects. No two oils are alike.
A single species of plant can have several different chemotypes (bio-molecularly unique variants within one species) based on its molecular composition. The plant's growing environment, such as soil pH and mineral content, can dramatically affect the plant's ultimate chemistry as well.
"Lavender"
Lavender oil, for example, contains approximately 200 different constituents, of which linalyl acetate, linalool, cis-beta-ocimene, trans-beta-ocimene, and terpinene-4-ol are the major components. Each component exists in only very small amounts, but together they exert a certain degree of effects on the body.
For example, Lavender oil has been used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress, and hair growth.
"Basil"
Another example, the "Basil" plant, demonstrates that a single species of plant grown in one area can also produce an essential oil with different chemistry when grown in another location:
Ocimum basilicum (Basil), grown in Germany, the chemotype is rich in linalool and fenchol, is mainly used for antiseptic;
Ocimum basilicum (Basil), grown in Egypt, Comoro and Reunion, the chemotype is rich in methyl chavicol, is mainly used in anti-inflammatory;
Ocimum basilicum (Basil), grown in Madagascar, the chemotype is rich in eugenol, has both the functions of anti-inflammatory and antiseptic.
The unique properties of essential oils
As essential oils are made up of hundreds of different components, they can have many different effects on the human body.
Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and travel throughout the blood and tissues. The unique lipid-soluble structure of essential oils is very similar to the makeup of our cell membranes, and the molecules of essential oils are also relatively small, which enhances their ability to penetrate into the cells. When topically applied to the feet or soft tissue, essential oils can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes.
Therefore, we can imagine that, if the essential oils available in the market are synthetic, or have added artificial components, preservatives, or are produced from farms which are contaminated, such as pesticides, insecticides, etc., those oils would have contained impurities as such and its composition and effect will be changed accordingly.
When you start to understand the world of synthetic oils as well as low-grade oils, and if you can recall the scent of pure essential oil, you will then have no problem identifying pure oil from adultered oils through scent. By that time, you will be able to perceive the differences and enjoy the benefits of pure natural essential oil.
~Do you know? ~
It requires a large volume of plant material to product small amounts of a distilled essential oil.
Essential oils are highly concentrated and far more potent than dried herbs because of the distillation process that makes them so concentrated.
For example:
It takes 5,000 pounds of Rose petals to produce
1 kilo of rose oil.
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Copyright @Naturalice Garden 2021
Source：
Life Science Products and Publishing Essential Oils Desk References (8th Edition) Life Science Products and Publishing
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