What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are highly volatile and highly concentrated essences derived from aromatic plants. They have many properties for example, to be used as a sedative, anti-inflammatory, tonic, stimulant, carminative, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and many more.

When we walk through a garden pick a piece of rosemary, mint or sage and rub it between our fingers, we inhale the aroma of that plant. When we cut a lemon or peel an orange, we can smell the essential oil scent from the fruit.

Essential oils are found in plants in the flowers, leaves, bark, wood, roots and peel. Some examples of essential oils obtained from;

• Flowers: Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Orange Blossom, Geranium, Lavender, Tuberose
• Leaves: Tea Tree, Lemongrass, Petitgrain, Geranium, Lavender, Basil
• Bark: Cinnamon
• Wood: Sandalwood, Rosewood Gum Resins from the bark and wood: Myrrh, Frankincense
• Roots: Ginger, Vetiver
• Peel: Lime, Orange, Bergamot, Lemon, Grapefruit

The Bitter Orange Tree yields three different essential oils:

• Leaves produce 'Petitgrain' - recommended for skin blemishes and acne.
• Flowers produce 'Neroli' - recommended for helping to reduce stress, heart palpitations, dry skin.
• Fruit Peel produces ' Orange Oil' - used in perfumery

To obtain Lavender essential oil the whole plant is often used - flowering tops, leaves & stem.

Individual essential oils have many properties eg. Frankincense is recommended for respiratory complaints and it is also particular useful in skin care valued for its tonic effect on mature skin.

Essential oils are stored in the 'oil sacs' or cell structures within the plant tissue. The type of structure will depend upon the species and family of the plant.

The more oil glands or ducts present in the plant, the higher the yield of the essential oil. The higher the yield - the less expensive the cost of the oil.

The yield or quantity and the quality of the essential oil will also be determined by the harvesting. The plant cycle will determine whether it is best to harvest in summer, spring etc to produce the highest yield. Factors including the amount of sunlight, temperature, air and soil humidity, sowing and harvesting times will affect the quantity and quality of the oil produced.

Certain plant chemicals are produced at different times within the cycle of the plant. Eg. Basil produces different plant chemicals at different stages of its growth cycle and more or less of a particular plant chemical may yield better oil for use in aromatherapy.