How Do Essential Oils Work?

This information comes from the book, "ESSENTIAL OILS DESK REFERENCE". Compiled by Essential Science Publishing, Third Edition 2004

For anyone entering the world of therapeutic-grade essential oils I say, this book is a MUST HAVE!

It can be ordered at:



http://www.essentialscience.net




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How Do Essential Oils Work?

Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils

One of the factors that determines the purity of an oil is its chemical constituents. These constituents can be affected by a vast number of varialbes, including the part(s) of the plant from which the oil was produced, soil condition, fertilizer (organic or chemical), geographical region, climate, altitude, harvesting methods, and distillation processes. For example: common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) produces several different chemotypes (biochemically unique variants within one species) depending on the conditions of its growth, climate and altitude. One chemotype of thyme will yield an essential oil with high levels of thymol, depending on the time of year it is distilled. The later it is distilled in the growing season (ie., mid-summer or fall), the more thymol the oil will contain.

Proper cultivation assures that more specific chemotypes like Thymus vulgaris will maintain a good strain of thymol, where as with wildcrafting, you may produce linalol and eugenol thyme on the same mountainside.

An example of this was shown in studies at the University of Ege botany department in Izmir, Turkey where it was found that among Oreganum compactum plants within a 100 square foot radius, one plant would be very high in carvacrol and another would be high in another compound. Wildcrafting plants cannot guarantee the same chemotype even on the same hillside.

The key to producing a therapeutic-grade essential oil is to preserve as many of the delicate aromatic compounds within the essential oil as possible. Fragile aromatic chemicals are easily destroyed by high temperature and pressure, as well as contact with chemically reactive metals such as copper or aluminum. This is why all therapeutic-grade essential oils should be distilled in stainless steel cooking chambers at low pressure and low temperature.

The plant material should also be free of herbicides and other agrichemicals. These can react with the essential oil during distillation to produce toxic compounds. Because many pesticides are oil-soluble, they can also mix into the essential oiil.

As we begin to understand the power of essential oils in the realm of personal, holistic healthcare, we will appreciate the necessity for obtaining the purest essential oils possible. No matter how costly pure essential oils may be, there can be no substitutes.

Although chemists have successfully recreated the main constituents and fragrances of some essential oils in the laboratory, these synthetic oils lack therapeutic benefits and may even carry risks. Why? Because essential oils contain hundreds of different chemical compounds, which, in combination, lend important therapeutic properties to the oil. Also, many essential oils contain molecules and isomers that are impossible to manufacture in the laboratory.

Anyone venturing into the world of therapy using essential oils must use the purest quality oils available. Inferior quality or adultrated oils most likely will not produce therapeutic results and could possibly be toxic. in Europe, a set of standards has been established that outlines the chemical profile and principal constituents that a quality essential oil shoud have. Known as AFNOR (Association French Normalization Organization Regulation) and ISO (International Standards Organization) standards, these guidelines help buyers differentiate between a therapeutic-grade essential oil and a lower grade oil with a similar chemical makeup and fragrance.