ABOUT AUTHOR:
Vinay Kumar Singh
Chief Research Officer,
Paramount Cosmetics India,
Bangalore, Karnataka
vinay@parammount.com
Essential oils, or aromatic oils as they were once called, have been used by many cultures around the world for centuries for Cosmetics as well as for their spiritually and emotionally uplifting properties.
It is impossible to date exactly when plants were first used for medicinal purposes. Cave paintings of Lascaux in France suggest the use of medicinal plants in every day life that have been carbon dated as far back as 18,000 B.C.E.
Evidence and recorded history have both shown that the Egyptians used aromatic oils as early as 4500 B.C.E. At the height of Egypt’s power, priests were the only authorities allowed to use aromatic oils, as they were regarded as necessary to be at one with the Gods.
Specific fragrances were dedicated to each deity and their statues were anointed with these oils by their followers. Pharaohs had their own special blends for meditation, love, war and so on.
Aromatic gums such as cedar and myrrh were used in the embalming process and traces of these have been found on mummies today.
Essential oils also had a practical and medicinal value to the Egyptians. Because of their antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, many essential oils were used in embalming practices. Mummification was widely practiced using spices and resins such as frankincense, cedarwood, myrrh, calamus, cassia and spikenard to purify and preserve the body. Oils were also buried with the body so the spirits in the afterlife could enjoy their perfumes and medicines. Onyx, glass, ivory and alabaster bottles were found in tombs that contained the remnants of essential oils that still had their scent as well as their healing qualities.
Traditional Indian medicine called “Ayurveda” has a 3000-year history of incorporating essential oils into their healing potions. Vedic literature lists over 700 substances including cinnamon, ginger, myrrh and sandalwood as effective for healing. During the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, Ayurveda was used successfully in replacing ineffective antibiotics.
Gattefossé discovered the incredible healing properties of Lavender accidentally when a small explosion occurred in his laboratory. One of Gattefossé’s hands was badly burned. He quickly immersed it in the nearest tray of liquid. The liquid was essential oil of lavender and to his astonishment Gattefossé observed that his hand healed with no infection or scarring.
Gattefossé and a colleague conducted further research on the healing properties of lavender and introduced it to many of the hospitals in France. During the outbreak of Spanish influenza there were no reported deaths of hospital personnel, which was credited to the use of lavender.
The Romans were even more lavish in their use of perfume. The Romans used oils to scent their hair, bodies, clothes, and even the walls of their houses!
There are 188 references to oils in the Bible, and some, such as frankincense, myrrh, rosemary hyssop and spikenard were used for the anointing and healing of the sick.
Perhaps the oldest traditional use of essential oils is for emotional and spiritual purposes, Different fragrances have a calming, stimulating, elevating or suppressing action within the body.
During the nineteenth century many essences were investigated more scientifically than ever before. In 1887 Chamberland published the results of his valuable research on the antiseptic properties of essential oils.
Since the turn of the century there has been a growing interest in the therapeutic power of essential oils in Germany, Switzerland, France and England. Aromatherapy is taught in medical schools in France and England and the oils are being used by doctors in many hospitals.
Essential oils have been important contributor to personal care and medicinal products for many years by offering a wide range of attributes from fragrance to antimicrobial activity to anti-inflammatory benefits.
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing fragrant, volatile compounds from plants of a certain species. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetherolea, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it contains the "essence of" the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived.
Over 1000 plant families and roughly 2000 species deliver the essences that is called Essential oils. Despite the name, they are not oily. They are lighter than water. They can not be diluted with water, but easily mix with alcohol or fats. When used correctly, essential oils bring a wide range of health benefits since unlike modern drugs, they have no side-effects.
Essential oils are located in tiny secretory structures found in various parts of plants such as leaves (eucalyptus), berries (juniper), grasses (palmarosa, citronella), flowering tops (lavender), petals (rose, jasmine, Ylang ylang), roots ( vetiver, angelica),fruit (orange, lemon), resins (frankincense, myrrh), wood (cedar, sandalwood, rosewood),bark (cinnamon), seeds (almond,ajwain,dill,cumin),leaves(eucalyptus,sage,thyme),rhizome(ginger,galangal),and peels(lemon, lime, orange).
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam. Other processes include expression, solvent extraction, absolute oil extraction, resin tapping, and cold pressing. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for adding scents to incense and household cleaning products.
Essential oils have been used medicinally in history. Medical applications proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer and often are based solely on historical accounts of use of essential oils for these purposes. Claims for the efficacy of medical treatments, and treatment of cancers in particular, are now subject to regulation in most countries. Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine that claims that essential oils and other aromatic compounds have curative effects. Oils are volatilized or diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage, diffused in the air by a nebulizer, heated over a candle flame, or burned as incense. Some essential oils have an uplifting effect on the mind.
The earliest recorded mention of the techniques and methods used to produce essential oils is believed to be that of Ibn al-Baitar (1188–1248), an Andalusian physician, pharmacist and chemist.
Essential oils can be used by diffusing, inhaling, applying topically, incorporating into massage or by taking internally.
The most important groups of organic molecules in essential oils are terpenes & terpenoids.
Following are the methods to obtain aromatic substances (Essential oils) from plant materials,
Distillation: Today, most common essential oils — such as lavender, peppermint, tea tree oil and eucalyptus — are distilled. Raw plant material, consisting of the flowers, leaves, wood, bark, roots, seeds, or peels is put into an alembic (distillation apparatus) over water. As the water is heated, the steam passes through the plant material, vaporizing the volatile compounds. The vapors flow through a coil, where they condense back to liquid, which is then collected in the receiving vessel.
Most oils are distilled in a single process. One exception is ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata), which takes 22 hours to complete through a fractional distillation.
The recondensed water is referred to as a hydrosol, hydrolat, herbal distillate or plant water essence, which may be sold as another fragrant product. Popular hydrosols include rose water, lavender water, and orange blossom water. The use of herbal distillates in cosmetics is increasing. Some plant hydrosols have unpleasant smells and are therefore not sold.
Expression: Most citrus peel oils are expressed mechanically or cold-pressed. Due to the relatively large quantities of oil in citrus peel and low cost to grow and harvest the raw materials, citrus-fruit oils are cheaper than most other essential oils.
Before the discovery of distillation, all essential oils were extracted by pressing.
Solvent extraction: Most flowers contain too little volatile oil to undergo expression; their chemical components are too delicate and easily denatured by the high heat used in steam distillation. Instead, a solvent such as hexane or supercritical carbon dioxide is used to extract the oils. Extracts from hexane and other hydrophobic solvents are called concretes, which are a mixture of essential oil, waxes, resins and other lipophilic (oil-soluble) plant material.
Although highly fragrant, concretes contain large quantities of non-fragrant waxes and resins. Often, another solvent, such as ethyl alcohol, which is more polar in nature, is used to extract the fragrant oil from the concrete. The alcohol solution is chilled to −18 °C (0 °F) for more than 48 hour which causes the waxes and lipids to precipitate out. The precipitates are then filtered out and the ethanol is removed from the remaining solution by evaporation, vacuum purge, or both, leaving behind the absolute.
Supercritical carbon dioxide is used as a solvent in supercritical fluid extraction. This method has many benefits including avoiding petrochemical residues in the product and the loss of some "top notes" when steam distillation is used. It does not yield an absolute directly. The supercritical carbon dioxide will extract both the waxes and the essential oils that make up the concrete. Subsequent processing with liquid carbon dioxide, achieved in the same extractor by merely lowering the extraction temperature, will separate the waxes from the essential oils. This lower temperature process prevents the decomposition and denaturing of compounds. When the extraction is complete, the pressure is reduced to ambient and the carbon dioxide reverts to a gas, leaving no residue.
Enfleurage
The process of enfleurage also yields an absolute, although this method is virtually obsolete nowadays. It is very time consuming and labour intensive and, therefore, highly expensive. Formerly this was the main method of extraction for delicate flower such as jasmine which continue to produce perfume even after they been picked. It involves the use of purified odourless cold fat which is spread over sheets of glass mounted in large rectangular wooden frames. Flowers are strewn upon this layer of fat which absorbs the essential oil. After approximately a day the flowers are removed to be replaced by fresh flowers. This process is repeated many times – even beyond two months – until the fat is saturated. This fragrance saturated fat is known as a ‘pomade’. The pomade is washed in alcohol and then treated. The alcohol evaporates first and pure absolute is produced.
Hydrodiffusion / percolation
Hydrodiffusion or percolation is the most modern method of extraction. This process is faster than distillation, and the equipment is much more simple than that used for carbon dioxide extraction. Steam spray is passed through the plant material (which is suspended on a grid) from above. The emerging liquid composed of oil and condensed steam is than cooled. The result is a mixture of essential oil and water (as in the distillation process) which can be easily separated.
Maceration
For this process plants are placed into a vat of warm vegetable oil which causes the plants cell to rupture, causing the absorption of the essential oils. The vat is then agitated for several days. The resulting oil is filtered and bottled, and is ready for use as a massage medium. Examples of macerated oils are calendula, carrot and hypericum.
Many essential oils are used now a days in Cosmetics. It is widely used in Aromatherapy products. A typical essential oil will contain more than 100 different chemical compounds, each of which exhibits a specific therapeutic property, and it is for this reason that many essential oils can be used for such a wide range of conditions. Virtually all essential oils possess antiseptic properties, but many also have antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.
The majority of consumers are familiar with essential oils mainly because of their specific therapeutic effects like Tea tree oil disinfects, eucalyptus oil loosens phlegm, rosemary stimulates the circulation, lavender oil soothes. Numerous effects and benefits of traditional plant-derived medicines have been clinically proven. The traditions of Ayurveda and TCM are still very much alive in modern, high-quality natural cosmetics with refreshing lemongrass, mood enhancing jasmine, soothing sandalwood. Essential oils have always been a key ingredient for perfumer, as synthetic fragrance components were not developed until the end of 19th century. Classic choices for perfume composition remain essential oils from flowers such as rose, jasmine and lavender, from fruits such as bergamot, and orange, from woods like sandalwood and cedar, from spices like anise and myrrh, from roots of vetiver, the needles of conifer trees or the berries of the juniper bush. Other benefits of essential oils come from its antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Essential oils possess a wide range of healing properties that can be used effectively to keep you in the best of health as well as looking good. These health-giving benefits include improving the complexion of your skin by stimulating cellular renewal, easing aches and pains, balancing roller-coaster emotions and fighting bacteria, fungi and other forms of infection. Essential oils have an almost endless list of therapeutic uses, and science continues to discover more about them every year.
But be sure of achieving text-book results, you must use essential oils of the very highest quality, sourced by experts, from the finest producing regions around the world.
The potential danger of an essential oil is sometimes relative to its level or grade of purity, and sometimes related to the toxicity of specific chemical components of the oil. Many essential oils are designed exclusively for their aroma-therapeutic quality; these essential oils generally should not be applied directly to the skin in their undiluted or "neat" form. Some can cause severe irritation, provoke an allergic reaction and, over time, prove hepatotoxic. Some essential oils, including many of the citrus peel oils, are photosensitizers, increasing the skin's vulnerability to sunlight.
Industrial users of essential oils should consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) to determine the hazards and handling requirements of particular oils. Even certain therapeutic grade oils can pose potential threats to individuals with epilepsy or for pregnant women.
Modern lifestyles do not always create optimal conditions for physical wellness. Poor diet, lack of exercise, and an overabundance of environmental toxins can leave body unbalanced and diminish energy levels. Essential oils and essential oil-infused supplements can provide solution to restore balance .
An ancient skin care secret, essential oils can help promote a clear complexion, soften the appearance of signs of aging, and nurture healthy looking hair. Research shows that the pure constituents of these oils stimulate olfactory receptors and activate regions in the brain’s limbic system associated with memory, emotion and state of mind.
NOW YOU CAN ALSO PUBLISH YOUR ARTICLE ONLINE.
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE/PROJECT AT editor-in-chief@pharmatutor.org
Subscribe to Pharmatutor Alerts by Email
FIND OUT MORE ARTICLES AT OUR DATABASE
.png)
