The Uses Of Organic Essential Oils

By Nancy Gardner


A high concentrated liquid that is hydrophobic and consists of volatile aroma compounds that is derived from plants is referred to as an essential oil. The most common form of extraction is the distillation mostly using steam with others being solvent extraction and expression. They are also used in the manufacture of products such as soap, perfumes, flavouring and cleaning agents. Organic essential oils are therefore sourced from the natural environment.

These extracts are very valuable to people who practice alternative medicine and in the health community, they are not taken seriously. It is therefore a very difficult task to find references of the specific benefits. The transmission of some resistant pathogen strains can also be controlled by the use of essential oils which is according to several studies.

Many of these extracts can be dangerous in high concentrations if taken orally causing effects such as a burning feeling and salivation. This also has a carminative effect in the stomach which causes the gastric sphincter to relax thus encouraging belching. The most effective ones include eucalyptus oils, camphor, capcaisin, menthol and anise while others offer no significant benefit.

Many of these oils cannot be used on the skin as they cause dermatitis as well as negatively affecting mucous membranes. There are those that are known to bring a cold feeling proceeded by a burning sensation as a result of their effect on heat-sensing nerve endings such as the menthol. The clove oil was very important to dentist in the past for its anaesthetic and antiseptic properties.

Some of these extracts are claimed to possess an uplifting effect on the mind. However, such claims are not necessarily false but are difficult to quantify. The main solvents for these extracts are pure ethanol and polyethylene glycol due to the fact that they are immiscible with water. The danger of an essential oil is generally associated with its level or grade of purity and not the effect it has on the body.

A majority of the extracts are only meant to be used for their aroma therapeutic ability and should not be directly applied on the skin in their raw form. Some of them are known to bring about allergic reactions, become hepatotoxic over time and cause severe irritation. Those that are sourced from citrus plant are photo sensitizers which increase the skins exposure to sun rays.

Industries that deal with these products are required to consult the safety data sheets to determine their hazards are handling methods. This is because even grade oils meant for therapy can pose risk to pregnant women and epileptic individuals. These extracts are known to be harsh towards certain materials such as plastics and rubbers thus the correct handling equipment should be used.

Therapeutic essential oils have been known to have traces of pesticides and are the reason why these products are sought by practitioners. For the ingestible ones, they should be taken in their correct dosage which is usually safe for consumption in small quantities. Government standards should be used in the case of concerns of pesticide traces.




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