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More details about Essential Oils and their active
ingredients:
1. Eucallyptus Smithii; this aromatic
essential oil is distilled from the Eucalyptus tree. It is a stimulating
mixture of compounds and is good for the digestive system. The major organic
compound is Eucalyptol, Eucalyptol is a natural organic compound which is a
colourless liquid. It is a cyclic ether and a monoterpene. Its chemical
structure is shown right. Eucalyptol has been demonstrated to be capable of
reducing inflammation and pain. It has also been found to be able to kill
leukaemic cells.
For more details of this compound click here to go to
Wikipedia entry. |
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2. Basil Eugenol; this aromatic essential oil is distilled from
spices. It is a stimulating essential oil. Its main active organic compound
is Eugenol, a clear to pale yellow oily liquid extracted from certain
essential oils especially from clove oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, and bay leaf. It
has a pleasant, spicy, clove-like odour. It is used in medicine as a local
antiseptic and anaesthetic.
For more details of this compound click here to go to
Wikipedia
entry. |
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3. Geranium: Geraniol, also called rhodinol, is one of the active
compounds in Geranium. It is a
monoterpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary part of oil-of-rose and
palmarosa oil. It appears as a clear to pale-yellow oil which is
insoluble in water, but soluble in most common organic solvents. It has a
rose-like odour, for which it is commonly used in perfumes. It is used in
flavours such as peach, raspberry, grapefruit, red apple, plum, lime,
orange, lemon, watermelon, pineapple and blueberry.
For more details of this compound click here to go to Wikipedia
entry. |
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4. Lavender True:
One of the main active components is Linalyl Acetate.
Therapeutic uses Lavender oil, which has
long been used in the production of perfume, can also be used
aromatherapeutically. The scent has a calming effect which may aid in
relaxation and the reduction of anxiety. It may also help to relieve pain
from tension headache when breathed in as vapour or diluted and rubbed on
the skin. When added to a vapouriser, lavender oil may aid in the treatment
of cough and respiratory infection. Lavender oil may also be used as a
mosquito repellent when worn as perfume or when added to lotions or hair
products.
Medicinal uses According to
advocates of alternative medicine, lavender oil can be used as first aid and
to treat a variety of common ailments. The diluted or undiluted oil may be
used as an antiseptic and pain reliever to be applied to minor burns and
insect bites and stings. For the treatment of sunburn and sunstroke, When
added to
chamomile, lavender
oil may be effective on
eczema.
As a treatment for head lice, 5-10 drops of oil can be diluted in water to
produce a hair rinse, while a few drops of undiluted oil can be added to a
fine comb to eliminate nits. As far as serious ailments, researchers at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that lavender oil may have played
a role in the reduction of advanced
mammary tumours in
lab rats. Research is on-going for potential
breast,
ovarian,
pancreatic,
liver, and
prostate
cancer treatments. |
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| 5. Teatree:
Terpinen-4-ol is a
terpene.
It is considered the primary active ingredient of
Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca Oil). It is also the compound of highest
concentration in the essential oil of Nutmeg. |
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| 6. Bergamot:
The main constituents are Linalyl Acetate (see 4 above) and β-pinene plus Bergaptene.
The chemical compound pinene is a
bicyclic
terpene known as a
monoterpene. There are two structural isomers found in nature: α-pinene and
β-pinene. As the name
suggests, both forms are important constituents of pine resin; they are also
found in the resins of many other conifers, and more widely in other
plants. Both are also
used by many insects in their chemical communication system. |
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| 7. Mandarin: Gamma-terpinine.
The terpinenes
are three isomeric hydrocarbons that are classified as
terpenes.
They each have the same molecular formula and carbon framework, but they
differ in the position of carbon-carbon double bonds. α-Terpinene has been
isolated from
cardamom
and
marjoram oils, and from other natural sources. β-Terpinene has no known
natural source, but has been prepared synthetically from sabinene.
γ-Terpinene is natural and has been isolated from a variety of plant
sources. |
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8. Ylang Ylang:
One of the main active compounds is Caryophyllene, or β-caryophyllene, is a
natural bicyclic
sesquiterpene that is
a constituent of some essential oils, especially clove oil and the oil from
the stems and flowers of
Syzygium aromaticum.
It is usually found as a mixture with isocaryophyllene (the cis
double bond isomer) and
α-humulene (obsolete
name: α-caryophyllene), a ring-opened isomer. Caryophyllene is notable for
having a
cyclobutane ring, a
rarity in nature. Caryophyllene is one of the chemical compounds that
contributes to the spiciness of black pepper.
For more details of this
compound click here to go to Wikipedia
entry |
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9. Rosemary: One of the
active ingredients of Rosemary is Camphor, a white transparent waxy
crystalline solid with a strong penetrating pungent aromatic odor. It is a
terpenoid
with the chemical formula
C10H16O.
It is found in wood of the camphor laurel (Cinnamonum camphora), a
large evergreen tree found in Asia (particularly in Borneo and Taiwan, hence
its alternate name) and some other related trees in the laurel family,
notably
Ocotea usambarensis; it can also be synthetically produced from oil
of turpentine. It is used for its scent, as an ingredient in cooking (mainly
in India), as an embalming fluid, in religious ceremonies and for medicinal
purposes.
For more details of this compound click here to go to Wikipedia
entry |
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| 10. Chamomile Roman:
The main active ingredients are Angelates. Go to
Wikipedia entry |
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| 11. Frankincense: The main
active compounds are the Pinenes (see 6) and Terpinene (see 7) |
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12. Palmarosa: One of
the main components is Citronellal or rhodinal
or 3,7-dimethyloct-6-en-1-al (C10H18O)
ia
monoterpenoid, the
main component in the mixture of terpenoid chemical compounds that give
citronella oil its
distinctive lemon scent.
For more details of this
compound click here to go to Wikipedia
entry |
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