Aromatherapy
by Selena
Chemical
Constituents of Essential oils:
Selena's notebook (for Aromatherapists)
Hydrocarbons:
Hydrocarbons are made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms in a chain.
Essential oils consist of chemical compounds that have hydrogen
and carbon as their building blocks. When five carbon atoms join
together as a branched chain to form molecules, it is called an
isoprene unit. The atoms line up head to tail and have the appearance
of a backbone. This is the principle building block of terpenes.
Terpenes:
Generally have names ending in “ene." For example: Limonene,
pinene, piperene, camphene.
Keywords for Terpenes: anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral,
bactericidal
Terpenes can be further categorized into monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes
and diterpenes. Referring back to Isoprene units under the Hydrocarbon
heading, when two of these isoprene units join head to tail, the
result is a monoterpene, when three join, it’s a sesquiterpene
and four linked isoprene units are called diterpenes.
Keywords
for Monoterpenes: analgesic, bactericidal, expectorant, stimulant
Examples: camphene and pinene in cypress oil. Champhene, pinene
and thujene in black pepper. Cymene and terpinene in thyme. Limonene
in rosemary.
Keywords for Sesquiterpenes: analgesic, anti-allergic,
anti-inflammatory, antiseptic
Examples: farnesene in chamomile and lavender. Beta-caryophyllene
in basil and black pepper.
Keywords for Diterpenes: anti-fungal, expectorant, hormonal
balancers, hypotensive
Diterpenes are made of up four isoprene units. This molecule is
too heavy to allow for evaporation with steam in the distillation
process, so is rarely found in distilled essential oils. Sclareol
in clary sage is an example of a diterpene alcohol.
Alcohols:
Keywords for alcohols: antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, germicidal.
Alcohols generally have names ending with “ol.” For
example, linalool found in ylang-ylang and lavender. Geraniol
in geranium and rose. Nerol in neroli. Alcohols exist naturally,
either as a free compound, or combined with a terpene or ester.
When a terpene is attached to an oxygen atom, and a hydrogen atom,
the result is an alcohol. When the terpene is a monoterpene, the
resulting alcohol is called a monoterpenal. These names also tend
to end with “ol."
Notes:
Alcohols have a very low or totally absent toxic reaction in the
body or on the skin. Therefore, they are considered safe to use
for children, the elderly or the frail.
Some oils that have properties that will inhibit the growth of
odor causing bacteria will have a natural deodorant effect. Such
as bergamot, lavender or geranium.
PART 1 | PART 2
>> Read more of Selena's notes