Nowadays, essential oils have gained a lot of attention for their potential benefits in treating everything from headaches to insomnia to sore throats. But have you ever thought about how essential oils are produced?
Essential oils are taken from plant sources rather than being created. They are essentially the liquid form of a plant, and they effectively allow its therapeutic components to access the bloodstream faster than they would by merely digesting the plant. Without further ado, now is the perfect time to understand how they are made.
Let's explore the process of making essential oils in more detail below:
A plant's aromatic essence, or "quintessential" oil, is extracted to create an essential oil. Each plant produces these essences for a different reason. In others, the oil deters predators while luring pollinators. The oil prevents aggressive encroaching on competing species. Even better, essential oil can act as a built-in antibacterial system to protect and keep pests away from the plant.
Plants' glandular structures, either externally or internally, produce essential oils. For instance, in a lavender leaf, you may scent the essential oil on your fingertips from the exterior oil glands if you touch it. You may need to rip open the leaf to get at the aromatic components in a plant like a eucalyptus. In either case, working with a concentrated essential oil rather than the raw plant itself is frequently more convenient and practical when introducing essential oils into healthcare. Hemp, lavender, peppermint, orange, lemon, etc., are the most common essential oils.
How Essential Oils Are Produced?
The terms "extraction" and "distillation" may have come up in conversation, but what do they imply, and how do they vary? Distillation is one extraction technique. Extraction is the overall process of removing essential oils from plant material. Most of the plant components you use are distilled to produce essential oils. Now, learn why these terms are important.
Essential oils are produced using a variety of popular extraction techniques, and we will be breaking them all down below:
Method #1: Steam Distillation
Steam distillation is the process used most frequently to create essential oils. This method steers raw plant material in a sizable hopper, releasing aromatic compounds that evaporate and ascend with water vapor into a sealed cooling system above the steaming compartment. The vapor transforms into a liquid as the mixed steam and plant vapor is cooled in a different chamber known as a condenser.
They then proceed to a separator, separating into two layers: oil on top and water at the bottom. The water is known as floral water, or hydrosol, since it contains the plant's essence's water-soluble (hydrophilic) components. The hydrosol's oil-soluble aromatic chemicals rise to the top in a distinct layer that may be separated to reveal the plant's essential oil.
There are two processes of steam distillation. Hydro-distillation, in which the plant material is completely submerged in water. Hydro-diffusion, steam drives the plants from the top rather than passing through them from the bottom. However, other approaches also exist because not all plants can resist this high-heat extraction technique.
Method #2: Expression
Expression is also known as cold-pressing or expeller-pressing, the former being a temperature-controlled process. Citrus oils are a significant example of the processing method. The cells carrying the oils are punctured all over the peels and then soaked in warm water or physically pressed. After being centrifuged, the pressed liquid and pulp are separated into citrus juice and essential oil. As a result of the citrus juice processing, citrus peels are sold online in quantity, which explains why many of these essential oils (lemon, orange) are widely accessible and reasonably priced. Citrus essential oils are an excellent spot to invest in certified organic oils because pesticide contamination is a significant worry.
Method #3: Solvent Extraction
Hexane, dimethyl ether, or saturated carbon dioxide are some solvents used to produce residual aromatics, which are not strictly classified as essential oils. The residue from hexane and ether is often less than ten ppm (parts per million), which is extremely low. However, carbon dioxide (CO2), which refers to the gas you just exhaled, is the least hazardous of these solvents.
This procedure is gaining popularity and involves putting the plant material and the solvent CO2 in a chamber. The chamber is heated to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit and placed under tremendous pressure (100 to 200 times standard atmospheric pressure). The CO2 enters a "supercritical" state due to the modestly elevated temperature and significantly increased pressure. This is a nerdy idea, but it involves mixing liquid and gaseous CO2 to create a dense fog that permits the plant's aromatic elements to dissolve.
After being separated from the residual raw plant material and brought back to normal air pressure, wherein carbon dioxide can only remain as a gas, the supercritical CO2 that now contains the extracted aromatic compounds is used. Only the plant's harvested aromatic portion remains when it transforms back into gas. Since the solvent has transitioned from a supercritical state to a pure gas, no solvent residue is left in the remaining CO2 extract. It's a highly pricey trick; therefore, its usefulness is still somewhat constrained.
Method #4: Enfleurage
Enfleurage, a method that dates back centuries, was used to press fragile flowers like orange blossom and jasmine under pieces of glass to preserve the bloom's essence. The flowers were removed after a few days and replaced with new ones. This process was carried out numerous times until the grease was as fragrant as possible. Since most people do not want their hygiene products to be animal-derived, this procedure is utilized less frequently. The majority of the time, concretes and absolutes have replaced enfleurage.
What Are the Benefits of Essential Oils?
The value of essential oils in promoting human health has not been sufficiently investigated, despite claims that they are natural cures for various diseases. While outcomes from laboratory research are encouraging-one at Johns Hopkins discovered that specific essential oils might defeat a particular strain of Lyme bacteria better than antibiotics-those from human clinical trials have had mixed fortunes.
While some research suggests that utilizing essential oils has advantages, others show no reduction in symptoms. Clinical trials have investigated whether certain ailments, including:
Conclusion:
An herbal extract is created when a botanical substance is combined with a solvent that causes part of the plant material's constituents to dissolve. The solution that stays at the end of the procedure can be fluid. The fluid can be eliminated in other instances to turn the botanical remnants into a solid. This is referred to as the "extract," which is the solvent infused with the botanical materials it has pulled from the source plant. The solvents may serve as preservatives or as substances that aid in the disintegration and release of plant cells' contents, and further processed to make an essential oil.
Wrapping things up, essential oils are not made; instead, they are extracted from plant materials. They are a plant's liquid form, allowing the beneficial components to work more quickly than you would if you just ate the plant.
References:
https://www.youngliving.com/blog/how-are-essential-oils-made/ https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/blog/articles/how-essential-oils-are-made.html https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-essential-oils-are-made
