Essential Oil Chemistry Lesson

Look mom! I made ethyl alcohol (which kinda resembles a dog!)Did you ever meet someone really obnoxious and wonder what on earth you have in common with them? No?  Maybe it’s just me then.  But all human beings and all living beings on the planet do have one thing in common.  We're all made up of molecules that contain carbon!

During the cold January month I was holed up on my aromatherapy course and during one fateful weekend I was subjected to 12 hours of organic chemistry.   That is a lot of chemistry!  The most basic lesson I learned that weekend was that carbon is the building block of nature. I vaguely remembered this from high school science classes but the cobwebs of my mind were obstructing the view.

Second revelation of the weekend- essential oils are made up of chemicals. Sounds a bit shocking no but stay with me, here's how we roll: essential oils are made from aromatic plant matter which undergoes a distillation process. As part of that process the plant matter is broken down and the resulting oil has a different chemical composition. Granted it's made up of organic chemical compounds, but still chemicals.

Here's a breakdown of the different chemical constituents and their therapeutic properties:

Classes & Functional Groups of Chemical Compounds	Can be found in	Properties
Monoterpenes	All essential oils to some extent	Skin penetrating, tonic and immune stimulating, antiseptic, volatile, possibly skin irritating when old
Sesquiterpenes	Ginger, Black Pepper, Clove, Chamomile, Helicrysum	Anti-inflammatory, calming
Monoterpene alcohols	Rosewood, Lavender, Geranium, Palmarosa, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Juniper, Peppermint, Citronella	Anti-microbial, immune supportive, (some are sedative, hypotensive, and antispasmodic
Sesquiterpenes alcohols	Rose, Chamomile, Vetivert, Cedarwood, Spikenard	Anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, sedative
Phenols	Thyme, savory, oregano	Strongly antiseptic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, skin and mucous membrane irritating, possibly hepatotoxic
Aldehydes	Lemongrass, Citronella, lemon,	Antimicrobial terpenoids are sedative and possibly have hormonal effects, skin irritating in large amounts
Ketones	Jasmine, Everlasting, Sage, Mugwort, Thuja, Wormwood, Frankincense, Rosemary	Mucolytic, antimicrobial, skin healing, hepatotoxic and neurotoxic
Esters	Bergamot, Black Spruce, Cardamom, Chamomile, Lavender, Neroli, Petitgrain	Antispasmodic, sedative, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory
Oxides	Eucalyptus, Cadamom, Chamomile, Rosemary, Yarrow	Expectorant, stimulant, skin penetrating, antispasmodic
Ethers	Nutmeg, Clove Bud, Aniseed, Fennel, Basil, Parsley	Antispasmodic and carminative, anethole has estrogenic effect, possibly hepatotoxic

Most essential oils are safe to use in normal doses (less than 5% strength diluted in carrier oil).  However some there are some safety precautions.  The keytone thujone should not be used in aromatherapy because of toxicity.  Aldehydes can be a skin irritant because they are very unstable and oxidize readily.  The oxide 1,8 cineole should be used cautiously with asthmatics as it may set off an attack.  Here’s a list of oils that you should exercise caution with:

Contraindication	Essential Oils
Phototoxic - avoid sun exposure for 12 hours	bergamot, lemon, lime, grapefruit, Angelica root and cumin
Avoid on children under 2 years old or people with sensitive skin	cinnamon leaf, West-Indian Bay, Clove, Winter Savory, laurel, and Thyme thymol
Avoid on children under 2 years old or in pregnancy/breastfeeding mothers	Sweet fennel, aniseed, spike lavender, French lavender, lavendin, rosemary, rosemary verbena, Spanish sage, hyssop
Avoid on children under 5 years old or in pregnancy/breastfeeding mothers	Peppermint
DO NOT USE	Birch, cinnamon bark, elemi, nutmeg, parsley leaf, parsley seed, pennyroyal, ravensara aniseed, rue, common sage, tagette, tansy, tarragon, lemon verbena, wormwood

As the vast majority of essential oils are safe to use, you don’t have to worry too much about the few that aren’t.  However, it is a good reminder that essential oils are very powerful and even the safe ones should only be used in very small doses.  Just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily good for you.  Poison ivy is natural but you wouldn’t go and rub that on your skin.  And the next time someone is rude to you try to remember that you’re both made up of carbon, so cut them a little slack!

Comments

[maisie]

I love using essential oils but you do have to be careful of what you are buying and exactly how much essential oils are included