essential oil
Also known as volatile oil, ethereal oil, aetherolea, oil of the plant, Oils, Volatile
hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants
AI overview
An essential oil is a concentrated, oily liquid extracted from plants that contains the compounds responsible for their natural scents and aromas. These oils are hydrophobic, meaning they don't mix with water, and people use them in perfumes, flavorings, and various other products.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Research
42,250 papers- Essential oil encapsulation by electrospinning and electrospraying using food proteins: A review.ReviewFood research international (Ottawa, Ont.) · 2023Pires JB, Santos FND, Costa IHL et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112970
- The Effects of Essential Oils on the Nervous System: A Scoping Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Sattayakhom A, Wichit S, Koomhin PDOI: 10.3390/molecules28093771
- Therapeutic Potential of Essential Oil-based Microemulsions: Reviewing State-of-the-art.ReviewCurrent drug delivery · 2021Thakur D, Kaur G, Puri A et al.DOI: 10.2174/1567201818666210217161240
- Studies on essential oil from rose-scented geranium, Pelargonium graveolens L'Hérit. (Geraniaceae).Natural product research · 2021Fekri N, El Amir D, Owis A et al.
~18 min read
Article
Essential oils are composed of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds, usually in liquid form, obtained from plant material. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An essential oil is essential in the sense that the oil contains the fragrance or essence of the plant. The term "essential" used here does not indicate that it is nutritionally required in the diet, as with essential amino acid or essential fatty acid.
Essential oils, according to ISO, are produced either by steam distillation, by mechanical manipulation of the rind of the fruits of the genus Citrus (also called cold pressing), or by dry distillation. Other methods, such as solvent extraction, are not accepted and, in fact, result in different perfumed products (pommades, concretes, and absolutes). They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, air fresheners and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for adding scents to household cleaning products.