It is the very essence of the plant, its quintessence, its vital force. This essential oil is extracted from the essence pockets located, depending on the plant, in the leaf (mint), zest (citrus), bark (cinnamon), the root (ginger) or even the flowery parts (lavender).
Choose them well
What counts, “it’s not so much the place of purchase (pharmacy, organic store, herbalist, supermarket) as the mentions on the label,” explains Thierry Folliard, naturopath. One must be able to find on the packaging the botanical name of the plant (in Latin), as well as various indications: the part of the plant used (root, leaf or flower), its country of origin and the chemical composition of the essential oil. “Ideally, adds Thierry Folliard, we will choose an organic product (with the label “AB” for organic farming) or wild, to avoid the risk of pollution (pesticides, heavy metals, etc.). The designation of HEBBD (essential oil botanically and biochemically defined) is not suffi cient. Finally, pay attention to purchases on the Internet. Information on the properties of oils is not always very reliable and the risk of falsification is real. A surprisingly low price, gaps in information, questionable provenance, should always alert.
How do we get them?
Different processes make it possible to extract this essential oil. The most common is hydrodistillation, also called steam distillation. This process requires the use of a still: the aromatic plants, fresh or dried, are placed on a grid through which spring water vapor carries away the volatile aromatic substances. Once cooled, this vapor loaded withessential oil condenses and flows into a tank called an “essencier”.
While the essential oil floats, underneath is the floral water, the residue of the distillation product. Also called hydrolat, it does not contain all the active ingredients present in the essential oil and those which are there are very diluted. But it is an interesting alternative for young children or pregnant women. The yield of this distillation by water vapor is very low: for example, 50 kg of fresh plants make it possible to obtain only 300 g of essential oil of lavender.
– For citrus zest, the extraction is done by pressing or cold expression. This mechanical operation aims to break the pockets that contain the essence in the fresh zest of orange, grapefruit, mandarin or bergamot.
– Finally, enfleurage consists of macerating flowers (often the most fragile, those that cannot withstand the heat of steam, such as roses and jasmine) in a fatty substance. This fat is then dissolved in alcohol to obtain an absolute, a liquid concentrate. These absolutes are more intended for the cosmetics industry. Longer and more expensive, the latter process also has an even lower yield than hydrodistillation.
