PURISSIMES® Essential Oils : Quality Criteria
The PURISSIMES® Essential Oils are 100 % pure, natural, and have been botanically and biochemically defined | The plants that are chosen for the distillation must preserve all of their biodynamic properties |
Knowledge of botanical species | It is indispensable that an essential oil originates from plants that have been botanically defined, in other words identified by their scientific Latin name; indeed the vernacular names are sometimes vague.
The Latin wording must mention: the family, the genus, the species and possibly the subspecies and the variety; it is sometimes followed by the name (even by the initials) of the botanist who, through his work, contributed to enriching the classification.
Officinal lavender (or fine, or true): vernacular name
Lavandula (name of the genus) angustifolia (species) ssp angustifolia (subspecies) Lamiaceae (family) Mill. for Miller. |
Distilled part of the plant | The same plant can produce Essential Oils with different compositions according to the part of the plant that has been distilled.
For example: Bitter orange Citrus aurantium var amara Rutaceae.
The peel provides the orange essence (photosensitive); helps for soothing digestion
The young shoots with the small green fruit provide the Essential Oil of Petit Grain Bigarade Orange [Petit Grain is the term used to refer to the leaves and young shoots] (balancing effect on the nervous system, antispasmodic)
The flowers provide the Neroli Essential Oil (neurotonic).
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Harvest period | The weather and time of the day when harvesting takes place, as well as the vegetation period are all factors which have an influence on the quality of the essential oil. Overcast or damp weather reduces the quality. The harvest must take place when the plant has the highest aromatic ester content.
For example, for lavender, it is at the end of flowering period, when the bees no longer gather pollen; on the other hand for savory and mint, it is before the flowering period.
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Geographical origins of the plant | The composition of an essential oil varies with the soil and climate. As the same plant can originate from anywhere in the world and to ensure transparency, we undertake to provide each one of them with their region of origin. In this way, we can distinguish their chemotype (see following paragraph) and consequently, their specific active principles.
Thus, the essential oil from Thyme with a variety Thymus vulgaris in France, depends on the harvesting area as it can have a thymol or carvacrol dominant constituent with bactericide properties, or a geraniol dominant constituent with fungicide properties, or a linalool dominant constituent with spasmolytic properties, or even a terpineol or thuyanol dominant constituent giving it a vagotonic activity. |
Chemotype (CT) | |
In the same way as for wine-producing soil, the biochemical constituents of the same species of plant may vary according to the type of ground, the climate and the country. The chemotype is the reference that indicates the major or distinctive biochemical constituent of an essential oil. It is defined thanks to the chromatographic analysis (see below). The definition of the chemotype enables the properties and final use of an essential oil to be ascertained better.
Officinal rosemary (France, Corsica) CT Verbenone: hepatic stimulant, neurotoxic (if used in high doses and for too long a period of time)
Officinal rosemary (Spain) CT Camphor: relieves muscular pains
Officinal rosemary (France, Mainland) CT 1-8 cineole: relaxes the bronchial passages
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Analysis – Chromatograms | A chromatography is an analysis which provides an identification statement of the aromatic composites of which it is constituted.
Each essential oil is analysed to check the content and conformity of its biochemical constituents; it is not only in the main constituent itself that the work of the essential oil can be found, but in all of its constituents, even the finest ones. If one tries to replace mint by menthol, clove by eugenol, birch by methyl salicylate, the results would be disappointing. A multitude of constituents, which are often imponderable, render the reconstitution of the essential oils from their elements impossible. |
Chromatogram of Lavandula angustifolia, batch L053316, origin France, flowering tops |
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Controls | Apart from analyses by chromatography, numerous controls must be carried out. The organoleptic characteristics are easy to observe. Colour is an important element. One must be careful of colourless essential oils which may be either terpeneless, or have been redistilled, or reconstituted. It must not be forgotten that colour varies with time. The Matricia chamomilla essential oil which is an indigo-blue colour becomes brown with age and oxidization. Scent and taste also provide precious indications but one has to have received specific training and a developed sensory preparation.
Physical measurements provide information which is unrelated to the observer. The rotatory power, which is an indicator of purity, the density (3 decimal places) must fall within certain limits, the refractive index (3 decimal places as well) measured at 20°C must fall within maximum and minimum limits.Les mesures physiques donnent des informations indépendantes de l'observateur. Le pouvoir rotatoire, indicateur de pureté, la densité (3 décimales) doit être comprise dans certaines limites, l'indice de réfraction (3 décimales aussi) mesuré à 20°C doit être compris netre des limites maximum et minimum. |
Price – Yield | An essential oil, which is a very concentrated product, requires a great quantity of plants and a great deal of work. The price of an Essential Oil is linked to the scarcity of the plant, to the conditions of harvesting-drying and to the yield during distillation.
To obtain 1 kg of essential oil of :
Lavender : you need 100 kg of the plant in blossom
Camomile : you need 1 ton of the plant in blossom
Lemon balm : you need 10 tons of the plant in blossom
Rose : you need 4 tons of petals |
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