Aroma therapy essential oils

Essential oils refer to those volatile oils with therapeutic benefits used in aromatherapy. They are prepared out of many plant materials like grasses, leaves, flowers, needles, twigs, fruit peels, wood and roots. Each essential oil will have the characteristics, odor or flavor of the plant from which it is prepared. There are approximately about 150 essential oils. They are used to make perfumes, food flavors, medicines, antiseptic additive and fragrant products.

The history of use of the essential oils dates back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. Essential oils were used as the source of perfumes in ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, Greece and Rome. Even Ayurvedic medicine provides recommendation for the use of essential oil massage for curing many ailments.

Essential oils are produced using several methods. The oils are extracted from the dried or fresh plants or plant materials through distillation method using water and steam. Then the oil is squeezed out of th e plants by using machines. This method is called as expression method. At times, solvents and alcohols are also used to remove the essential oils from the plants.

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