Several ingredients are listed on our essential oil bottles; these are the allergens. This is not because the essential oils are not pure. The allergens ensure that the essential oil has a specific effect. Additionally, essential oils contain certain components that are useful to identify in case you are allergic to a particular substance. The allergens can be found among the ingredients listed after the botanical name of the essential oil. If these active ingredients of a particular essential oil are not listed after the botanical name, it may not be a genuine essential oil.
For example Bergamot oil
An example is Bergamot oil where the following ingredients are listed on the bottle. Ingredients: Citrus Bergamia Peel oil (botanical name), D-Limonene (allergen), Linalool (allergen), Citral (allergen), Geraniol (allergen)
All these allergens are the natural allergens present in Bergamot oil.
1.1.1 The following ingredients are further described after the botanical name:
- D-Limonene
- Linalool
- Geraniol
- Coumarin
- Citral
- Citronellol
- Isoeugenol
- Eugenol
- Farnesol
- Benzyl Benzoate
- Benzyl Salicylate
- Benzyl Alcohol
- Cinnamyl Alcohol
1.1.1.1 D-Limonene
Limonene occurs in many plants; in particular, D-limonene is found in the essential oil of citrus fruits. To a lesser extent, it is found in the essential oil of flowers, seeds, and other plant parts.
1.1.1.2 Linalool
Isomers of linalool occur in numerous plants, particularly in the essential oil of rosewood. To a lesser extent, it is found in lavender, for example. The esters of linalool, such as linalyl acetate, also occur in various essential oils. Linalool is primarily used as a raw material for the production of vitamin E. In addition, Linalool is a widely used fragrance and flavoring.
1.1.1.3 Geraniol
Geraniol occurs in many types of plants, for example the Rose and Palmarosa. The essential oil can be extracted from the plant by steam distillation. Palmarosa oil in particular contains a lot of geraniol; it was isolated from it in 1871 by Jens Peter Jacobsen. It is still one of the most widely used isolates in the perfume industry.
1.1.1.4 Coumarin
Coumarin is a substance found in many types of plants (sweetgrass, bog sweetgrass, field clover, bird’s-foot trefoil) and, for example, in cinnamon and tonka beans. The name comes from the Spanish cumarú, the tonka bean tree.
Coumarin, along with a number of related substances, is responsible for the typical hay scent of drying and dried grass. When the plants dry, the substance is released from the sugar chains to which it is bound in the living plant. Coumarin and several of its compounds were formerly used as flavorings.
1.1.1.5 Citral
Citral occurs in the oil of a large number of plants: Lemon Myrtle (90-95%), Litsea Cubeba (70-85%), Lemongrass (65-85%), lemon verbena (30-35%), lemon balm, Lemon and Orange. Citral has a strong lemon scent. The scent of Citral is also lemony, but less strong and sweeter. Citral is therefore used as a fragrance in the perfume industry. Citral is also added as a fragrance to lemon oil to enhance the scent. Citral also has a strong antibacterial effect.
1.1.1.6 Citronellol
Citronellol or dihydrogeraniol is a naturally occurring acyclic terpene. Citronellol occurs in Citronella, Lemongrass (50%), Geranium, Pelargonium and Rose oil (18-55%). It has a fresh, floral citrus scent. The substance occurs as a colorless, viscous liquid and has a fairly long shelf life. Citronellol is used in perfume primarily as a heart note or as a middle note, in shampoo, deodorant, hair gel, soap, and as an ingredient in insect sprays.
1.1.1.7 Isoeugenol
Isoeugenol is a phenylpropene, a propenyl-replacing guaiacol. A phenylpropanoid, it occurs in the essential oils of plants such as the Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata). Isoeugenol can be synthesized from Eugenol and was used to produce Vanillin. Isoeugenol is a liquid. Isoeugenol is used in products such as soap and shampoo.
1.1.1.8 Eugenol
Eugenol occurs in many types of plants. Essential oil of clove consists largely of Eugenol. It is the substance that causes the characteristic odor in some dentists.
1.1.1.9 Farnesol
Farnesol is a colorless liquid with a floral scent. The substance is a sesquiterpene and occurs naturally in jasmine and rose oil and has a hormonal function in some insects. Farnesol is used as a fragrance and has an antibacterial effect, and is therefore also applied in cosmetics.
1.1.1.10 Benzyl Benzoate
Benzyl Benzoate is used as a fixative in fragrance compositions. The fixative ensures that the scent remains perceptible for longer.
1.1.1.11 Benzyl Salicylate
Benzyl Salicylate has a sweet floral scent and occurs in the essential oil of various flowers, especially from the Orchid, Cactus, and Clove families. It is isolated from the essential oil of garden carnations (Dianthus Caryophyllus). It is used as UV absorption in cosmetic products.
1.1.1.12 Benzyl Alcohol
Benzyl Alcohol is a colorless liquid with a weak aromatic odor. The substance is a natural component of various essential oils, including Ylang Ylang oil and absolutes of Jasmine and Hyacinth. It has disinfectant properties.
Benzyl alcohol is moderately soluble in water, but miscible in all proportions with other alcohols and diethyl ether. Like all alcohols, benzyl alcohol reacts with carboxylic acids to form esters. Additionally, it is used, both in pure and esterified form, as a fragrance and flavoring agent in, for example, soap, perfume, and food products.
