Essential Oil Extraction

精油是一种浓缩的疏水性液体，含有植物中的挥发性（在常温下很容易蒸发）化合物。
精油也被称为挥发油、醚油、乙醚，或者简称为提取精油的植物油，如丁香油。精油是“必需的”，因为它含有植物香味的“精华”——它来源于植物的特有香味。这里使用的“必需”一词并不意味着人体不可或缺或可用，就像术语必需氨基酸或必需脂肪酸一样，它们之所以被称为必需氨基酸或必要脂肪酸，是因为它们是特定生物体所需的营养物质。
精油通常通过蒸馏提取，通常使用蒸汽。其他工艺包括表达、溶剂提取、sfumatura、绝对油提取、树脂攻丝、蜡包埋和冷压。
它们被用于香水、化妆品、肥皂和其他产品，用于食品和饮料的调味，以及为熏香和家庭清洁产品添加香味。精油不应与香水、香料等混淆，因为后者通常包括纯化学成分，而精油来源于植物。
精油通常用于芳香疗法，这是一种替代药物，其中芳香化合物具有治疗作用。
芳香疗法可能有助于诱导放松，但没有足够的证据表明精油可以有效治疗任何疾病。精油的不当使用可能会造成伤害，包括过敏反应、炎症和皮肤刺激，儿童可能特别容易受到不当使用的毒性影响。
精油蒸汽蒸馏萃取
精油可以通过各种提取方法从几种不同部位的植物中提取。精油的生产和精油提取方法通常取决于所用的植物材料。材料的状态和形式是另一个考虑因素。提取方法是决定精油质量的主要因素之一。不适当的提取程序可能导致精油的化学特征受损或改变作用。这导致生物活性和自然特性的损失。对于严重的情况，可能会出现变色、异味/风味以及物理变化，如粘度增加。必须避免提取的精油发生这些变化。
蒸汽蒸馏是提取植物精油最广泛使用的方法。通过蒸汽蒸馏提取的精油比例为93%，其余7%可通过其他方法进一步提取。基本上，植物样品被放置在沸水中或通过蒸汽加热。所施加的热量是植物材料细胞结构破裂的主要原因。因此，植物材料中的芳香化合物或精油被释放出来。加热的温度必须足以分解植物材料并释放芳香化合物或精油。
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. 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 it contains the “essence of” the plant’s fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. The term “essential” used here does not mean indispensable or usable by the human body, as with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid, which are so called because they are nutritionally required by a given living organism.
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation, often by using steam. Other processes include expression, solvent extraction, sfumatura, absolute oil extraction, resin tapping, wax embedding, and cold pressing. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for adding scents to incense and household cleaning products. Essential oils should not be confused with perfume, fragrance, etc. as the latter usually include pure chemical components whereas essential oils are derived from plants.
Essential oils are often used for aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine in which healing effects are ascribed to aromatic compounds. Aromatherapy may be useful to induce relaxation, but there is not sufficient evidence that essential oils can effectively treat any condition. Improper use of essential oils may cause harm including allergic reactions , inflammation and skin irritation, and children may be particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of improper use.
Essential Oil Steam Distillation Extraction
Essential oils can be extracted from several plants with different parts by various extraction methods. The manufacturing of essential oils, and the method used for essential oil extraction are normally dependent on botanical material used. State and form of material is another factor used for consideration. Extraction method is one of prime factors that determine the quality of essential oil. Inappropriate extraction procedure can lead to the damage or alter action of chemical signature of essential oil. This results in the loss in bioactivity and natural characteristics. For severe case, discoloration, off-odor/flavor as well as physical change such as the increased viscosity can occur. Those changes in extracted essential oil must be avoided.
Steam distillation is the most widely used method for plant essential oil extraction. The proportion of essential oils extracted by steam distillation is 93% and the remaining 7% can be further extracted by other methods . Basically, the plant sample is placed in boiling water or heated by steam. The heat applied is the main cause of burst and break down of cell structure of plant material. As a consequence, the aromatic compounds or essential oils from plant material are released. The temperature of heating must be enough to break down the plant material and release aromatic compound or essential oil.
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