Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The complete guide to the use of aromatic oils in aromatherapy, herbalism, health and well-being.. Julia Lawless
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Pimpinella anisum
FAMILY Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
SYNONYMS Anisum officinalis, A. vulgare, anise, sweet cumin.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION An annual herb, less than a metre high, with delicate leaves and white flowers.
DISTRIBUTION Native to Greece and Egypt, now widely cultivated mainly in India and China and to a lesser extent in Mexico and Spain.
OTHER SPECIES There are several different chemotypes of aniseed according to the country of origin. Not to be confused with star anise, which belongs to a different family altogether.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION Widely used as a domestic spice. The volatile oil content provides the basis for its medicinal applications: dry irritable coughs, bronchitis and whooping cough. The seed can be used in smoking mixtures. Aniseed tea is used for infant catarrh, also flatulence, colic and griping pains, also for painful periods and to promote breast milk. In Turkey a popular alcoholic drink, raki, is made from the seed.
ACTIONS Antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, galactagogue, stimulant, stomachic.
EXTRACTION Essential oil by steam distillation from the seeds.
CHARACTERISTICS Colourless to pale yellow liquid with a warm, spicy-sweet characteristic scent. Like star anise, it is a good masking agent.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS Trans-anethole (75–90 per cent).
SAFETY DATA Its major component, anethole, is known to cause dermatitis in some individuals – avoid in allergic and inflammatory skin conditions. In large doses it is narcotic and slows down the circulation; can lead to cerebral disorders. Use in moderation only.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME USE See star anise.
OTHER USES By the pharmaceutical industry in cough mixtures and lozenges and to mask undesirable flavours in drugs. Also used in dentifrices and as a fragrance component in soaps, toothpaste, detergents, cosmetics and perfumes, mostly of the industrial type. Employed in all major food categories.
Arnica montana
FAMILY Asteraceae (Compositae)
SYNONYMS A. fulgens, A. sororia, leopard’s bane, wolf’s bane.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION A perennial alpine herb with a creeping underground stem, giving rise to a rosette of pale oval leaves. The flowering erect stem is up to 60 cms high, bearing a single, bright yellow, daisy-like flower. The whole plant is very difficult to cultivate.
DISTRIBUTION Native to northern and central Europe; also found growing wild in the USSR, Scandinavia and northern India. The oil is produced mainly in France, Belgium and Germany.
OTHER SPECIES A related plant, A. cordifolia, and other species of arnica are used in America, where it is known as ‘mountain tobacco’.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION This herb stimulates the peripheral blood supply when applied externally, and is considered one of the best remedies for bruises and sprains. It helps relieve rheumatic pain and other painful or inflammatory skin conditions, so long as the skin is not broken! It is never used internally due to toxicity levels.
ACTIONS Anti-inflammatory, stimulant, vulnerary.
EXTRACTION Essential oil by steam distillation of 1. flowers, and 2. root. The yield of essential oil is very small. An absolute, tincture and resinoid are also produced.
CHARACTERISTICS 1. A yellowy-orange liquid with a greenish-blue hint and a strong bitter-spicy scent reminiscent of radish. 2. Dark yellow or butter-brown oil more viscous than the flower oil, with a strong bitter scent.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS Thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether (80 per cent approx.), isobutyric ester of phlorol (20 per cent approx.) and other minor traces.
SAFETY DATA The essential oil is highly toxic and should never be used internally or on broken skin. However, the tincture or arnica ointment are valuable additions to the home medicine cabinet.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME USE None.
OTHER USES The tincture is mainly employed in pharmaceutical skin products. The oil from the flowers finds occasional use in herbaceous-type perfumes. It is also used to flavour certain liqueurs.
Ferula asa-foetida
FAMILY Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
SYNONYMS Asafoetida, gum asafetida, devil’s dung, food of the gods, giant fennel.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION A large branching perennial herb up to 3 metres high, with a thick fleshy root system and pale yellow-green flowers.
DISTRIBUTION Native to Afghanistan, Iran and other regions of south west Asia.
OTHER SPECIES There are several other species of Ferula which yield the oleoresin known as ‘asafetida’, e.g. Tibetan asafetida, which is also used to a lesser extent in commerce.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION In Chinese medicine it has been used since the seventh century as a nerve stimulant in treating neurasthenia. It is also widely used in traditional Indian medicine, where it is believed to stimulate the brain. In general, it has the reputation for treating various ailments including asthma, bronchitis, convulsions, coughs, constipation, flatulence and hysteria. The foliage of the plant is used as a local vegetable. It is current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific for intestinal flatulent colic.
ACTIONS Antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, hypotensive, stimulant. Animals are repelled by its odour.
EXTRACTION The oleoresin is obtained by making incisions into the root and above ground parts of the plant. The milky juice is left to leak out and harden into dark reddish lumps, before being scraped off and collected. The essential oil is then obtained from the resin by steam distillation. An absolute, resinoid and tincture are also produced.
CHARACTERISTICS A yellowy-orange oil with a bitter acrid taste and a strong, tenacious odour resembling garlic. However, beneath this odour there is a sweet, balsamic note.
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