At the root of the exploding demand for aromatherapy and nutraceuticals, or for that matter any natural product / procedure, is the rising awareness of their benevolent effects. Excessive use of numerous synthetic products creates serious side effects over the long term.
Chief drivers of the global aromatherapy market include:
- Premium placed by customers, particularly the wealthy ones, on alternative treatments with minimal or even zero side effects.
- Strong and widely distributed network of essential oil makers makes it easy to purchase these oils. Essential oils are administered in various ways for the purpose of this therapy.
- Increasing use of essential oil dispensers.
Essential oils are administered in four different ways for aromatherapy:
- Direct inhalation
- On the skin applications through lotions and bath salts
- Indirect inhalation
What the application of essential oils does is release two hormones - endorphins and oxytocin. Endorphins lower the feelings of pain while also helping to deal with stress. Oxytocin is related to social behaviour aspects such as trust, recognition, and anxiety, apart from playing a role in childbirth.
Medical treatment costs keep scaling one peak after another. PRevention, therefore, makes greater sense than cure. Nutraceuticals are highly prized for the production of functional foods and beverages which contain herbal extracts. They also make great ingredients for foods reinforced with omega-3 fatty acid.
Factors propelling the nutraceutical market include the following:
- Function specific antioxidants and other innovative products made by the nutraceutical industry.
- Growing demand for health supplements that are a great way to prevent and deal with lifestyle disorders and non communicable diseases.
- Anti ageing supplements provided by the nutricosmetics market and its popularity among the elderly in Europe.
Now, essential oils can deliver all their touted benefits when used for aromatherapy only if obtained in its pure form. Essential oil extraction is carried out using the following methods:
- Carbon dioxide supercritical fluid extraction (CO2 SCFE) [for the purpose of simplicity, we are referring to CO2 SCFE of essential oils as carbon dioxide extraction of essential oils in this article]
- Hydrodistillation
- Solvent Extraction
- Resin Tapping
The problem with employing hydrodistillation for essential oil extraction is that it uses heat. And, the heat can chemically alter the composition of the essential oil. When solvent extraction is used for essential oil extraction, the solvent combines with the essential oil affecting its purity.
On the contrary, carbon dioxide extraction of essential oils i.e. CO2 SCFE separates essential oils from raw materials in their relatively pure form. As a result, manufacturers of essential oils are increasingly turning to this method. This technique uses supercritical carbon dioxide as the fluid which separates essential oils from raw material at high pressure and releases them from solution at low pressure.
Since the action of carbon dioxide extraction of essential oils is based on pressure differences, there is minimal contamination or distortion of essential oils obtained through this method. And with the critical temperature of carbon dioxide being very close to the room temperature - 31.1 deg-Celcius to be precise, process temperatures are around the room temperature, eliminating any chances of thermal distortion.
