Essential oils

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Essential oil is a volatile odorous substance contained in plants. It can be found in the flowers, leaves, fruit, bark, seed or roots. It is extracted by distillation through water vapor or can be pressed (citrus fruits). In this second case, this is an essence and not an essential oil. The term "oil" lends some confusion to the denomination: there are no oily substances present, only volatile ones.

Many essential oils are colorless or come in varying shades of yellow from a green-yellow to a brown-red.

The quantity of essential oil obtained varies according to the plant. It can vary fro 0.3 grams to 12 kilos for 100 kilos of plant matter. The same plant species will also yield different quantities according to the area it is grown in.

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