Extraction methods
The goodness of herbs and flowers needs to be extracted from them. Plants contain tiny sacs full of therapeutic essential oils that consist of secrets of organic healing. It is important to use an appropriate extraction method to safely excerpt out the oils without damaging the natural properties of the plant. Different extraction methods are used for different plants depending on the plant material (flower, leaf, stem, root) that store these essential oils.
Steam Distillation
Steam Distillation is the most common and popular way of extracting essential oil from plants. The plant material is kept in a container and extremely hot steam is passed through it. The essential oil from the plant material gets diffused within the steam and reaches to the condenser. The condenser is surrounded by chilled water that helps the ‘steam containing essential oil’ to convert into liquid form. At the end of this process, this water and oil mixture is collected in a container. The oil is floating at the top of the water due to its light-weight and thus is easy to extract the pure herbal oil from the source.
Solvent Extraction
Solvent Extraction is a modern way of extracting essential oils from delicate and costly flowers and plants. This method brings out the natural and fine fragrance of the plant. The natural extracts of the plant are reaped out with the help of a solvent and it gives the plant material a waxy appearance. Later, the unwanted wax is removed by vacuum distillation and in the end, we receive pure aromatic compounds out of the plant extract
Cold Press Extraction
Cold Press extorts the plant goodness in the purest and unique form. The essential oils extracted from this method are of very high quality and grade. This method is mostly used to extract oils from the plants belonging to the citrus family. The entire fruit is kept in a machine and is pressed in such a way that it ruptures and squeezes all the essential oil out of it. After that, the oil run down into the collection area. Here the pure oil is separated from the peel residues and remaining solids of the fruit.
Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease. –
- Hippocrates