Plants of the Bible

by Cheryl Hoard   The story of the plants of Biblical lands is better understood when we appreciate what a significant region this has been since before the earliest written record. This area, known as the Fertile Crescent is the meeting point of the African, Asian, and European continents and has commanded a huge role […]

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Essential Oil Profile: Melissa

by Amelia E. Stone, RN   Common Name: Melissa Latin Binomial: Melissa officinalis Family: Lamiaceae or Labiatae Other Common Names: Lemon balm, balm, common balm, bee balm Production Method: steam-distilled Countries of Origin: Bulgaria Typical Constituents: Geranial (12.5-38.3%), Neral (9.7-26.1%), b-Caryophyllene (0.3-19.1%), Citronellal (4.5-13.3%), Germacrene D (0-13.0%), Caryophyllene oxide (0.8-10.0%), Geraniol (1.0-8.1%),                  [E]-b-Ocimene (0-4.9%), Neryl […]

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Essential Oil Profile: Peppermint

by Amelia E. Stone, RN   Common Name: Peppermint Latin Binomial: Mentha  piperita Family: Lamiaceae (Labiatae) Production Method: steam-distillation Countries of Origin: USA Typical Constituents: [-]-Menthol (19.0-54.2%), Menthone (8.0-31.6%), [-]-Menthyl acetate (2.1-10.6%), Neomenthol (2.6-10.0%), 1,8-Cineole (2.9-9.7%), [6R]-[+]-Menthofuran (tr-9.4%), Isomenthone (2.0-8.7%), Terpinen-4-ol (0-5.0%), [1R]-[+]-b-Pulegone (0.3-4.7%), [+]-Limonene (0.8-4.5%), Germacrene D (tr-4.4%), b-Caryophyllene (0.1-2.8%), [E]-Sabinene hydrate (0.2-2.4%), b-Pinene […]

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Essential Oil Profile: Frankincense

by Amelia E. Stone, RN   Common Name: Frankincense Latin Binomial: Boswellia frereana Family: Burseraceae Other Common Names: Olibanum Production Method: Steam distilled Countries of Origin: Somalia Typical Constituents: α-Pinene (41-80.0%), Sabinene (0.5-21.0%), α-Thujene (0-19.3%), [+]-Limonene (0-17.0%), Viridiflorol (0-15.2%), ρ-Cymene (0.7-11.7%), b-Pinene (0-6.9%), Verbenone (0-6.5%), b-Myrcene (0-6.0%), α-Phellandrene (0-5.9%), Bornyl acetate(0-5.6%), Carvone (0-4.4%), δ-3-Carene (0-3.4%), […]

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Standardized Oils

QUESTION: What is the difference between standardized and regular lemon verbena? ANSWER: We offer standardized essential oils sometimes as alternatives for the more expensive oils like Lemon Verbena and especially Melissa. Standardized means the chemical constituents have been altered in various ways. Sometimes these standardized oils are called “Nature Identical”. Sometimes they are altered with […]

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