How the plant is grown. There are four main types of ways a plant can be grown.

• Cultivated plants are specifically grown to be distilled for their essential oils or other use.

• Wildcrafted plants have been collected in the wild or in their native environment.

• Organic plants have been grown without the use of chemical applications and grown in a manner that preserves the balance of the plant’s habitat.

• Traditional or conventional plants have been grown with the use of chemical applications.

 

Harvesting. The maturity and condition of the plant, weather conditions, methods, and post-harvest activities are critical to ensuring the botanical material meets quality specifications. As a general rule, leaves are harvested right before a plant blooms, flowers are best harvested the day they open, fruits are harvested when they are mature and ripe, roots are harvested when well developed and, in the fall, and bark is harvested prior to any new growth and in the early spring.

 

Processing. Post-harvest activities are critical to ensuring the botanical material meets appropriate quality specifications. Temporary storage, sorting and inspection, washing and cleaning, and dehydration are steps commonly applied to the harvested material; these require proper attention in order to prevent degradation and contamination.

 

Sustainability practices and policy. 

 

Sustainability is now a major challenge for many essential oil-bearing crops,

and the growth of aromatherapy has exacerbated the problem.

Robert Tisserand

 

It can take 10,000 pounds of rose petals to produce a single pound of rose essential oil. Plant sustainability is an increasing challenge which also impacts the people and communities throughout the harvesting regions. According to a 2010 review by the IUCN and the WWF, there are 50-80,000 flowering plant species used for medicinal purposes worldwide and about 15,000 of these are threatened with extinction from overharvesting and habitat destruction. Plant Savers and many other organizations track sustainability.

 

Part of the plant used and extraction method, where applicable. Most essential oils are extracted by the process of steam distillation; citrus oils are typically extracted using expression (cold press). Distillation requires careful attention to equipment design, time, temperature, and pressure. For aromatherapy, except for Lime, it is recommended that only cold-pressed citrus essential oils be used. Learn more about the extraction methods here.

 

Quality Assurance Test Methods. Testing is generally conducted by the supplier and with independent third-party labs and consultants. Companies should provide documentation, by batch or lot number, including test results, demonstrating compliance to quality standards. It is generally acknowledged that 70% of all essential oils are adulterated, altered, or diluted with other natural or synthetic materials, which can affect the therapeutic benefits and increases the risk of an adverse reaction. Lavender, rose, sandalwood, jasmine, neroli, and frankincense essential oils are frequently adulterated, altered, or diluted.

 

Common test methods include (but are not limited to):

• Organoleptic testing to ensure proper appearance, color, aroma and flavor.

• Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) to identify the chemical constituents and their percentages to identify any the use of adulterants.

• Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to detect heavy metals and other materials.

 

Finished product packaging and storage. Botanicals should be packaged in airtight containers, stored in a cool, dark place, such as in the refrigerator, and used before their expiration date. Essential oils should be packaged in dark colored glass bottle with a threaded closure and an orifice reducer, which provides some protection against oxidization and product degradation as well as reducing the potential of spillage. The bottle size should be sized appropriate to the amount of the contents to reduce the amount of headspace, the space between the contents and the top of the bottle, to prevent or reduce the risk of oxidation and product degradation. Any product which appears cloudy, discolored, or has an odor should be discarded to avoid the risk of adverse effects and diminished therapeutic properties.

 

A great resource for an overview and understanding of botanical material practices is The Good Agricultural and Collection Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices for Botanical Materials prepared by the American Herbal Products Association.

 

Before purchasing any botanical it is important to research both the plant and the source company.

 

Fleurish Living has created a sourcing worksheet you can download and print for comparing sources.