Chemical Components of Four Essential Oils in Aromatherapy Recipe

This study focused on characterization of the chemical components of an aromatherapy recipe. The formulation consisted of four blended essential oils; rosemary oil, eucalyptus oil, pine oil and lime oil (volume ratio 6 : 2 : 1 : 1). The single and combination essential oils were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The analysis of GC-MS data revealed that several components exist in the mixture. The five most important components of the blended essential oils were 1,8-cineole (35.6 %), α-pinene (11.1%), limonene (9.6%), camphor (8.4%), and camphene (6.6%). The main components of rosemary oil were 1,8-cineole (37.3%), α-pinene (19.3%), camphor (14.7%), camphene (8.8%), and β-pinene (5.5%); of eucalyptus oil 1,8-cineole (82.6%) followed by limonene (7.4%), o-cymene (4.3%), γ-terpinene (2.7%), and α-pinene (1.5%); of pine oil terpinolene (26.7%), α-terpineol (20.50%), 1-terpineol (10.8%), α-pinene (6.0%), and γ-terpineol (5.3%); and of lime oil limonene (62.9%), γ-terpinene (11.5%), α-terpineol (7.6%), terpinolene (6.0%), and α-terpinene (2.8%). The present study provided a theoretical basis for the potential application of blended essential oils to be used as an aromatherapy essential oil recipe. GC-MS serves as a suitable and reliable method for the quality control of the chemical markers.