Comparison of Two Lavender Oils

Tale of Two Lavenders

Comparison of Two Lavender Oils

Comparison of Two Lavender Oils

Lavender oil is probably the most go-to oil for people with even the most rudimentary understanding of aromatherapy. In fact, there are many, many variations of the plant and of course by extension, the oil.

The following composition of Lavender essential oil obtained by chromatography has been taken from Wikipedia examination.

The primary components of Lavender oil are linalool(51%) and linalyl acetate(35%).Other components include α-pinene, limonene, 1,8- cineole, cis- and trans-ocimene, 3-octanone, camphor, caryophyllene, terpinen-4-ol,and lavandulyl acetate.

Family / Composition / Lavandeofficinale
Lavandulangustifolia / Lavande aspic
Lavandulalatifolia
Terpenes/
Monoterpenols / Linalool / 28.92% / 49.47%
-terpineol / 0.90% / 1.08%
-terpineol / 0.09%
Bomeol / 1.43%
Iso-borneol / 0.82%
Terpinen-4-ol / 4.32%
Nerol / 0.20%
Lavandulol / 0.78%
Terpenes/ Terpene esters / Linalyl acetate / 32.98%
Geranyl acetate / 0.60%
Neryl acetate / 0.32%
Octene-3-yl acetate / 0.65%
Lavandulyl acetate / 4.52%
Terpenes/ Monoterpenes / Myrcene / 0.46% / 0.41%
-pinene / 0.54%
-pinene / 0.33%
Camphene / 0.30%
E–ocimene / 3.09%
Z–ocimene / 4.44%
-phellandrene / 0.12%
Terpenes/
Terpenoid oxides / Eucalyptol
(1,8-cineol) / 25.91%
Terpenes/
Sesquiterpenes / -caryophyllene / 4.62% / 2.10%
-famesene / 2.73%
Germacrene / 0.27%
-humulene / 0.28%
Ketones / Camphor / 0.85% / 13.00%
Octanone-3 / 0.72%
Cryptone / 0.35%

In this chart, you can seeLavendulalatifoliahas a far higher concentration of monoterpenols thanAngustifolia. The properties of this particular constituent are anti-infectious and have high antibacterial capacities.Angustifoliais higher in a different type of terpenes called Terpene esters. Here, you see linalyl acetate which is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory, at 32.98% and not present at all inlatifolia.

These are naturally occurring variations, not synthetic differences. This helps us understand why different bottles of Lavender oil may work differently than another. Consider the unaware consumer then, who uses one bottle on the recommendation of an enthusiastic convert. To her a bottle of Lavender is just that, nothing more, nothing less. If she buys the different species of Lavender, her results may be remarkably different from her friend’s. In fact, she may feel that the oil did not work at all. In a way, she would be correct. However, for her one of two conclusions drawn may not be accurate:

1. Aromatherapy does not work.

2. The bottle of oil she bought was in some way not as good as her friend’s (i.e. wrong brand, not necessarily wrong species).

It could merely be that the oil works in a different way because it was extracted from another species of Lavender. Both oils could have come from remarkably healthy and pure specimens, but with different constituents. So understanding an essential oil’s composition plays a very decisive factor in determining the best oil to use in your therapy.