The Importance and Challenges of Essential Oil Naming

Home , Corymbia citriodora, Eucalyptus dives, Lavandula latifolia

THE IMPORTANCE AND CHALLENGES OF ESSENTIAL OIL NAMING

with Jah Skipper

IMAGE FROM: Sonnedecker, G., 1990. How to Adulterate Volatile Oils: A Pre-1906 Manuscript Formulary. Pharmacy in history, 32(4), pp.155-165. JAH SKIPPER

1. Botanist

1. Special interest for taxonomy and plant naming

1. Interested in the botanical aspects of essential oils for the last two years

Presentation by Jah Skipper - all rights reserved WHY IS ESSENTIAL OIL NOMENCLATURE SO IMPORTANT? Without understanding essential oil naming we are at a very high risk of confusing one essential oil for another. Which can lead to:

1. Dangerous or even fatal misuses 2. Unknowingly contributing to the extinction of certain plants 3. Damaging the the perceived legitimacy of aromatherapy ‘WITHOUT KNOWING PRECISELY WHAT OIL YOU HAVE, HOW CAN YOU USE THAT SAME OIL WISELY?’ Presentation by Jah Skipper - all rights reserved What is Nomenclature?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2019):

‘a system of naming things, especially in a branch of science’

The main Founding Fathers of Modern Plant Nomenclature - Carl Linneaus

As consumers of essentials oils we rely heavily on the different plant naming to identify our oils such as:

The common name - Rosemary

The botanical name - Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Intra specific epithets: such as the chemotypes - 1.8 Cineol

KEY FACTS:

1. The vast majority of essential oils are derived from plants 2. Most common names given to essential oils are the plant names 3. The latin (botanical name) of the distilled plant is nearly always given

Thus understanding how plants are named may be very helpful to understand Essential oil naming

Family: Lamiaceae

Genus: Rosmarinus

Species: officinalis

Botanical name: Rosmarinus officinalis L.

IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons

Presentation by Jah Skipper - all rights reserved THE BINOMIAL NAME THE FAMILY: Includes many Genuses such as Mentha, Origanum, Salvia... THE GENUS: The three photos below belong to the same Genus = Rosmarinus THE SPECIES: 1, tomentosum, 2, officinalis, 3, eriocalyx 1 2 3

IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons

IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons

When it’s necessary to identify morphological and/or chemical differences within the same species (hybrid or not), we need to add an extra section to the plant name. This is called an infraspecific epithet.

1. The Subspecies (abbreviated as ssp. or subsp.), which is defined as “usually a fairly permanent geographically isolated race. example = Thymus vulgaris subsp. aestivus

1. The Variety (Var.): “A taxonomic category that ranks below subspecies (where present) or species, its members differing from others of the same subspecies or species in minor but permanent or heritable characteristics.

1. The Cultivar (‘name of the cultivar’): “A plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding. Cultivars are usually designated in the style Taxus baccata ‘Variegata’.”

The main one to know in Aromatherapy -

1. Chemotype (ct.): “…chemically characterized parts of a population of morphologically indistinguishable individuals.” Rosmarinus officinalis ct. borneol is one of many rosemary chemotypes. A chemotype must be stable in the distribution of it’s population’s and must be a hereditary trait. Initially, only changes in the single most concentrated constituent were taken into consideration for chemotype naming. Now, more and more scientist take into account the variations among the major secondary metabolites to name chemotypes. However, it must be noted that chemotypes are not subject to an official nomenclatural code and thus are subject to interpretation.

1. Verbenone 2. 1,8-cineole 3. Camphor

Botanical name (The Plant List, 2013) Common names Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D.Hill & Lemon-scented gum, Blue spotted gum, Lemon L.A.S.Johnson eucalyptus

Eucalyptus dives Schauer Peppermint, Broad-leaved peppermint, Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Blue gum, Blue mallee, Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus radiata A.Cunn. ex DC. Narrow-leaved peppermint, Forth River peppermint, Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus staigeriana F.Muell. ex F.M.Bailey Lemon-scented ironbark

Different Cinnamomum camphora Chemotypes and their Oils

↓ ↓ ↓

ct. linalool ct. cineole ct. camphora

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

Names Plant parts Names Plant parts Names Plant parts

Ho leaf leaves Ravintsara leaves White camphor Wood

Ho wood wood Yellow camphor

Shiu wood /leaves Brown camphor

Blue camphor

The ISO standard “Essential oils – Principles of nomenclature” (3218:2014) sets out some general guidelines and recommendations with regards to EO naming. The rules that they recommend are focused on providing the relevant information so that there is no risk of confusing:

1. The botanical origin of the plant.

2. The part of the plant used.

3. The plant’s phenological (developmental) stage.

4. The plant’s processing prior to extraction, e.g. fermentation, pre-drying, etc.

5. The method of obtaining the EO.

Presentation by Jah Skipper - all rights reserved In summary, to insure the above pieces of information are not confused, the ISO states that the EO products must be labeled with the following: 1. “Essential oil”: to avoid any confusion with other oil products and aromatic products. 2. “Common name”: as the main means of identifying the plant. 3. “Botanical name”: if no common name is available. 4. “Botanical hybrid name”: if plant is of hybrid origin. 5. “Infraspecific epithet”: to help distinguish sub-species or chemotypes. 6. “Part of the plant used”: to avoid ambiguity if several parts of the same plant can be used. 7. “Geographic origin”: to distinguish different species with same common name. 8. “Geographic type” : if the same species from different countries or locations has different aromatic properties. 9. “Extraction method”: to avoid ambiguity if more than one extraction method can be used for the same plant.

IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons

IDENTIFIED ISSUES:

1. THE PRODUCT NAME IS WRONG 2. NO ORIGIN 3. NO PLANT PART USED 4. MISSING EXTRACTION METHOD

HOW IT IMPACTS USE CASES:

1. POTENTIAL WRONG ADMINISTRATION METHOD FOR PRODUCT TYPE 2. LACK OF DETAIL = LOW RESOLUTION USE CASE

IMAGE FROM: Wikipedia Commons

IDENTIFIED ISSUES:

1. MISSING CHEMOTYPE 2. NO CLEAR ORIGIN

HOW IT IMPACTS USE CASES:

1. UNAVAILABLE DETAIL TO DEFINE TARGETED USE CASES 2. POTENTIAL RISK DUE TO UNKNOWN VARIABLE

IDENTIFIED ISSUES:

1. UNCLEAR PRODUCTION ORIGIN (WILDCRAFTED VS CULTIVATED)

HOW IT IMPACTS USE CASES:

1. UNAVAILABLE DEFINE SUSTAINABILITY FOR THIS ENDANGERED PLANT

Presentation by Jah Skipper - all rights reserved THE DESIRED FUTURE FOR ESSENTIAL NAMING 1. WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF KNOW GUIDELINES 2. CREATION OF A UNIFIED AGREED ESTABLISHMENT AND ATTRIBUTION FOR CHEMOTYPES 3. USING CHEMOTYPES AS A QUALIFIER OF EVERY OIL? 4. DEFINING FOR EVERY ESSENTIAL OIL ITS PRODUCTION ORIGIN 5. DEFINING FOR EVERY ESSENTIAL OIL THE PLANT PART USED

EXAMPLE: Essential oil of - Cultivated Indian Sweet basil (Ocimum Basilicum) Leaf, Ct. Linalool

Sweet basil oil

The first step in using plants for their virtues (medicinal or others) in the wild or in a bottle as an essential should be to make sure you know how to identify them!

The essential oil market can be as wild as a primordial forest - very diverse in its products, quality and rules, but just as the botanist follows set guidelines that can permit him to single out one species from the others, the essential oil user can do so as well. Just don't forget to use at the very least:

COMMON NAME + BOTANICAL NAME + PLANT PART

My work can be found at: aromagnosis.com

EMAIL: jahskipper @gmail.com

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A Guide for Buying Sustainable Essential Oils By JAH SKIPPER