Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Get rid of dandruff by essential oil

Get rid of dandruff by essential oil is one natural way that can be done at home. The material is promising is the kaffir lime oil. It is popular in culinary use to reduce the fishy smell and flavor. They have rough skin which in is used for seasoning “pecel” sauce in East Java and is used as a medicinal in the community of North Sumatra. Beyond that, it is also efficacious to remove dandruff.
Kaffir lime (Citrus Hystrix) or so-called sauce orange or “pecel” citrus is generally used for flavoring food and fragrances. It is included in subgenus Papeda and its appearance is easily recognizable. Compared with other citrus, it has round shape with the bulges, or the rough and thick surface of skin. Its plants originated from East Asia and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. In Indonesia, they can be found in Java, Sulawesi (Makassar) and the Moluccas.
It is also be used for beauty and health. For health, it is used to prevent and cure influenza. As for beauty, it can brighten dull skin.
Meanwhile, they could serve as anti-dandruff, to overcome dull and stinky odor on the hair and scalp. It contains essential oil which can strengthen the follicles, so it is very useful for treating hair and its roots.
Its essential oil containing 2 to 2.5 percent of citrate. They also contain triperponoid steroids and tannins. No wonder, if many variety of skin and beauty products using ingredients from this as basic materials. Essential oil for fragrance can be obtained from its leaves or its peel.
Explained by Dr. Sri Murniati Moerdowo, LSKI chairman, its leaves have always been used to prevent hair problems. Currently, many hair care products use it as basic materials. Now, their processing is not mashed like in the earlier times, but it is taken to be extract which is used to make the hair look healthy and shiny.
From the results of research in the Journal of Kasetsart, it is found that essential oil of kaffir lime peel in the form of crude extract, could inhibit the growth of Candida alcicans which is a micro-organism associated with the dandruff of the scalp. So, if you want to get rid of dandruff by essential oil, you can take this optimum formula: kaffir lime juice, kaffir lime peel oil, sodium lauryl ether sulfate, coconut diethanolamide, 5-bromo-5-nitro-1, 3-dioxane (Bronidox) and water at 15.0, 1.0, 50.0, 30.0, 0.1 and 30.0 percent (w/w), respectively.
But if you want to use its fruit for hair care, you must clean the fruit first, then cut it into two parts for easy shredded. Grated result, applied to the scalp to stimulate the follicles. Then allow it to stand for one hour until the smear of the grated, really soak into the scalp. After that, you can cleanse it with clean water or with added shampoo. Although this treatment is safe, but you must keep in mind that it is sour substance, so that if irritated scalp is exposed to such material, it.can cause painful irritation. Therefore, you should not take this treatment.
However, get rid of dandruff by essential oil can be performed in natural way using the others, such as rosemary and ylang-ylang or cananga to help stimulate hair growth. Lavender also help us to fight dandruff. Always consult with your doctor to avoid further problem since everybody has different physical condition.

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Monday, August 8, 2011

Essential oil business development in Indonesia

Essential oil business development in Indonesia needs to consider many complex factors, ranging from actors, technical and management of cultivation, processing technology, to the marketing. Intensification programs of essential oil plant need to consider absorption of markets, and prefer the commodity area grouping programs as well as intensification to improve its productivity and quality of raw materials, so it does not pose a risk of loss for farmers. Its plant farming is developed in the appropriate area, using top quality of plant material, and applying a good way of cultivation (good agricultural practices) to improve productivity and quality.
In the downstream, the essential oil industry should be developed that relies on the availability of raw materials and chemicals. Plant engineering and processing as well as R and D is undertaken by the Indonesian people themselves, so they do not only export raw materials but also high value processed commodities.
Volatile oil price fluctuations and levels, among others, are determined by supply and demand. So the government and exporters are expected to play an active role in providing guidance and counseling to farmers and distillers to anticipate market conditions and needs of the world. Attitude of openness of all businesses in terms of information components and cost structure of farming, refining, trading, and export and the level of prices in export markets can improve the harmonization of relationships between business actors.
Its value-added commodities can be improved because the technology to produce derivative commodities or conversion of its natural commodities into high value-added products has been available. The results of research and development need to be disseminated to the business. It required the support and joint efforts between government and business to the intensive dissemination of technology progresses, including the utilization of human resources at universities and research / development institutions.
Formulation and implementation of standardized processes (Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices), standard equipment, quality standards applicable and needed in world trade, and prices associated with the quality standards should be promoted. It required the support of all stakeholders in order to realize and implement the various standards.
Increased profits can be pursued through the use of high quality raw materials, processing with appropriate technology, as well as increased efficiency of processing and marketing. The more intensive facilitation and coaching from the government / universities / research institutes and exporters needed to disseminate the appropriate technology to farmers and refiners.
Governments need to socialize the conditions and regulations on essential oil businesses development, both nationally and internationally. Improved access to capital for farmers and refiners, as well as institutional strengthening / farmers' associations and refiners in the region should continue to be pursued.
In every essential oil production centers, forum for communication of all relevant actors and agencies should be held periodically to seek solutions to problems faced and develop several action strategies for essential oil business development. The existence of “essential sites” to maintain the networking and communication among stakeholders at central and local governments can also support the efforts.
In order to integrate and harmonize the national essential oil community activities, all the stakeholders have agreed to form the Indonesia Council of Essential Oils. This council serves as a vehicle to: (1) to unite, protect and defend the interests of all stakeholders in the face of globalization, (2) improve the competitiveness and the "glory" of the commodities in the international world, and (3) enhance cooperation in the development of its value-added products.
Referring to the Estates Act No.18/2004 of Indonesia, the government is obliged to facilitate the establishment of commodity boards, so that the Council should be formed immediately. The establishment of the board of commodities is carried by the stakeholders. The small team which is a special task force representing various departments from government can be formed. This team can be a strategic partner in managing the Council and improve the performance and competitiveness of essential oil commodities, so that Indonesia become the world's major producer of volatile oil. Furthermore, the essential oil business development in Indonesia requires a strong commitment from the players to execute all the strategies and rules that have been agreed.

Reference: Molide Rizal and Muhamad Djazuli, 2006. Strategi Pengembangan Minyak Atsiri di Indonesia. Warta Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pertanian Vol. 28, No. 5, 2006)

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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Essential oil extraction using microwave

Currently, the essential oil extraction using microwave is studied intensively to replace conventional technologies such as steam distillation (hydrodistillation), isolation with fat (enfleurage), etc. The primarily advantage of this method is the less time of volatile compounds extraction than previous methods.
Electromagnetic waves transmitted through radiation will penetrate the transparent substances like glass as a container of the raw material. It is able to achieve the gland and vascular system in the plant material. Moisture content and other components, including volatile compounds in plant parts absorb the radiation and it will turn it into heat energy. This leads to an increase in temperature in the raw material rapidly. Temperature increasing continues until the internal pressure exceeds the expansion capacity of cell wall. In this condition, the walls will rupture and the substances inside, including volatile substances will come out freely.
After the aromatic compounds went out of the wall, it will be mixed with moisture which is also contained in the raw material. These mechanisms facilitate the the evaporation of volatile compounds and water through a hydrodiffusion mechanism.
Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE)
MAE is a simple technique for the essential oil extraction using microwave. This technique can be applied both in the liquid phase (which liquid is used as a solvent) or gas phase (gas is used as a medium for extracting).
The first technique is based on the principle of differences in the ability to absorb microwave energy at each of the compounds contained in plant parts. Parameters commonly used to measure the physical properties are referred as the dielectric constant.
MAE technique also depends on the dielectric constant of the solvent used. Alfaro et al (2003) said that the ethanol produces the best yield of ginger oil than the other solvent such as hexane, petroleum ether, and dichloromethane. Further in his research said that the use of MAE can reduce the processing time to 60 seconds instead of using the soxhlet extraction.
Microwave-Assisted Hydrodistillation (MAH)
This method is basically a combination between the essential oil extraction using microwave radiation with dry distillation system. Therefore, the MAH are not required additional solvents such as MAE. To ensure ongoing process of diffusion of volatile compounds and water, so the raw material must be fresh (containing moisture).
In general, the method is as follows: plant parts put in the distillation flask made of glass that can be penetrated by radiation so that those materials will absorb it then it reach the gland and vascular systems in the cell wall. These mechanisms generate heat so that the walls will rupture and the aromatic substances inside can freely come out. Water in the raw substance will also become hot due to the absorption of electromagnetic energy and diffuse into the volatile oil causing hydrodiffusion. Aromatic substances and moisture evaporate together based on the principles of distillation and then condensed.
Finally, essential oil extraction using microwave needs to be further studied, especially its composition or its contents, whether there is a change of natural substances in the essential oils or not.

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Essential oil uses as feed additives

Essential oil uses as a feed additive in any type of livestock ransoms can be done without changing the Ingestion system used on a farm, both traditional farming and large livestock industry. The combination of several types of essential oils increase the effectiveness of these oils work (synergist work ). Although administered in low doses (g / ton of feed basalt), they generate more profit, both in terms of social economic and animal physiology.
Something good for mankind will not be bad when it is given to livestock. Therefore, there is no reason not to use them in cattle farm. In cattle, the importance of uses of essential oils active components have just been understood and researched in recent years.
Now, it is more than just an alternative to antibiotics. They not only affect the microbial population, but at the same, showed positive effect on the activity of digestive enzymes and intermediate metabolism. Livestock production is not only intended to enhance the appearance of cattle, but also the nutrition and health of livestock and humans. Currently, the essential oil uses as a feed additive became popular in the world of agriculture and livestock to boost metabolism and digestion (digestion and metabolism promoters).
Because its smell and taste, so its oral consumption which is mixed into livestock basal feed to stimulate central nervous system, that ultimately results in increased appetite and consumption of food substances. They stimulate the production of digestive fluids that produce an appropriate pH for digestive enzymes, such as peptinase. At the same time, it increase the activity of digestive enzymes and regulation of microbial activity. The stability of the microflora in the digestive tract decreases the incidence of diarrhea and other digestive diseases. The real effect of this mechanism is the improvement of energy conversion and digestion of nutrients and positive impact on the metabolism of nitrogen, amino acids, and glucose.
Applications of essential oils blend from Oregano (Oreganum vulgare), Cinnanom (Cinnamon annum), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and Eucalyptus on the broiler in the area of East Java – Indonesia, showed improvement of feed conversion, increased weight gain, reducing mortality and improvement of farm business profit.
Its ability to stimulate the central nervous system change the cattle characteristic which is more tolerant to stress (increase immunity), both the stress caused by the separation from its parent (especially in pigs) and the stress caused by environmental conditions.
Positively influence of the of essential oil uses as a feed additive was also seen in European countries, the United States, and some Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and India both on the broiler, laying hens, and ruminants.

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Choosing essential oil bottle

During storage, degradation can occur in essential oils. The deterioration is usually caused by oxidation, resinification (condensed form compounds such as resin), polymerization (forming a viscous compound), and hydrolysis. Because of changes in these compounds, so the its color will change and become more viscous. The changes are activated by heat, oxygen from air, moisture, sunlight, and heavy metal molecules. They should be stored properly so that the deterioration will not happen or at least be slowed.
Here are the best tips on how to store essential oil properly:
Tips # 1: Choose a dark bottle
They should be stored in containers made from glass, dark (eg, brown or dark blue) to reduce the incoming rays.
Tips # 2: Consider the headspace
It is an empty space between the products with a lid. Generally, its function was to provide room for expansion of its content/volume when it was get sterilized. However, if it is too large then the contained material is very likely to get oxidized and discoloration of the packaged material will happen, whereas if it is too small then the packing tip could be broken during sterilization. Typically, its volume is approximately 10% of container capacity. So you have to consider the size of the bottle in this case.
Therefore, it should be fully loaded so that oxygen from the air in the headspace is small. If the content in the bottle is very low then it needs to be poured into another one of smaller size to avoid too large air volume in the previous bottle.
Before closing, preferably CO2 or Nitrogen gas sprayed into the headspace. CO2 and Nitrogen is an inert gas (not easily react with the material). Thus, it can be relatively free of oxygen and was replaced by carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
Tips # 3: Choose the right material for packaging
They should be stored in the place that are completely dry and must be free of heavy metals. Therefore, the essential oil bottle should be made of glass or coated with an inert material.

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Essential oils properties

Although their composition differ one from another, they have some similar physical essential oil properties. They are composed not only of one compound, but a mixture with different composition for each type of plant. They have a distinctive odor, a high refractive index, and most have optical activity and a specific rotation. Therefore, these parameters are used as the qualification of those products.
They are soluble in ether, alcohol, and several other organic solvents. Its solubility in water is very small, but large enough to provide the smell to the water. Water that contains very little of them also has a fragrance, usually called aromatic water.
The other essential oil properties as follows:
-It has a distinctive odor, the smell is generally represented his native plant odor
-Having a sense of bitter, sharp taste, bite, giving a sense of hot or even warm to cold when the skin, depending on the type of its components. For example: the volatile compounds from clove bud give us extra hot, even irritating sensation to our skin, so you should be careful when use it.
How to distinguish between them with the fat or oil?
Plant substances that have a solubility and physical appearance similar to the volatile oil is "oil or fat". They were both somewhat viscous liquid form and can not dissolved in water. To distinguish them, you may notice the following essential oil properties:
Tips #1
They can be distilled from the source of natural materials, while fat or oil can not because essential oils contain volatile compounds which give distinct pleasant aroma. The fat and oil sometime contain short chain fatty acid. That compounds are also volatile but give unpleasant aroma signing the rancidity of fat or oil had happened.
Tips #2
When both substances are hatched on a piece of paper it will leave a transparent stain. After a while, volatile oil stains will disappear, while the oil or fat stains still there.
Tips #3
On the addition of alkali, they do not produce soap, while the fat or oil produce soap.
Tips #4
Fat or oil when stored longer would be rancid (rancid), but volatile oils are not. However, when volatile compounds exposed to sunlight or moisture, air or oxygen will cause resinification, thus becoming similar viscous resin.
Understanding essential oil properties can help us to design each application and to formulate the right recipe of the various kinds.

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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Finding essential oil from plant part

Essential oil is produced from various part of plant and then stored in various organs. Research shows that they are made in the certain organs. They are present inside the plant (called "internal glands") and outside it (called "external ones").
Internal gland
It is produced by the entry of essential oils that originally exist outside the cells, which then destroy them around it, create a kind of channel organs with essential oils inside. There are possibilities that the surrounding ones to dissolved and create a group of cells called "glands" thus produce a channel that contains it.
Its mechanism such as formation schizolysigen. Some of them may exist in all parts of the certain trees. There are herbs that contained it only in the leaves, flowers, or in the trunk. There are also trees that contain it in some location of the plant, for example in the leaves and the bark as in Cinnamoni (cinnamon). Under microscope, it appears that they exist in the form of fraction with slightly yellowish-colored cells. Sometimes their wall dissolved to build a line of volatile oil in cinnamon bark (created by schizolysigen).
External gland
Glands of the external surface, commonly referred to as "epidermal cells" or its modification, such as hairs. The volatile products are usually buried in between the cuticle (outer layer) and the wall between a cell with others. Cuticle in the form of a thin layer will rupture when exposed to friction, eg friction hands. When the cuticle breaks, they would come out so its smell will spread.
Under microscope, that hairs found on the entire surface of the leaves and bark. They shaped like hair and a sphere-shaped organ that contain the volatile compounds. Important things to note:
1. In the Cinnamomun zeylanicum BREYN, it is found in the bark as opposed to that contained in the leaves.
2. In Coniferae, it is found in all plant parts.
3. In rose, it is found only in the petals of flowers.
4. In Umbelliferae, it is in pericarp of fruit.
5. On citrus (orange), it is in the petals and its composition is very different with the volatile compounds which come from the peel of the fruit.

If you want to produce essential oils, you need to know the parts of plants which can produce it. So it should be studied first.

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Monday, August 1, 2011

Essential oil business opportunities in Indonesia

As one of the biodiversity central, Indonesia has the opportunities to produces 40 kinds of essential oils from 80 species that are traded in world business. Of these, 13 species have entered the world markets that is patchouli, lemongrass, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon, sandalwood, jasmine, vetiver, ylang, eucalyptus, and cubeb.
Most of the them produced by the farmers is exported to the market share of 64% patchouli, 67% ylang, 26% vetiver, 12% lemongrass, 72% nutmeg, 63% cloves. 0.4% ginger, and 0.9% pepper oil of world exports. Essential oils export destination for Indonesia, among others, the United States (23%), Britain (19%), Singapore (18%), India (8%), Spain (8%), France (6%), China (3% ), Switzerland (3%), Japan (2%), and other countries (8%). Although the market share of some of these commodities are individually relatively high, the total share of Indonesia in the essential oils international market is only about 2.6%. In any national economy, these products at 2001-2003 period has only a small portion, classified into commodities "plantation", the role of an average 0.01% of total export value of commodities. In 2004, essential oils export value reached U.S. $ 47.2 million, but this country also imported this commodity worth U.S. $ 12.26 million and their processed products (derivatives, isolates, and formulas) U.S. $ 117.20 million. If the value of imports is taken into account, so the Indonesia's trade balance for these commodities became negative. Actually, some of them can be produced domestically, such as peppermint oil (Mentha arvensis) and anise oil (Clausena anisata).
On 18-20 September 2006, in Solo (Indonesia) has held the National Conference with the theme Towards SMEs of Essential Oils with Highly Competitive. The conference has identified 32 types that have the potential to be developed, among which there are seven new types which can be exploited commercially, ie anise oil, peppermint oil (cornmint oil), basil (Reunion type basil oil), fragrant lemongrass (East Indian Type), kitchen lemongrass (West Indian Type), jerangau (Calamus oil), and bangle. Various agreements have also been reached to develop these products in this country in order to provide optimum benefit and proportionate for all national stakeholders of this commodity.

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