Medicinal and aromatic plants – industrial profiles

Materials and methods
Essential oils were obtained from various commercial sources and each oil was analysed by 
GC using a Shimadzu GC 8A with a 50 m
0.32 mm OV101 column; the temperature pro-
gram was set at 4ºC min
1
from 100 to 230ºC.
The percentage of all the components was calculated in each selected Retention Time interval
of under 10 min, 11–15 min, 16–20 min, 21–30 min and 30
min. The main components 
Chemical profiles of lavender oils and pharmacology
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Maria Lis-Balchin and Stephen Hart
present in each RT interval was also determined. The essential oils were diluted in methanol
(usually
1,000) and 0.1–0.2 ml was applied to the tissue preparations in the organ bath 
giving a final dilution of
200,000 to
400,000 (a concentration of 2.5
10
6
to 5
10
6
).
Pharmacological studies, carried out on guinea-pig ileum were contrasted against many 
practising aromatherapists’ predictions of the effect of essential oils on the patient (alone or as
mixtures).