Hydrosol Properties ** And Percentages

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

Another old post on Hydrosols. I updated the $$ figures since the price

of Rose Otto has changed a lot since then .. and made a few cosmetic

changes. :-P Butch

 

 

butch owen <butchbsi

Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:14:20 -0700

Hydrosol Properties ** And Percentages

 

 

Hey Vicki,

 

> Hi, this may seems a daft question but i was wondering if a

> distilled water/hydrolat has the same properties as the essential

> oil does?

 

Yes .. and No. Yes to the degree that there is a certain amount of the

EO in the Hydrosol .. the amount depends on the Hydrosol and whether or

not Cohobation has been done. Cohobation is a process whereby a second

form of distillation of the oil bearing waters from the distillation is

used to extract more essential oil. This is only done when it is with a

plant yield that is highly hydrophilic .. like Rose Otto and Melissa ..

and perhaps some others.

 

For example, the first distillation of Damask Rose Blossoms produces

around 20% or less of the oil. The lion's share is still in the oil

bearing waters .. so they go through another process to remove this oil.

That is Cohobation. But even after this a Rose Hydrosol will contain

a good amount of the Rose Otto (Essential Oil).

 

They don't do this with Hydrosols that are cheaper or less hydrophilic,

like Oregano, Rosemary, Tea Tree and on and on .. and in some cases the

percentage of EO in those Hydrosols can be as much as 6% - 8%. With

Rose Hydrosol it is normally in the .5% range.

 

If you figure the cost of Rose Otto at roughly $6,500 a kilo and figure

the cost of Rose Hydrosol at roughly $60 a gallon .. you will see that

the gallon of Rose Hydrosol has a good bit of Rose Otto in it .. you get

a lot of bang for your buck.

 

See the Standards Information below ........

 

Now .. How/why do we do this? Why leave that much Rose Otto in the

Hydrosol? Because there is no economic means of extracting that

remaining Rose Otto from the Rose Hydrosol.

 

> also why does it make a different as to whether it is directly for

> the extration process or just has the EO mixed into distilled water?

> is it because water and oils don't mix?

> Vicki

 

Because .. a Hydrosol contains both the non water soluble and the water

soluble chemical constituents of the aromatic plant. The essential oil

contains only the non water soluble constituents. Thus, Hydrosols more

closely resemble the true chemical profile of the aromatic material that

is distilled.

 

There are many other reasons I won't go into them now. The above should

be enough to convince those who are concerned about therapeutic values

in natural products that there is a great amount of same in Hydrosols.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Turkish Government Rose Hydrosol Standards

 

The Turkish Government considers production of Hydrodistilled Rose Otto

and Rose Hydrosol to be a serious subject and a matter of national

pride. Accordingly, the Turkish Standards Institute issued standards of

acceptance for such products. The Turkish Rose Grower's Association and

some other producers use the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant and Drug

Research Center's analysis facilities to ensure those standards are

met.

 

In fact, the standards published (in Turkish) fill seven pages but I've

capsulized it to what I see as pertinent information.

 

As published in the Resmi Gazete (Official News) on 7 June 89, No. 20188

 

1.2 - Properties (Rose Hydrosol)

 

1.2.1 - Appearance, Odor, Taste

 

Rose Hydrosol should be clear, with a colorless to dim (somewhat turbid)

appearance. There should be no sediment, artificial materials or color

additives.

 

1.2.2 - Physical and Chemical Properties

 

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES QUANTITATIVE

 

Ph 5.5 - 7

Specific weight, max 20 deg + 1 deg C. 0.9999

Acidity, maximum 0.4

None-essential mat - maximum mass % 0.015

Essential Oil - minimum mass % 0.01

Pathogens/microorganisms None