Grapefruit Essential Oil

Grapefruit

Grapefruit Citrus paradisi Like its other relatives within the citrus family group, the grapefruit is a small evergreen tree with glossy, oval shaped leaves, and white, star shaped flowers which appear in a never ending succession at the same time as the fruit. The flowers are not as heavily scented as those of the other citrus plants, but are nonetheless delightfully sweet. Most grapefruit trees grow about15 to 20 feet in height (4.5 to 6 m) though some can grow to 45 feet (13.7 m) when very old. The tree, an evergreen, is attractive with a rounded top and branches that spread horizontally. Overall, the tree has a rounded appearance with darker leaves at the top and lighter leaves on the lower branches. When the tree is in full fruit, the branches nearly touch the ground. The grapefruit begins to bear fruit four to six years after planting and can produce up to 30 or 40 fruits on a single branch. A single tree, in a productive year, can generate 1300 to 1500 pounds of fruit. The grapefruit, not even 300 years old, is still a newcomer. The offspring of the pummelo, sometimes spelled pomelo, the grapefruit may have appeared as a horticultural accident during the 1700s in Jamaica. The grapefruit might never have made a debut at all if it hadn't been for Captain Shaddock, a 17th century English ship commander who brought seeds of the pummelo from the East Indies and delivered them to the West Indies in 1693. Another theory is that the grapefruit may have been a cross between the pummelo and an orange, though no records of a deliberate hybridization exist. In either case, the pummelo, that is native to Malaysia and Indonesia, seems to have fathered the grapefruit that began as a smaller fruit than our familiar grapefruit and was actually about the size of an orange. The pomelo was brought to Spain in the 12th century by the Arab traders, from where it was picked up by Captain shaddock. By 1750 it was known in Barbados as the "forbidden fruit," a name that traveled to Jamaica by 1789. There the grapefruit was also called the "smaller shaddock" after Captain Shaddock. In his book In Search of the Golden Apple, USDA citrus scientist William C. Cooper describes grapefruit and sweet oranges growing wild on many islands of the West Indies. While researching in Haiti, he noticed a citrus fruit resembling the grapefruit, but called chadique that was flourishing in the mountains.

Essential oil The grapefruit’s essential oil glands are deeply embedded in the outer peel of the fruit known as the flavedo. The thick, spongy white layer of the peel, known as the pith, which will absorb and decrease the yield of essential oil if the two layers aren’t carefully separated before extraction. This separation is done by machines that roll and scrape the flavedo away from the fruit before it goes on to be juiced. The abraded flavedo forms a wet, pulpy mass that's put in a centrifuge, where the oil is separated from the solids. The solids can then be pressed for additional oil. The extracted oil is filtered and bottled. An essential oil is also optained from steam distillation of the peel and fruit pulp, as a by product of the fruit juice industry. The expressed grapefruit oil is a pale yellow or yellowish green colour with a fresh, sweet, citrus smell. The steam distillled oil has a similar colour and chemical composition to the expressed oil, although the fragrance is sweeter and is not so zesty. It is mostly the steam distilled oil that is available in the high street shops, and although it has very similar emotional effects to the expressed oil, the aromatherapists tend to prefer the cold pressed oil, it does however have a small drawback, and that is that the expressed oil is slightly phototoxic. This means it increases the skin’s sensitivity to sunlight, which can result in unsightly brown marks. So, a warning is you want to use the expressed oil, keep out of the sunshine or sunbed for 12 hours after use. Grapefruit essential oil as with all the other citrus oils (except bergamot) has a relitively short shelf life, for this reasons most citrus oils contain a very small amount of antioxidant preservative. Even so, the more the bottle is opened the greater the chances of oxidization, (this is a nature process where the oil becomes chemically combined with oxygen and its original structure is changed or destroyed.), an oxidised oil (which may smell perfectly good in the early stages of oxidization) is much more likely to trigger an allergic skin reaction, it therefore pays to buy well, and only buy enough for your immediate needs and do store in a tightly sealed bottle in the refrigerator. Like all other citrus fruits, grapefruit is high in vitamin C, probably the most important vitamin for the maintenance good health. As well as being a natural antioxidant (slowing down the bodies aging process) eating the fruit will help to promote healthy skin and tissues, increasing the body’s natural ability to absorb iron from other foods, giving protection against the damaging effects of pollution, and helping to prevent infections. Vitamin C is also an important anti stress vitamin. There has been much discussion recently amongst aromatherapists which gives credance to the belief that citrus oils and in particular grapefruit oil may help to reduce the accumulation of cellulite. When massaged into the affected areas, it is believed to help to drain away the toxic wastes from the tissues. But since massage itself stimulates lymphatic drainage it is difficult to assess whether it the grapefruit oil will actually increase the effectiveness or simply the massage in itself that is effective. Whatever the arguements for or against, it is only important that many women have reported a decrease in cellulite signs after having received the grapefruit oil massage. Grapefruit oil, with its light, fruity scent, also makes for a delightful addidtion to skin lotions, hair tomics, bath oils and shower gels. If used sparingly, it is good for oily skin and scalp conditions, as it does have a gentle astringent and tonic effect. Emotionally grapefruit oil is valued for its mood-enhancing effects, it may proove to be an ideal recipe for those ‘monday morning feelings’ when your feet are dragging and everything just feels too much, or when winter seems to be dragging on and spring is still too far off, then put a drop or two into a burner or lamp ring or even on a tissue, and inhale deeply.... Adulteration Addition of orange terpenes or sweet orange oil distilled and/or minor amounts of nootkatone & others.

Grapefruit Essential Oil from