The aromatherapy essential oils are composed of different chemical elements and groups. The main elements are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The primary element is the oxygen, but the chemical structure is more complicated. Check out below the main compounds in order of their bactericidal activity.

Phenols Phenols have great antibacterial and stimulating abilities, but sometimes they can irritate the skin. The most common phenols are eugenol (found in clove), thymol (found in thyme) and carvacrol (found in marjoram and savory)

Aldehydes Citronella, citral and minerals are the main aldehydes which can be found in most oils with lemon flavor such as oils of lemon grass, lemon balm, lemon eucalyptus and lemon verbena. They all have great sedative effect and the citral also has valuable antiseptic properties.

Alcohols This group of compounds has high antiviral and antibacterial properties. The alcohols which are included in the oils are nontoxic. Some of most known are linalol( lavender and rosewood), geraniol (palmarosa), citronellol (geranium, lemon, rose and eucalyptus). Others are menthol, borneol, terpineol, farnesol and neroli.

Esters These compounds can be found in almost every essential oil and they have great anti-stress and antifungal effect. Linalin acetate and geranyl acetate are the most common esters which can be found in the oils from lavender, sage and bergamot.

Terpenes They are well known with their antibacterial effect and anti-inflammatory properties. Usually they can be found in almost all citrus essential oils and the main terpenes which you can face are limonene, dipentin, pinene, fellandrin and terpenin.

Ketons You should not be surprised, but the ketons are toxic. Their present is most obvious in fennel, hyssop, jasmine and sage essential oil. The good news is that they are not dangerous for the health. They are used in the treatment of many respiratory diseases and they greatly improve the blood and fluid circulation in the body. Some of the ketons which you may find are pulgon and thujone.

Oxides There are many oxides which can be found, but the most valuable is cineol oxide. It is one of the main ingredients of eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, and rosemary oil. They have great expectorant abilities and are widely used from many people with respiratory problems.

These are some of the main components you need to know about. but you have to remember that every different oil has its own chemical structure. The number of components in each oil is different and there are many which have more than 700 various components. They all are very useful for your health and are great against many diseases. Their power to heal different diseases depends on many factors like density of the components and which one is the leading chemical component That’s why their scents and abilities greatly vary.