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AFRICAN GERANIUM _ AFRICAN GERANIUM_01.png "AFRICAN GERANIUM")
| | | INCI: | Pelargonium graveolens | | CAS: | 8000-46-2 | | EINECS: | 290-133-2 | | Flavouring according to EC regulation 1334/2008 |
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AFRICAN GERANIUMPelargonium graveolens (Gerianacee)
Origin: Egypt
Also known as Pelargonium and originally found in southern Africa, it's now grown in Réunion, Egypt and Russia, where most of the essential oil is produced. The African geranium is a shrub that grows to a height of one metre and twenty centimetres. All parts of it are aromatic. The leaves are smooth and the flowers are small and pink.
Including hybrids, there are around seven hundred varieties of this plant.
EXTRACTION
OLFACTIVE AFFINITIES
The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the leaves, petioles and flowers. It is transparent, with a vivid green colour and a powerful fragrance that combines rose, green and spicy notes. It combines well with the essential oils of Bergamot, Clove, Juniper, Neroli, Patchouli, Ravensara, Sandalwood and all kinds of citrus.
PROPERTIES
(according to
popular herbalist tradition)
Geranium has been used for phytotherapeutic purposes since Antiquity, especially as a remedy for ailments affecting the digestive apparatus.
Essential oil of Geranium is non-toxic and non-irritant. It has anti-depressant, cicatrizing, deodorant, fungicidal and vulnerary properties, and is an excellent remedy for acne, dermatitis, eczema, burns and parasites. It's also widely used as an insect repellent: long before the invention of synthetic repellents, an ointment containing a mixture of geranium oil and the essential oils of citronella and/or cedarwood was held to be the most effective defence against mosquito attack. For best results as an insect repellent, use with a diffuser.
A highly prized essential oil, Geranium is used as a fragrance component in all kinds of cosmetic products.
It's also commonly used as a flavouring agent in the food industry.
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