Department of Dermatology, CHU Saint Jacques, 25030 Besançon, France.
Eur J Dermatol. 2010 Nov-Dec;20(6):685-92. doi: 10.1684/ejd.2010.1066. Epub 2010 Sep 14.
Essential oils are complex mixtures of substances from vegetable matter, the definition of which is based on their method of extraction. They are characterized by their ambivalence, their ambiguity and their disparity: plant families from which essential oils are extracted are numerous; the composition of each essential oil depends not only on the family but also on the part of the plant from which it is extracted, and sometimes on the soil where the plant grows, or even on the time of the harvest. Gas chromatography is therefore necessary to characterize an essential oil. Essential oils can be found in cosmetics, in drugs, and in food. They are natural substances, but natural is not synonymous with harmless. Evaluation of the toxicity of essential oils and European regulation are underway.
精油是植物物质的复杂混合物，其定义基于其提取方法。它们的特点是矛盾性、模糊性和差异性：可以从中提取精油的植物科属众多；每种精油的成分不仅取决于科属，还取决于其提取部位，有时还取决于植物生长的土壤，甚至取决于收获时间。因此，有必要使用气相色谱法来对精油进行特征描述。精油可存在于化妆品、药物和食品中。它们是天然物质，但天然并不等同于无害。正在对精油的毒性进行评估并制定欧洲法规。
