110 TESTING
available raw materials as cost-effective alternatives to raw plant extracts. Within the personal care, flavour and fragrance industries, it is common to find artificial fragrance oils in the market as substitutes to plant-based products but they may not always be labelled as such. Fragrance oils are manufactured from mineral raw materials such as petroleum rather than plants. Labels on fragrance oil products are sometimes misleading to consumers, causing them to perceive fragrance oils and essential oils as interchangeable products. Ingredient labels on fragrance oils tend to include “nature identical” in which the term “nature” may be associated with natural ingredients when in reality it refers to “...a substance which has been prepared synthetically but which is chemically identical to a natural one.”6 There are several additives and
petrochemical-derived nature identicals frequently used to mimic essential oil products or constituents. Lavender, a favoured scent in the fragrance industry, is often added to shampoos, lotions and skin care products. Lavender oil often contains an ingredient called linalool, which may be in a natural or synthetic form. When aiming for lower production costs, manufacturers may opt to use petrochemical-derived linalool, a nature identical additive containing the same chemical makeup as pure linalool distilled from lavender plants, but of petrochemical sources rather than plant-based.6,7 Petrochemical-derived linalool is just one of many adulterants that can be present in products labelled as “natural essential oil.” Adulteration within the essential oil industry highlights the need for transparent
PERSONAL CARE ASIA PACIFIC
analytical methods such as carbon-14 testing to screen products for synthetic ingredients.
Authentication of essential oils through carbon-14 analysis Identification of adulterated essential oils is possible through the use of analytical techniques such as carbon-14 testing, which indicates whether the origin of essential oil ingredients is natural or synthetic. Material derived from plant origin contains a known level of the radioactive carbon-14 isotope, whereas petrochemical- derived material does not contain any evidence of carbon-14. Therefore, when laboratories such as Beta Analytic use carbon-14 analysis to authenticate that an essential oil product is sourced from solely 100% plant origin, the analysis will yield results of 100% biobased. This reliable analysis for natural source testing can also identify and screen for synthetic petrochemical-derived ingredients, yielding results between 0% and 100% biobased due to the presence of petrochemical- originated ingredients, such as synthetic linalool.8
The application of carbon-14
analysis is a reliable tool that helps stop the spread of adulterated product ingredients in the supply chain.
Conclusion
The lucrative essential oil industry continues to experience market growth as demand for essential oil escalates. However, increasing demand for essential oil creates several challenges for manufacturers. Primarily, high costs of production and insufficient raw material supplies are key drivers behind the production of cheaper fragrance oils
comprised of synthetic ingredients. With the possibility that essential oils containing synthetic constituents are labelled “natural,” it is necessary to apply the use of carbon-14 analysis to distinguish between pure plant and petrochemical-derived essential oils.
PC
References 1 Grandview Research. Essential Oils Market
Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Orange, Corn, Mint, Eucalyptus, Citronella, Pepper Mint, Lemon, Clove Leaf, Lime, Spearmint), By Application, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025. [Internet]. California: Grandview Research. 2018 Feb. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
2 Grandview Research. Essential Oil Market Size To Reach $13.94 Billion By 2024. [Internet]. California: Grandview Research. 2016 Aug. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
3 EcoWatch: 1 Pound of Essential Oil = 250 Pounds of Lavender. [Internet]. United States: EcoWatch. 2017 July 28. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
4 Global Essence. Market Report March 2018. [Internet]. New Jersey: Global Essence. 2018 March. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
5 Ultra International B.V. Product: Lavender Oil. [Internet]. Netherlands: Ultra International B.V. 2018 Dec 12. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
6 Beta Analytic. Essential Oil Testing by Carbon- 14 Analysis. [Internet]. Miami: Beta Analytic. [date unknown]. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
7 Oxford Dictionaries. Nature-identical | Definition of nature-identicals in English. [Internet]. Oxford: Oxford Dictionaries. [date unknown]. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
8 Beta Analytic. Beta Analytic’s High-Quality Natural Products Testing. [Internet]. Miami: Beta Analytic. [date unknown]. [cited 2019 Feb 25].
November 2019
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