Essential oil:
An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from aromatic plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted. The term essential indicates that the oil carries distinctive scent (essence) of the plant, not that it is an especially important or fundamental substance. They are not to be confused with essential fatty acids. They are used in perfumes and cosmetics, for flavoring food and drink, and for scenting incense and household. Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades, with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine which claims that the specific aromas carried by essential oils have curative effects.
