Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil
Lemon Myrtle essential oil, is one of Australia’s newest and most exciting aromas, it is wonderfully uplifting, refreshing.
It will freshen a home or room, it appeals to men or women.
Botanical name Backhousia citriodora
Ingredients 100% v/v pure Lemon Myrtle essential oil.
Aroma
Uplifting lemon aroma, a wonderful, yet smooth, rich lemon smell. Pleasant for men, women and children.
Benefits
Uplifting, relaxing, sedative, calming, improves concentration, anti-depressive, soothes hypertension, aids happiness, good for rest, remove bad room smells, calm noisy children.
Uses
In an oil burner, air purifier, air freshener, potpourri, massage oil, bath, vacuum cloth bag, floor washing water, dishwashing liquid, excellent.
Aromatherapy Oil
2 to 4 drops in an oil burner or vaporiser, 1 drop into a bath, add to your own skin care products for an uplifting lemon aroma, add at no more than 1%.
Blend with
Lemon Myrtle essential oil is simply excellent on its own or blend with woody, spicy, floral oils but not citrus. Use Lemon Myrtle sparingly in blends to avoid overpowering.
Try blending Lemon Myrtle essential oil with Australian Blue Cypress, Emerald Cypress, Eucalyptus varieties, Niaouli, Rosalina, Sandalwood or Tea Tree.
Massage
5 drops per 100ml of carrier oil.
Food Flavouring
Use Lemon Myrtle essential oil for food or drink flavouring by adding 6 to 9 drops per 1000ml of liquid.
Also mix Lemon Myrtle essential oil in cooking oils eg. Olive or Macadamia oil, at a rate of 8 to 12 drops per 1000ml of cooking oil.
Main Actives
Contains upto 98% citral, containing: geranial, neral, cis citral, (In comparison Lemongrass 30-70% Citrals, Lemon Verbena 40%, Lemon Balm 70%)
Citral has been shown to be anti-microbial, particularly anti fungal, anti-viral, sedative.
Precautions
Do not use Lemon Myrtle essential oil at a rate greater than 1% in body products, as skin sensitisation occurs.
Keep out of reach of children, store away from direct sunlight, store below 30 degrees.
Other Common Names
Lemon Ironwood, Lemon Scented Myrtle.
Natural Occurrence in Australia
Lemon Myrtle trees naturally occur in the rainforests of Queensland from Brisbane to the Atherton Tablelands.
The tree is not common, Lemon Myrtle grows to a maximum height of 30 metres in the wild.
High and regular rainfall, soils with good drainage is preferred.
Characteristics
Clear to amber yellow colour, watery, scent citrus/lemony.
Research
Charles Sturt University – In 2001 and 2002 Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga demonstrated and published that Lemon Myrtle essential oil was more anti-fungal than Tea Tree and as nearly anti-bacterial as Tea Tree.
Lemon Myrtle essential is also antiviral, having been demonstrated effective against Listeria.
Japan – In 2000 it was demonstrated to be effective against Herpes virus.
Extraction and Farming Method
Lemon Myrtle essential oil is extracted via steam distillation of the leaves and green branchlets.
Lemon Myrtle is grown in plantations in northern New South Wales and Queensland.
Plantation trees are planted in rows, are kept to a maximum height of 4 metres, they are machine harvested and are then steam distilled immediately to maintain quality Lemon Myrtle essential oil.
History
Traditional Usage
This may seem difficult to understand but at present there is no evidence of indigenous use of this plant.
This may be because the tree is a little rare in the wild and the tree doesn’t smell a lot unless your tear the leaf, to open up the oil glands.
Possibly also being a coastal rainforest tree, these areas were cleared of forest very early on and traditional use was lost.
Early European Usage
Lemon Myrtle was first discovered by white settlers in 1856 and reported to renowned Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller around the Moreton Bay area of south east Queensland.
By 1888 the first Lemon Myrtle essential oil distillation is thought to have occurred.
There were several small distillations Lemon Myrtle essential oil from small wild populations of Lemon Myrtle trees, particularly around the Gympie area through to World War 1.
When raw materials (lemon essences) were in short supply in World War 2, the tree was wild harvested again. Distillation again ceased after World War 2.
Present Day Usage
In the late 1980’s Byron Bay based native food pioneer, rediscovered the tree, he reported to a newly emerging ‘bushfood’ or ‘bushtucker’ industry. The small industry jumped at this remarkable delicious flavoursome herb.
It was eventually planted out in small plantations in the mid 1990’s.
By early 2000, one or two farmers had developed good cultivars of the tree, some simple but effective harvesting and processing equipment was also developed. Lemon Myrtle tea has become a small but popular market.
From the same plantations, comes the wonderful, rich essential oil.
Typical Chemical Profile of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil (Australian Standard 4941-2001)
| 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one | trace – 2.9% |
| 2,3-dehydro-1,8-cineole | trace – 0.9% |
| myrcene | trace – 0.7% |
| linalool | trace – 1.0% |
| exo -isocitral | trace – 2.0% |
| citronellal | trace – 1.0% |
| cis -isocitral | trace – 2.7% |
| trans -isocitral | trace – 4.3% |
| neral | 32.0% + |
| geranial | 44.0% + |
| CITRAL TOTAL | 95.0% or above |
Relative Density: 0.880-0.910
Refractive Index @ 20 C 1.4880-1.4900
Optical Rotation +3.5-+12.0
