Lovage Root Oil

#### Lovage Root Oil. Previously known as **Lovage Oil**, this very interesting and extremely potent material is produced by steam distillation of the comminuted roots of **Levisticum Officinale**, a man-size herb related to angelica and pimpinella. The herb grows wild in central and southern Europe and is cultivated in numerous countries: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, etc. It belongs to the group of medicinal plants commonly cultivated by the monks in medieval times all over Europe. At this point, it should be stated that the product which is commercially labelled Lovage Oil often is an extracted product (compare: chamomile, myrrh, costus, etc.). The extracted product has been described in the previous monograph (see **Lovage**** ****Oleoresin**). **Lovage Oil **is an amber to olive-brown colored liquid of very powerful and rich, spicy-warm, fresh-aromatic, intensely sweet and "root-like" odor, suggestive of celery, angelica, licorice extract, deertongue oleoresin, etc. The flavor is slightly pungent, but only in high concentrations. The warm-spicy and "soup-like" celery note is predominant; the intensity is striking. **Lovage**** ****Oil**** **is used in perfumes in minute amounts to produce "special effects", or to lend warm background notes in spicy or Oriental bases. It gives interesting effects with rose bases and in carnation compositions, it blends excellently with costus, galbanum, macrocyclic musks, opopanax, coumarin derivatives, oakmoss products, bay leaf oil, lavandin absolute, isoeugenol, cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic alcohol, flouve oil (particularly in flavor compositions), etc. In flavors, it gives rich body to essences for alcoholic beverages (liqueurs of the D. 0. M. and similar types), and it is an excellent additive in spicy compounds for seasonings, pickles, meat sauces, etc. It gives interesting combinations with flouve oil, deertongue and bergamot oil for tobacco flavoring. The suggested use level (food flavors) is about 0.02 to 0.08 mg%, and the **Minimum Perceptible **is approximately 0.0005 to 0.0010 mg%. In respect to penetrative odor, this oil ranks among the most powerful of all natural materials. **Lovage**** ****Root**** ****Oil**** **is occasionally adulterated with the essential oil from lovage seed or herb (see **Lovage Herb Oil), **or it can be "bouquetted" with synthetic additives such as **Cyclotene**** **(hydroxymethyl-cyclopentenone), Maraniol (4-methyl-7- ethoxy coumarin), or with **n-butyl**** ****phthalide **and **n-butylidene phthalide, **synthetically prepared constituents of the natural lovage root oil. These synthetic materials are commercially available. The annual world production of **Lovage**** ****Root**** ****Oil**** **is less than one metric ton.