Ocimum Gratissimum Oil

#### Ocimum Gratissimum. This stout plant of the family Labiatae occurs in a number of so-called physiological forms, i.e. plants of similar appearance, but different physiological and chemical constitution. This includes a distinct difference in the essential oils from the various physiological forms. To the **Ocimum **species belong also the **Basil **oils, previously described in this work. **Ocimum Gratissimum **grows wild in many tropical regions of the world: The South Pacific islands of Tahiti, New Caledonia, etc., the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles, Comores, Madagascar, in Indonesia, Brazil and West Africa, central and East Africa, southern U. S. S. R., etc. The plant is cultivated on a small scale in the south of France and in North Africa. The entire overground parts of the plant are steam distilled in the flowering season. There are two important types of ocimum gratissimum: one is distinguished by its high content of **Thymol, **the other by its high content of **Eugenol**. In most cases, the eugenol type is the most interesting for the country of production since there is only one other important source of eugenol: clove oil, and this oil is produced only in Madagascar and Zanzibar. Certain countries have commercial problems, currency exchange problems, etc., which prevent them from buying sufficient amounts of clove oil or eugenol. The eugenol type of ocimum gratissimum oil is of particular economical interest to such countries. Accordingly, the above oils are often produced only in such quantities which may cover the demands of the respective country. No oil is exported, and these oils seem to be rare or even unknown in other countries. - **Thymol**** **type of **Ocimum**** ****Gratissimum**: The oil is distilled in West Africa, Central Africa and, occasionally, in the Comoro islands. Production in Madagascar had been discontinued at the moment of the author's last visit *(1955/56). *The oil is dark yellow to orange-yellow or brownish in color. Its odor is medicinal-spicy, warm and somewhat herbaceous. The flavor is warm, slightly bitter- aromatic, burning and having a sweet-medicinal aftertaste. It is not conceivable that this oil can compete with **Thyme **oil in Europe or with **Ajowan **oil in India. It may serve as a local medicinal-perfumery oil and as a replacement for the above oils in case of scarcity. The annual production of **Thymol **type of **Ocimum**** ****Gratissimum Oil **is fluctuating, usually about a few metric tons. - **Eugenol**** **type of **Ocimum**** ****Gratissimum**: This oil is distilled in the Seychelles, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Brazil, Indonesia, etc. Distillation in Madagascar has been abandoned, and the Comoro islands only distil the oil occasionally. This type of the plant has attracted much more interest than has the thymol type, and in Brazil recent experiments with selective cultivation have resulted in good yields of an essential oil with about 80% eugenol which is almost comparable to the eugenol content in clove leaf oil. **Eugenol **type of **Ocimum Gratissimum Oil **is a brownish-yellow to pale yellow liquid of powerful, warm-spicy and aromatic odor, reminiscent of the odor of clove leaf oil, but having a sweet- woody, almost floral, light topnote. The dryout is more bitter than that of clove leaf oil. In Brazil, where a certain problem of import of perfumery raw materials exist, the need for eugenol (and for vanillin and other derivatives) has promoted the cultivation of ocimum gratissimum, eugenol type. The plant is locally known in Brazil under its Portuguese name, **Alfavacao**. It is believed that this plant arrived in Brazil with East Indian settlers in the middle of the 19th century. Growing wild in the forests, the plant is now also cultivated for the production of essential oil which in turn serves as a source of eugenol for Brazil. It does not cover the needs in this respect, however. The oil is available to the outside world, but it is not conceivable that it could serve any purpose beyond the scope of clove or cinnamon leaf oils both of which are plentiful and available in other parts of the world. The eugenol type of ocimum gratissimum has recently been introduced in Formosa. This fertile island already produces several thousand metric tons annually of essential oils from other plants (citronella, camphor, peppermint & mentha arvensis, lemongrass, etc.). **Ocimum Gratissimum Oils **(thymol type and eugenol type) may one day disappear from the world market since they represent distinct "replacements" for other essential oils in respect to their main constituents. They are of interest only because of these constituents, and they rarely find any use as such in perfumes or flavors.