Now Essential Oils Basil Oil - 30ml

Basil Oil (Ocimum basilicum)

Fun fact: In Italy, basil is regarded as a sign of love.

Believed by Hindus to be a passport to heaven, and by one Greek author to exist only to drive men insane, basil has had quite the reputation throughout history. However, basil is most associated with food, where it is used as an herb to punch up dishes because of its aromatic, mildly pungent flavor. Basil is a favorite among Italian cooks, and can be found in a variety of native dishes. Though many people associate basil with Italy, it is actually native to India and Iran. In India, basil was considered sacred. In fact, the very name comes from the Greek word basileus meaning "king." Currently, there are over 150 varieties of basil, however the variety named ociumum basilicum is most used in aromatherapy.
Mixes well with: Camphor, citronella, citrus oils, clove, eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, myrrh, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, sandalwood, spearmint, and tea tree.

Parts used: Leaves and flowering tops.
Extraction method: Steam distillation.

FAQ's

What are essential oils?
Essential Oils are the naturally occurring volatile oils obtained by steam distillation or cold pressing (expression), having the characteristic aroma of the plant part from which it was derived. These 100% pure oils are "neat", meaning they have not been processed, diluted or manipulated in any way with solvents or other additives. Although a particular species of plant harvested and distilled for its essential oil during a particular growing season in a specific region may produce a fragrance that differs from the same species grown in a different region, many of the main chemical markers and physical specifications may be very similar.

NOW's citrus fruit essential oils are 100% cold pressed. Our other essential oils are typically 100% steam distilled.

Do essential oils have a grading system to tell me which is better?
There is no official grading system that grades essential oils as A, B, C or Therapeutic grade. All NOW 100% pure essential oils are accurately labeled as such and are the highest purity and quality available.

Are NOW essential oils pure or do they have anything added to them?
All of our 100% pure essential oils are labeled as such. We also sell clearly labeled oil blends that are formulated with essential oils or absolute extracts and another oil as a base, usually pure grapeseed oil.

Natural Essential Oils by their very nature will vary slightly from season to season. We allow nature to take its course and do not add isolated compounds to the oil to try to standardize the naturally occurring variations of a particular oil. We take both the organoleptic (sight, smell and taste) and chemical properties into account when selecting and testing NOW essential oils.

What are NOW's criteria for testing essential oils?
Our Quality Assurance and Quality Control departments adhere to specifications used by the Essential Oils and Flavor Industry and published in The Essential Oils by Guenther, as well as Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients.

These texts, as well as other sources of scientific information, detail specific physical and chemical properties of a particular oil. A partial list of the components that we analyze include Specific Gravity, Refractive Index, Optical Rotation, Flash Point, Infrared Absorption (as published in FCC), Solubility, Taste/Odor, Color/Appearance, Heavy Metals and Predominant Active Chemical Components.

Our in-house laboratory employs state-of-the-art analytical equipment that allows us to perform highly specialized analyses, such as Gas Chromatography and Infrared Spectrometry. We use our own analysis results to confirm specification sheet results and certificates of analyses received from 3rd party outside laboratories and vendors. As always, when it comes to Essential Oils, individual practitioners and consumers will decide for themselves which variety of a flower or leaf produces the essential oil that best suits their particular need. With NOW 100% pure essential oils, you can be assured that you have the real thing.

NOW Foods is committed to offering the purest and most potent natural Essential Oils available.