Fixative essential oils

Essential oils or volatile oils are useful for their fixative properties as well as their odor. Among the fixative essential oils are clary, sage, ventiver. Patchouli orris, and sandalwood, etc. Usually, they have low boiling points not more than 285-290°C. 

Adipic acid/epoxypropyl diethylenetriamine copolymer Benzalkonium chloride p-Dimethoxybenzene Hexamethylenetetramine Lauralkonium chloride fixative, dyes on cellulosic fibers Dicyandiamide formaldehyde resin fixative, dyes textile printing Magnesium acetate fixative, enzyme immobilization Glutaral Polyethylene imine fixative, enzyme immobilization food Cellulose triacetate Periodic acid fixative, essential oils Hydroabietyl alcohol fixative, essential oils/perfumes Tri ch I oromethyl phenyIcarbi nyI acetate fixative, fiber reactive dyes textiles Dimethylamine/epichlorohydrin/ethylenediamin e copolymer... 

Sandalwood Oil, East Indian. The use of sandalwood oil for its perfumery value is ancient, probably extending back some 4000 years. Oil from the powdered wood and roots of the tree Santalum album L. is produced primarily in India, under government control. Good quaUty oil is a pale yellow to yellow viscous Hquid characterized by an extremely soft, sweet—woody, almost ariimal—balsarnic odor. The extreme tenacity of the aroma makes it an ideal blender—fixative for woody-Oriental—floral fragrance bases. It also finds extensive use for the codistillation of other essential oils, such as rose, especially in India. There the so-called attars are made with sandalwood oil distilled over the flowers or by distillation of these flowers into sandalwood oil. The principal constituents of sandalwood oil are shown in Table 11 (37) and Figure 2. 

The sesquiterpenes found in essential oils have low volatilities compared with monoterpenes and so are isolated mainly by steam distillation or extraction, but some are also isolated by distillation or crystallization. Most of the sesquiterpene alcohols are heavy viscous Hquids and many crystallize when they are of high enough purity. Sesquiterpene alcohols are important in perfume bases for their odor value and their fixative properties as well. They are valuable as carriers of woody, balsamic, or heavy oriental perfume notes. 

The patent and proprietary medicines of fixed dose combinations of essential oils with alcohol having percentage higher than 20% proof except preparations given in the Indian Pharmacopoeia. 

The qualitative and quantitative composition and, thus, the sensory properties of the product depend on the isolation procedure. For example, an extract contains large amounts of nonvolatile components that are not found in essential oils obtained by distillation. Since these components markedly influence odor development (complexing and fixing), the two products may have completely different sensory properties, even though the compositions of their odorous volatile constituents are comparable. 

Owing to their liquid nature at room temperature, essential oils are called as such. They should not be confused with fixed oils or fatty oils, which are composed of a naturally occurring mixture of lipids which may not necessarily be volatile. Therefore, essential oils differ entirely both in chemical and in physical properties from fatty oils. Essential oil evaporates completely when dropped on filter paper however, fixed oil leaves a permanent stain which does not evaporate even when heated. 

With a product containing no appreciable amount of fixed matters (which may be detected by evaporating a little of the material in a dish on the water-bath) and no considerable quantity of volatile matters other than ethyl alcohol and water, such as volatile adds and bases and essential oils, the specific gravity is taken on the liquid as it stands. With a spirit containing appreciable quantities of extraneous substances it is, however, necessary first to eliminate these by the following preliminary treatment. 

Preliminary Treatment.—When the extraneous matters are fixed (extracts, sugars, etc.) or are volatile acids or alkalies, method (A) i9 used, whereas when they are essential oils, procedure [B) is employed. 

Ksseutial oils, which are composed of mixtures of different substances, have no fixed boiling K>int, lmt boil between certain limiting temperatures-, often widely separated these limits lie between about 120 and 300° Fractional distillation serves cither to separate the various components of essential oils or to detect fraudulent practices. For instance, it is easy by distillation to detect addition ol. alcohol or petroleum ether, which boil below too . Addition of oil itf turpentine may atso, in many cases, lx- discovered by fractional distillation (mt later paragraph 12). 

Initially, at the beginning of the present century, the traditional structure of the earlier perfumes was for the most part retained. "Fresh" natural materials such as bergamot and lemon, in combination with other essential oils, formed a large proportion of the composition, supported by animal and balsamic fixatives. To these were added the newly discovered synthetic and derived materials such as vanillin, coumarin, hydroxycitronellal, vetiveryl acetate, and methyl ionone, to-... 

Depending on its origin, mace has 7-14% essential oil and about 30% fixed oil. The physico-chemical properties of mace oil are given below (Guenther, 1952) ... 

Dried, ripe coriander fruit contain steam-volatile oil, fixed (fatty) oil, proteins, cellulose, pentosans, tannins, calcium oxalate and minerals. The major constituents are fibre (23-36%), carbohydrates (about 20%), fatty oil (16-28%) and proteins (11-17%). The residues remaining after distillation of the essential oil contain high fat and protein, which is useful as animal feed. 

The fruit contains a fixed oil from 15 to 30% and a volatile essential oil up to 12%. The fruit also contains flavonoids, iodine, kaempferols, umbelliferone and stigmas-terol and ascorbic acid traces of aluminium, barium, lithium, copper, manganese, silicon and titanium. A non-destructive method of determining oil constituents has been described by Fehrmann et al. (1996). 

Frankincense and myrrh can be prepared in the form of both resinoids and essential oils, whereas benzoin, which is insufficiently volatile to be distilled, is a resinoid only. Resinoids are used in the perfumery industry as fixatives that prolong the fragrance effects. 

The fixed oils that the aromatherapist uses as carrier oils are often added to concentrated essential oils. Some retail outlets sell essential oils in dilutions as low as 1 o/o in a carrier oil. Many people think they are buying the concentrated oil only with careful examination of the small print on the label does the dilution of the composition become apparent. 

Closely related to Java patchouli (P. heyneonus) known as false patchouli and sometimes used to produce an essential oil. The true oil is a viscous amber colour with a sweet earthy odour. Its main component is patchouli alcohol (up to 40%) with bulnesene (14-17%), seychellene (8.5-9.5%), caryophyllene (3-4%), 3-patchoulene (2.7-4%). There are a variety of attributed therapeutic properties. For the mind it is said to be a grounding oil helpful for those who feel depressed, detached and exhausted. Applied to the circulation it is considered stimulating, as a diuretic and for skin healing in conditions like acne and eczema. It is often used as a fixative in oriental perfumes, and a deodorizer as it masks unpleasant smells. Due to its very strong odour it is advisable to use in low proportions in a blend. Generally considered to be a safe oil as it is non-irritant and non-sensitizing. 

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