Camphor Oil

After distillation and rectification under vacuum it is filter pressed and 3 fractions of oil are produced known as white, yellow and brown camphor.

Only the white camphor oil is used and has a clear and fresh smell. The brown and yellow camphor is toxic and carcinogenic since it contains safrole and is not used in aromatherapy.

The camphor tree can grow up to 35 meters (100 feet) and the active component is found in every part of the tree. The tree is native to Formosa (Taiwan), China and Japan and can often grow very old. It must be at least 50 years old to produce the oil.

It was a well known remedy against the plague in Persia, now Iran and was also used in embalming, while the Chinese used it to build ships and temples, because of the durable and aromatic properties of the wood.

Camphor oil is extracted by steam from the the chipped wood, root stumps and branches and is then rectified under vacuum and filter pressed.

The main chemical components are a-pinene, camphene, b-pinene, sabinene, phellandrene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, y-terpinene, p-cymene, terpinolene, furfural, camphor, linalool, bornyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol, caryophyllene, borneol, piperitone, geraniol, safrole, cinnamaldehyde, methyl cinnamate and eugenol.

The brown and yellow camphor oil has a very high safrole content, with yellow having between 10 - 20 % and the brown having 80%. These two oils are considered toxic, as well as carcinogenic.