Not only do volatile oils as such find important uses in commerce, but
the great variety of constituents, one of which in many cases forms the
major part of an oil, find equally important uses commercially.
Such constituents as have antiseptic properties occur widely in
plant oils and are of untold value to the medical profession, to
the manufacturer of pharmaceutical preparations, and to the maker
of toilet lotions and dentifrices. Many volatile oils also contain
constituents which are recognized as very important in the perfumery
industries, their value depending not so much upon their own inherent
odor as upon the effect which they produce in modifying or toning the
fragrance of a mixture of several components. The finest perfumes are
often mixtures of odors blended together and frequently contain oils
which in themselves would not be regarded as very agreeable or pleasing
in odor. In some instances a single constituent, as for instance
citral, the chief constituent of lemon-grass oil, is used in its own
pure condition without the admixture of other odors, as in the scenting
of fine toilet soaps.
As flavoring agents considerable use is made of many of the volatile
oils or of their constituents. For example, the oils of sassafras,
peppermint, cinnamon, and wintergreen are used by confectioners in the
flavoring of candies. The chief constituents of these oils (safrol,
menthol, cinnamic aldehyde, and methyl salicylate) can, with the
exception of menthol, be used with equal efficiency.
Many essential oils and the compounds isolated from them have proven
highly useful in therapeutics, and enter into a number of medicinal
preparations. Such constituents as menthol from peppermint oil, eugenol
from clove oil, methyl salicylate from wintergreen and sweet-birch
oils, thymol from thyme and horsemint oils, camphor from camphor oil,
borneol from Borneo camphor oil, cineol from eucalyptus oil, and many
others, comprise a group of medicaments which are indispensable.
From the foregoing account of volatile oils and their important
constituents may be observed the possibilities which lie in this field
of investigation. It is probable that a thoroughgoing examination
of the wild flora of the United States would reveal the presence of
volatile oils in many plants which at present are not known to yield
volatile products. This possibility should stimulate the search for
these products with a view to their commercial utilization.