German Chamomile Oil

#### Chamomile Oil, "German". Also called **"Hungarian" Chamomile Oil **or **"Blue" Chamomile Oil**, this oil is distilled from the true pharmaceutical chamomile, **Matricaria Chamomilla**, which grows all over Europe, particularly in central and northern Europe. It is cultivated in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, U.S.S.R., Germany, Belgium, and Spain. Hungary is the main producer of the plant material. The name "German" chamomile may refer to the fact that the plant is cultivated in Germany, but more likely because the bulk of essential oil used to be distilled in Germany (from Hungarian flower material. The ligulate florets are collected, dried and steam distilled. It should be mentioned at this point that at least one large supplier of **Chamomile Oil **produces his oil by extraction of the flower material and not by distillation. This product is a **Chamomile**** ****Absolute**, not an essential oil. The extraction method is also responsible for the extraordinarily high content of **Azulene **in this particular German oil which has an intense, deep ink-blue color and a high viscosity. The odor is indirectly affected also since **Azulene **and other hydrocarbons tend to impart a "rubberlike" note in the odor of this chamomile oil. Steam distilled chamomile oil is, when fresh, a deep ink-blue, somewhat viscous liquid of intensely sweet, herbaceous-coumarin-like odor with a fresh-fruity undertone. In a pure and undiluted state, the sweetness and odor-intensity of this oil is almost sickening, nauseating. The dryout of a mellow and aged oil is pleasant, sweet tobacco-like and warm, but in freshly distilled oils there is often an obnoxiously animal- sweet, amine-like note. The flavor is warm, but somewhat bitter and strongly herbaceous. **Extracted Chamomile Oil **(could be called Chamomile Absolute) is produced from the flower heads by extraction with alcohol or chloroform. This method will yield the highest content of **Chamazulene**, the blue hydrocarbon, in the extract. Interesting dermatological effects are attributed to this constituent, but it has little or no direct influence upon the odor of Chamomile Oil. Upon ageing, the color of the oil changes to brown, but apart from telling the perfumer that the oil is not of a recent production, this color change is not directly connected with the odor of the oil. **True Chamomile Oil **is used in very small percentages in high-class perfumes to introduce a warm, rich undertone which lasts through all stages of evaporation. The "topnote-effect" of the "blue" chamomile oil is less pronounced than that of the "English" or "Roman" chamomile oil, see **Chamomile Oil, Roman**. It should also be remembered that distilled chamomile oil is much less tenacious in its odor performance than the extracted chamomile oil, the latter having a superior fixative effect. The unpleasant off-odors in certain extracted chamomile oils can sometimes be traced back to the solvent used in the extraction. If the solvent contains as much as 0.01% of an odorous, high-boiling impurity, there is a good chance that the chamomile extract may contain up to 10% of this material since the total amount of solvent in the process is up to 1000 times the yield of extract. However, the extracted chamomile oil is so common on the market that some perfumers even refuse to believe that they have a true oil in front of them when presented with a distilled chamomile oil, which is obviously less viscous, paler blue and often clear. In flavor work, **Chamomile Oil **is used, like the Roman chamomile oil, in certain liqueurs, etc., particularly in those of the D. 0. M. or the Benedictine type. In this respect, chamomile oil blends well with angelica root oil, artemisia oils, calamus oil, etc. or with the fruity flavor types, such as banana, peach, strawberry, etc.* Since the main constituents have recently been synthesized (see monograph on **Chamomile**** ****Oil, Roman), **chamomile oil may be more and more cleverly adulterated. Even the blue hydrocarbon, **Chamazulene, **has now been produced synthetically, and is available. The **Extracted Chamomile Oil (Chamomile Absolute**) is a semi-solid mass or very viscous liquid, often grainy and not homogeneous; it may separate solids at low room temperatures. The odor is similar to that of the distilled oil, but less fresh, more heavy-nauseating. The very common weed, **Matricaria Suaveolens**, may occasionally contaminate the flower material from which the essential oil is produced. The presence of minor proportions of this wild flower in the botanical material does not affect the odor of the produced oil seriously. The annual production of **Chamomile Oil **and **Chamomile Absolute **is very limited (at times below 200 kilos), and the price is comparatively high (about one-third to one-half the price of jasmin absolute). But only a small fraction of the total world production of the chamomile flowers is used for distillation or extraction, the bulk being consumed by the drug stores as a medicinal tea. See also **Chamomile**** ****Oil,**** ****Moroccan**** ****and**** ****Chamomile**** ****Oil,**** ****Roman.**