Jaborandi Oil

#### Jaborandi Oil. Although very rarely found on the essential oil market, this oil deserves brief mention. The parent plant is very important in medicine since the alkaloid, **Pilocarpine**, is extracted from the leaves of **Pilocarpus Jaborandi**, a woody shrub native to Brazil. A number of varieties exist in other South American countries, e.g. Paraguay, and in Cuba, Martinique, and Guadeloupe in the West Indies, and in Central America. Occasionally, an essential oil is steam distilled from the leaves prior to the extraction of the alcaloid. This oil is thus a by-product, and is not regularly produced. When the alcoloid is extracted from the pulverized leaves with ethyl alcohol (and no previous steaming of the leaves), some essential oil will separate when the extract is evaporated. The essential oil must be removed in order to facilitate further processing of the alcaloid. **Jaborandi Oil **is a yellowish to orange-yellow liquid of a sweet-herbaceous, somewhat fruity, not exactly pleasant odor; the odor tones out later on in a tea-like, somewhat bitter, but quite pleasant undertone. The author declines from giving any comments on the flavor, although this usage has been mentioned and described in other works. The presence of **Methyl Nonyl**** ****Ketone**** **(see also **Rue**** ****Oil),**** **and the fact that the plant belongs to the family of rutaceae, places the oil among possible skin-irritants. Accordingly, the author would not recommend it for use in flavors. In perfumery, **Jaborandi Oil **could be used as a "piquant" additive in colognes, fougères, aldehydic bases, etc., if the amount of this oil is kept at a safe level. The very poor availability of the oil, however, prevents its extensive use.