Geraniol

Geraniol is acyclic monoterpene-alcohol. Pure geraniol is a colourless oily liquid, with a sweet rose-like scent. When oxidized, geraniol becomes geranial or citral. In Bergamot, carrot, coriander, lavender, lemon, lime, nutmeg, orange, rose, blueberry and blackberry.

Health Benefits of Geraniol

Geraniol is a natural antioxidant. Geraniol has been suggested to help prevent cancer. Carnesecchi S. et al demonstrated in his study "Geraniol, a component of Plant Essential Oils, Inhibits Grwoth and Polyamine Biosyntehsis in Human Colon Cancer Cells", (Pharmacology, July 2001) that geraniol caused a 50% increase of ornithine decarboxylase activity, which is enhances during cancer growth. Geraniol inhibits DNA synthesis.

Burk YD concluded in his study "Inhibition of Pancreatic Cancer Growth by the dietary isoprenoids farnesol and geraniol" (Lipids, February 1997) that geraniol, farnesol and perilll alcohol suppress pancreatic tumor growth.

Other animal studies have also demonstrated the anticancer effects of geraniol.

Phytomedicine. 2006 Jan;13(1-2):132-4. Epub 2005 Jul 1. Repelling properties of some plant materials on the tick Ixodes ricinus L.

Thorsell W, Mikiver A, Tunón H. University of Stockholm, Department of Zoology, Stockholm, Sweden.

Abstract

The repellent effects on nymphal stages of Ixodes ricinus L. of some plant materials have been studied in the laboratory. The plant material consisted of an ethanolic extract from Achillea millefolium L., and volatile oils of birch and/or pine tar, citronella, cloves, eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, lily of the valley and peppermint. The most pronounced effects were observed for the oils of citronella, cloves and lily of the valley. They possessed repelling activities of the same magnitude as the reference repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide). Some major constituents of these oils, e.g. citronellol and geraniol (oil of citronella and lily of the valley) and eugenol (oil of cloves) showed pronounced repelling effects. This was also the case for phenethyl alcohol, a minor component in the oil from lily of the valley.

  • Planta Med. 2011 Apr;77(6):598-617. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1270723. Epub 2011 Feb 15.Patent literature on mosquito repellent inventions which contain plant essential oils--a review. Pohlit AM, Lopes NP, Gama RA, Tadei WP, Neto VF.

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 28;59(18):9910-5. doi: 10.1021/jf202266n. Epub 2011 Aug 29. Repellent constituents of essential oil of Cymbopogon distans aerial parts against two stored-product insects. Zhang JS, Zhao NN, Liu QZ, Liu ZL, Du SS, Zhou L, Deng ZW.