PDR for Herbal Medicines

from Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple by David Stewart, Ph. D

Physician's Desk Reference, or PDR for Herbal Medicines contains 854 large pages of fine print and is a gold mine for the herbalist as well as a good reference on many essential oils... Almost 700 herbs are listed, along with color photos of their flowering plants with excellent discussions of therapeutic applications. Over 200 of the herbs are features as source of essential oils.

This book was compiled by physicians and pharmacists (not practicing aromatherapists). It contains some unusual and rare essential oils...

From this book you can learn that the volatile components of virgin olive oil that create its distinctive flavor and fragrance are various aromatic monoterpenes, which have healing properties.

The PDR for Herbal Medicines cites thousands of research publications in support of the therapeutic benefits, indications, administrations, precautions, and effects of herbs with their oils.

One of the things you can learn from the PDR for Herbal Medicines is that not all plants have essential oils. All plants have circulating life-giving fluids, but not all plants have aromatic molecules as a component of those fluids.

A common range of essential oil content for plants that yield commercially viable quantities is 1-3%.

Some plants with less than 0.1% essential oil content are still gathered wild or cultivated because the therapeutic value of their volatile oils is so great, even though costly to obtain. One of these is Immortelle (Helichrysum arenarium or Helichrysum italicum) also known as "Helichrysum", "Everlasting," and "Goldilocks." Another is Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) also known as "Melissa" and "Cure All""