Please make sure you have completed and understood the previous lessons because this applies all of the knowledge you have gained from them.
Before we start I just want to say once again that MOST of the cosmetic firms make their best possible effort to offer us quality products. Most of them don´t know that sometimes their providers deceive them with false analysis or with a low quality product, this fact is aggravated with the lack of detailed knowledge or their stall in the specialized world of essential oils.
This is not about "good firms and bad firms". We must all clearly UNDERSTAND and I want to make it clear, that ANY FIRM, REGARDLESS OF THEIR REPUTATION, CAN BE UNWITTINGLY DUPED BY UNSCRUPULOUS SUPPLIERS. This is why I have prepared this course and offer it for free, to help anyone who is involved in the marketing of essential oils to gain a better understanding of the way the market works if you are complacent or only purchase on price and not quality AND price.
This research was done with donations from people who are friends of Esenco School, some of them sent the oils they found the most popular in their usual health shop and others donated money for the project. The samples to be analyzed were sent to Australia unopened and with their original packaging in perfect condition and a copy of the invoice showing when and where each one was bought. Once in Australia, Tony Larkman provided the support and funding needed the analysis of the 11 samples.
WARNING: The results here are only valid for the actual batch of Tea Tree oil analyzed and it has no implication for other batches or for other essential oils that a firm can sell.
It´s highly recommended that before you proceed you read once more the lesson "Tea Tree Adulteration" because the details in this lesson will be applied here in this real-life situation.
Let´s have a look first at the "Chiral Purity" results from these 11 samples:
The table below shows, as you have seen earlier, the expected (average) results derived from a large sample of 100% pure Australian Tea Tree oil samples (highlighted green).
As you can see the names of the manufacturers are not shown here because there is the very real possibility that they were unaware of the quality of the product they were selling ad I don´t want to damage their businesses. Those with suspect samples have been informed by Tony Larkman who also offers solutions to assist them.
In these results there are seven that closely match the expected results and so are on balance of probability Tea Tree oil steam distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia terpinen-4-ol type. This is really good news because if you had purchased one of these you have purchased pure Tea Tree oil, you have a 7/11 or 63,6% chance of getting a gool quality product; this is far better than the 30% for the rest of Europe so Spain is doing OK but there is (obviously) more that can be done!.
In the resulst there are two samples that are very obviously adulterated, they are shown in red. These are discussed briefly:
1- ARL162314: Only the chiral analysis was done because the results are obvious. This is likely to be a blend of pure TTO (unknown source) and Chinese industrial waste. Usually this is done to dilute the product and so decrease the price the trader is able to offer it to a manufacturer at while maintaining a good profit margin. Would you put this on your skin now that you know this? I wouldn't! Look at the chiral values: they are out the expected range which tells you straight away that there is something suspicious.
2- ARL162320: Again only the chiral analysis was done because this is about as bad as it gets; look at the (-) limonene which is less than 9%; it should be up around 40%. The other values are also well out of the expected range. This is almost certainly Chinese origin (sold as Australian by the way) and is produced using either methods 1) or 3) described by Tony Larkman in the lesson "Tea Tree Adulteration" (you see, I told you that you would need to review this lesson but look at the reminder below if you have forgotten!). If this sample was tested as you learned in the earlier lesson to ISO 4730 Standards (we didn't bother because this is so obviously adulterated) one of the Physical parameters mentioned, the optical rotation, would be the same as the adulterated sample shown in the table and would be close to minus 10 when it should be close to plus 9,75; the limonene would be too high and the terpinen-4-ol would likely be close to 45%. Again, who knows what else is in there. I wouldn't want to use this to clean my floor, let alone put it on my skin, would you?.
A quick reminder of the three main ways to adulterate Tea Tree oil:
1. The product started out as TTO steam distilled from M. alternifolia that is of poor quality and does not pass the Standard – usually the terpinen-4-ol is too low, the 1,8 cineole and/or para-cymene is too high or the product is heavily oxidized or otherwise contaminated and therefore un-merchantable. In these instances the product is adulterated by adding terpinen-4-ol from ‘normalizing’ other essential oils to get it up to close to the “T40/C3” standard most people want; limonene is sometimes (though not always) added to correct the optical rotation to fit the Standard. Who knows what else is added during this process – the additives are uncontrolled waste and a wide variety of contaminants never found in pure TTO have been identified and this varies from batch to batch.
2. A good quality TTO is diluted with the product described in 1) above to extend it – the classic definition shown above.
3. Pure industrial waste is doctored to approximate TTO and sold as such.
Which do you think was used for the two samples in red?
The two samples marked in pink ( ARL162312 y ARL162322) have a chiral profile that is marginal, the terpinen-4-ol figures appear to be about right but the limonene and alfa terpineol are marginal i.e. not quite as good as they should be so while these samples are close there is still something wrong with them and a bit more investigation is needed to get to the bottom of the story.
The first thing to notice is the chiral results are almost identical for both of them so it is very likely that the two different manufacturers who purchased them used the same supplier.
Tony Larkman said that this kind of profile is similar to samples he has seen from South Africa, New Zealand or some of the style Tea Tree oil sold much earlier in Australia before the "T40/C3" dominated the marked (see previous lessons). Based on these observations we decided to have both of these samples analyzed fully using ISO 4730:2004 specifications to determine more accurately exactly what is going on with them.
When the ISO 4730:2004 results came back it was immediately and completely obvious that the product used to manufacture these two samples came from the same supplier- the results were identical which makes it easier to explain because what is true for one is equally true for the other so below is a summary of the findings for both samples. Please either look again at the previous lesson " Tea Tree oil Adulteration" or download and print the article " How ISO 4730:2004 and AS 2782-1997 Standards Help Identify Fraudulent Tea Tree Oil"- use this link- to help you understand better.
- the Optical Rotation (OR) which is 8.13. this is too low; it is extremely unlikely to see a 100% pure sample of TTO derived from the terpinen-4-ol type that has an OR below 9.00 and it is usually above 9.7.
- The limonene level at 2.22% is outside the permitted range (0.5% to 1.50%) so immediately this sample fails the ISO Standard for Oil of Melaleuca, terpinen-4-ol type (Tea Tree oil) and should not be sold as such.
- The 1,8 Cineole level is 12.61%. Once again this is very high when compared to the usual market specification which is for 1,8- cineole to be maximum 4.00%. So although this falls within the ISO Standard range (traces to 15,00%) it is not the quality the market expects and demands for Tea Tree oil.
- The terpinen-4-ol level is 33.21%. Once again this falls within the ISO Standard range (30.00% to 48.00%)but it is far below the usual market specification which is for terpinen-4-ol between 39.00% to 43.00%.
It is impossible to know for sure but this could easily mean that it is a very low (~20%) terpinen-4-ol product from South Africa that has had both terpinen-4-ol and limonene added to make it look a bit better. They have tried really hard to get the chiral right but the other parameters tell the story and there is no doubt that at last some limonene has been added because at 2,22% this is far too high for this to be real Tea Tree oil.
A Standard (e.g. ISO or Ph. Eur.) gives us all a tool to help choose a product with qualities and characteristics that are desirable and based on the best possible science available; in the case of Tea Tree oil this lies in its safety and effectiveness in killing fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms. As you have learned, any natural product, especially those derived from plants, there is natural variability. Some of these variations give us markedly different products which may not be as effective as the products specified in a Standard.
As you have learned there are now two methods available to determine if a samples of Tea Tree oil is what it is supposed to be: Chiral Purity and a the ISO 4730 Standard. Both of these methods are underpinned by gook science and backed up by clinical studies. Currently the Tea Tree oil market demands " T40/C3" but many in the supply chain for this remarkable substance have los sight of the basic need to ensure not only that it is T40/C3 but also that it is indeed a pure, natural product that is exactly as described on the label and in advertising material for the product.
Because the Tea Tree oil market demands T40/C3 and ethical producers have gone to a lot of effort to produce exactly this profile it is advisable to ensure that this is what is being purchased but please, don´t forget the other critical parameters in a Standard that are there to help you to make sure the product you are buying is what it is supposed to be: a pure, 100% natural essential oil.
It is absolutely vital to be as sure as you can that any essential oil you are buying is both pure and natural and not adulterated with industrial waste; after all these products are in the market for their properties as naturally derived substances with specific uses underpinned by good science. Diluting them with waste is not acceptable.
We have also learned that sometimes the science behind the parameters used can be misinterpreted either by mistake or deliberately. I have learned a lot during this journey and now personally want to try a Tea Tree oil with a higher 1,8 cineole (e.g. T40/C12). When I do this I can experience them first hand and enjoy them, notice fragrance differences and perceive subtle nuances. I will also be able to see for myself its efficacy because from what I have learned it could be at least comparable to the "normal" T40/C3 profile. This is a personal decision but I'm going to do it... I'm going to ask them to send me a sample with these characteristics.
In conclusion it is entirely possible for anyone anywhere to sell an essential oil with a different chemical profile. Please bear in mind that if this happens then truth in labeling is vital so the public knows exactly what they are buying. If the label says "Melaleuca Oil" or "Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) oil" then the product in the bottle must, as a minimum, conform to all parameters of the internationally accepted Standard. If it also says for example "T40/C3" then of course this must also be true. Finally, if the label says "Product of Australia" then it must be exactly that and not a mixture that includes uncontrolled industrial waste from another country.
If a product is correctly labelled it´s very good to have different oils and allow consumers to make an informed choice and try them out. It´s entirely legitimate to sell an essential oil with different specifications, but this must be specified for this product. This is very important: and is known as "trust in labeling" because everyone has a right to know exactly what he is buying.
As you have learned in this lesson it is entirely possible for manufacturers and traders to be deceive; they genuinely believe they are selling the real thing when they are in fact something entirely different. This is why I encourage you to let people know about this course which can start you on a journey of discovery into the wonderful world of essential oils while keeping themselves and their business as safe as possible from fraud.
Please go to the next lesson.
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