T wlp is ofte11 a great deal of

confiwion as to the origin of

geranium oil, both fi-om the

point of~inv of the plant species and

the countl~ of p“oduction. In tact

geranium oil is derived fi-om various

Pel;qonitm~ species atld thcil

hylxicls and cldti\ars.

I Maria explores the botanical parentage of geranium oil and its varying componsn ts.

rdw~ L’Herit. The well-known

geranium oil “Bourbon” from

R&mion has bern shown IO be

pro&red from the culti~ar R0s2,

bhirh is 21 hybrid of F! d~~!F s l!

cnf,itn/rtrrt (Demarne and Wilt,

1989) The grranimn oil produced

in otliei- parts of lhr worltl, cg Egypt

ancl (Zhina, fol- instance ma\

origi~iatc from different species.

<hina oil is very similar to Bowboll,

l\.hilc Egypt oil is Tel? different.

The scrntrd pelargoniwn

culti\;~rs used in the prodtictioll of

geranium oil arc lqc busll-like plants

with a rc,a! ildlorrscrllcc and pinnat?,

rounded to pointed scented leaves

approxilnatdy 5cm long. The oil is

plvclucetl mainly by steam distillation of

tlw lraws and Wins cluiing flowering, as

the mow mint\ fi-agrance turns to a nwct

sincll I-emilliscent ol~rc~crs.

C;uani~nn is an excellent relaxant for

nervous tension. colds, bronchitis,

laynigitis, PMT ancl 111e110pausa1

pl-oblems. It is rxtwrnel~ good in baths

and humcrs fbr relaxation. Both the

scented arid unscented species TV~IP used in South Atiica a_\ folk medicines by the

Sothu, Xhosa, Hottentotc and Zulus (Watt

and Bre~el--Bl-~nd~lijk), At thr tulm of the

crnnu); the Dutch settlers also used some

of the tidk mrcticinrs and C’VC’II exported

them back to HolBnd. The essential oi and water soluble extracts of one species, 1 ~~t~~.~~Iurioidps, a strdggling plant with tin! lea\res smelling of coconut and exotic fruit caused an isokdted rat uterus to contrac and so may be an abortifacient (Lis Balchin and Hart 1994a). It was wide]; used by the locals and Dutch.

Aromatherapy books carry a latge number of misnomers for the pelargonium! producing commercial geranium oil. The commonest of these is P grr~&~~ (whick could make up part of the parentage, bu probably not exclusively, in Egypt). P totally wrong parent is p o&ir~tissimum sometimes misspelt tl odorclntirrinr~n (meaning very odiierous), which is a tin; straggling plant smelling of apples.

Some of the worst misnomers arc Geranium ruberlianum, G. macdatrun or G mmnnhizum. The confusion arose due tc the initial taxonomy by Limlaeus in hi: massive work Species Plantanmr ( 1737 ant 1753), where he combined al1 the genes of the family Cerdnidcede together. The genera were later separated, initially b; L’Heritier in his Ceraniologia (1797) intc Erodiums, Gzrdniums, Pelargoniums ant later two more genera were added Monsonid and Sarcocaulon.

One of the possible correct name: would be Pelargonium cv. ‘Rod’.

The main use of Pelargoniums in the pas was in diarrhoea and dysentery. (These twc complaints were of the utmost importance as they can kill patients, especially children in a very short time in a hot climate.) ‘Ihi indicated a possible anti-spasmodic acticit on smooth muscle. This possibility wa researched over the last five years by the author, using isoidted ileum and other muscle preparations. Many differen species were studied - some fcere scented leaf and others not. The results sugges that there is a distinct antispasmodic action in some fi-actions. However, manv essentia oil fractions from various species were

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spasmogenic and antispasmodic, that is initially spasmogenic followed by spasmolytic activity(Lis-Balchin, et al., 1992) (Lis-Balchin et al., 1996).

In other words there is a relaxing action but with some counteractive stimulation. Mhen a large number of commercial geranium oil samples were tested by the author, only a spasmolytic effect was noted, but the strength of this relaxant aCti was very 1rdtidble (LiS- Balchin, et al., 1994b) (Lis-Balchin, 1995). There was no correlation between activity and the major components.

The South Africans also used various species of pelargoniums as an astringent for wounds, for abscesses, fever reduction, colic, nephritis and suppression of urine, for colds and sore throats, haemorrhoids, gonorrhoea, stimulating milk-production, treating infection with worms and as an insecticide.

The ability of Pelargoniums to help in wound healing may be largely due to their profound antimicrobial action. The antimicrobial a&it): of 16 different commercial samples of geranium oil, lzdbelled as Bourbon, China, E<gypt or Moroccan was very variable: 8 to I9 0~11 of the possible 25 different bacterial species had their <growth inhibited, and 3 to 14 out of 20 Lit&& tr~nocplo~f~3 vdrie ties tvere similarly affected (Lis-Balchin et al., 1994b) (Liz+Balchin, 1995). In the same study, there was overall good, but variable, activity against 3 filamentous fungi. The antimicrobial activity of pelargonium oils from difIerent scented leaf species was in many cases in excess of that of commercial geranium oil (Lis-Balchin et al., 1992).

The insecticidal properties of geranium oil and some of its components like citronellol and geraniol are well- documented (Dale and Saradamma, 1982) (Wirtz and Turrentine, 1980). Further work done by the author in collaboration with Kew Gardens (Lis- Brrlchin et al., 1992) ha\ shown that a large number of pelargonium species have an antifeedant action on insects so that when extrdcls were sprayed onto vegetation, insect larvae very rapidly stopped eating and died.

The results of the recent s~ut~eys into commercial essential oils suggest that

there is widespread adulteration of commercial geranium oil. There is for instance the question of how the amount of Bourbon oil could have increased over the years in such dramatic proportions, as the volcanic island of Reunion where the plants are grown could only expand into the sea. Could the explanation be the import of Chinese geranium oil into France and the sudden metamorphosis of China oil into Bourbon geranium oil?

0 Dale, D. and Sarddamttid, K. (1982). The antifeedant action of some essential oils. Pddes 15: 21-22.

0 Derndrne, F & van der Walt, .J:J.A. (1989). Origin of the rose-scented Pelzargonium grown on Reunion Islrrnd. S. AJ%-,j&t.55: 184191.

0 Iis-Balchin, M. (1995). Amm*r~cie~~ce.

Amber-wood Publishing I&l. 0 Lis-Balchin, M. et al (1992).

Agrorhemirnl nml Medirinnl usage of essential

oils 01 r~nwen tatiw cp&c a[ th Geraniarew.

Paper presented at 12th International Congress on Flavours, Fragrances 8c Essential Oils, henna, Austria, act 48.

0 Lis-Balchin, M. & Hart, S. (1994a). A Pharmacological Appraisal of the Folk Medicinal Usage of Pelargonium grossularioides and Erodium cicutarium (Gerdnidceae) ,@nnl off lr,,',.r, S/km mrl

Mdicind I’lm7t.r Z(3): 4148. 0 Lis-Balchin, M., et al (1994b).

Rionctivi~y ?f &anium oils jkm dijiient

.sowr~s. 25th International Symposium on Essential oils, Crasse, France, Sept. 5-7.

?? Li&alchin, et al (1996) Potential Agrochemical & medicinal usage of essential oils of Pelargonium species. Journul oJ1 Herbs, Spices and Medicinul

PLavts, S(2): 1 l-22. 0 M’att, ,J.M. and Breyei--Brandwijk,

M.C. (1962). 7%~ Mdkinal 1’lant.r oJ

Sotcthew f&-a. Edinburgh: Livingstone Ltd.

?? Mirtz, R.A. and Turrentine, ,J.D. (1980). Mosquito area repellent: Iaboratoty testing of candidate materials against Aedes ae,gypti. Mmqr~ito Mwc 40, 4‘324’19. . .