Aromatic and Vital Oil Plants

Aromatic plants have essential or aromatic oils naturally occurring in them. They help heal mental ailments and other diseases. Aromatic (aroma producing) plants are those plants which produce a certain type of aroma. Their aroma is due to the presence of some kind of essential oil with chemical constituents that contain at least one benzene ring in the their chemical configuration. Aromatic plants possess odoriferous and volatile substances which occur as essential oils gum exudates, balsam and oleoresin in one or more parts, viz. root wood bark foliage flower and fruit. Plants produce a range of bioactive compounds and are sources of large number of useful chemicals and many other compounds. Essential oils obtained from aromatic plants by distillation expression or extraction with suitable organic solvents represents a complex mixture of several compounds. The book covers important aspect on current status of development of aromatic plants, biodiversity in aromatic plants production systems and utilization of herbs and aroma plants.