Essential oils were used extensively in Renaissance in ancient India and Europe . In fact, India is probably the only place in the world where this tradition and art was never lost. With more than a thousand years of continuous practice, Ayurvedic medicine (which includes the use of aromatic oils) is the oldest continuous form of medical practice in the world.

Much of what is known about the medicinal properties of essential oils comes from these traditional and longstanding sources Essential oils are highly concentrated substances extracted from flowers, leaves, stems, roots, seeds, barks, resins, or fruit rinds. These oils are often used for their flavor and their therapeutic or odoriferous properties, in a wide selection of products such as foods, medicines, and cosmetics. Extraction of essential oils is one of the most time- and effortconsuming processes. The way in which oils are extracted from plants is important because some processes use solvents that can destroy the therapeutic properties.

Medicinal plants have been used for different purposes in many regions of the world since ancient times. Medicinal plants are commonly used in preventing and treating specific ailments and diseases and are generally considered to play a beneficial role in health care. Some cultivars from medicinal plant families are also used as ingredients to season or to give a pleasant flavor to foods. Therefore, the terms “medicinal” and “aromatic” are usually used in conjunction

Essential oils are often used for aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine in which healing effects are ascribed to aromatic compounds. Essential oils are antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-infective, anti-tumoral, antiparasitic, and antiseptic. This is not a matter of some oils being one and other oils being another; all essential oils have it