3. Chemical composition

3.1 General

The plant cell is the seat of biosynthesis of the fundamental compounds of living matter: proteins, lipids, sugars... It is capable of coordinating the multiple enzymatic reactions leading to the production of essential oils. Certain cells take charge of these biosyntheses and also store the metabolites formed. This is a whole range of biochemical reactions involved in plant life: respiration, photosynthesis, etc.

As a result, essential oils are complex mixtures of organic compounds with very diverse chemical structures and functions, the result of biosynthesis, particularly that of isoprenoids (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, carotenoids).

It's not uncommon for modern instrumental analysis (capillary...