Thanksgiving Day: Time To Remember Your Near Ones With An Ayurvedic Tribute

Posted on January 10, 2026 by AyurvedicOils

The Almighty has sanctified us with innumerable blessings for which we are obliged to thank Him all through the year and throughout our life. He doesn’t appear right in front of us to make us happy, instead He assigns people in the form of our friends, relatives and other respectable persons and Thanksgiving day is such a special day to remember, thank and feel the difference they have made to our lives.

Just knock their door with an elegant gift pack of invaluable Ayurvedic essential oils to make them feel special, honored and loved. Ayurveda is an ancient healing methodology that aims at bringing good health, harmony and a happy living with increased life expectancy. You can never honor your near and dear ones in any other better ways other than gifting them with an extensive collection of their favorite essential oils with tremendous therapeutic properties.

Ayurvedic essential oils to garland this Thanksgiving Day: Only I can feel the delight of my daughter when I gift her with her favorite Lavender oil remembering all the love she gives me all the way through the year. Here are some suggestions to thank the worth-remembering people in your life.

1. For your Mom and Dad: No one can replace our Mom or Dad for they are the direct representatives of our Creator. Ayurveda, the holistic healing science has a separate branch for treating the elderly people and is known as Gerontology or Jara Chikitsa. Rosemary oil, Eucalyptus oil, Lavender oil, Chamomile oil, Grapefruit oil and Cypress oil are the best Ayurvedic essential oils that can aid them in treating their pains, swollen joints, fever, cold, memory problems, respiratory infections and other health issues. The spiritual aroma and the incredible healing values of these oils will make them remember you every day.

2. For the Love of your Life: Better half is always the best half when both of your minds speak the same words and when your hearts run on the same page. Besides differences and boundaries, the love of your life shares all the good and bad times with you. Nothing can cheer them when they are given a hug with few special words like ‘You mean a lot to me’. The glorious essential oils that can make them feel your presence even when you are away are Patchouli essential oil, Sandalwood oil, Lavender oil, Ylang Ylang oil, Jasmine oil and Rose oil. All of these essential oils can give a great start to your romantic evening or to a grand day with an invigorating bath when added to your bath tub.

3. For the little ones: Babies bring in natural joy to your family and are aptly called as the Kings and Queens of our families. In the celebrated book, ‘Aromatherapy for Babies and Children’, Shirley Price has listed 19 Ayurvedic essential oils that are safe for babies and children. The best among them that can nurture your little one’s growth especially when they are 1 to 3 years old are Roman Chamomile oil, Tea tree oil and Lavender oil. A gentle massage with these essential oils, carefully blended with safe carrier oils like Almond oil, Jojoba oil or Olive oil can help your baby grow up strong both physically and mentally. Only such natural Ayurvedic essential oils used in the early stages of their life can lay a good basis for their intellectual and muscular strength, making them bold enough to face the challenges of this competitive world.

You may wonder what kind of essential oils to bequest your friends, teachers and other relatives. Just check their age and consider under which of these above mentioned groups their age falls and gift them accordingly. Just a small ‘Thank you’ note along with an endearing collection of Ayurvedic essential oils is more than enough to deliver your love and gratefulness with no mistakes. Happy Thanksgiving Day!!! And thanks for your time on my post!!!!

Thought for the day:

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. –Henry Van Dyke

Suggested Reading:

Chemistry Of Essential Oils Made Simple: GOD’S LOVE MANIFEST IN MOLECULES By David Stewart
Seven Secrets to Raising a Happy and Healthy Child: The Ayurvedic Approach to Parenting By Joyce Seyburn
Making Room for Mr. Right: How to Attract the Love of Your Life By Robin Mastro, Michael Mastro

Reference Links:

Citronellal

Posted on January 10, 2026 by AyurvedicOils

Citronellal is a lemon- fragranced aldehyde that is acquired from the Citronella oil. Its molecular formula is C₁₀H₁₈O and it is also referred by other names such as rhodinol, b-citronellal, citronella and 3,7-Dimethyl 6-octenal. It is a monoterpenoid that imparts the lemon smell in Citronella oil.

It is purely extracted from the distilled oils of the plants Cymbopogon, lemon-scented gum and lemon-scented tea tree. It is mainly obtained by the steam distillation of the fresh leaves of Cymbopogon nardus Linn.

It is also one of the main constituents present in the essential oils of citronella grass, citrus, lemon, roses, grapes, tomatoes, nutmeg and lemon eucalyptus. It constitutes 80% of the essential oil in Kaffir lime leaves and it imparts the characteristic lime odor to these leaves.

Attributes of Citronellal:

Citronellal is a colorless to a pale yellow fragrant liquid. It has strong lemon citronella smell. It is responsible for the characteristic lemon smell in the essential oils constituting it. So it is mainly used in flavoring and in perfumery to render the typical lemon-grass like aroma.

Trusted mosquito repellent:

Citronellal is an effective mosquito repellent because of its intense lemon aroma. It is effective against mosquitoes at short distances. When it is combined with β-cyclodextrin , it provides 1.5 hour protection against mosquitoes.

Therapeutic uses of Citronellal:

Citronellal serves as an anti-microbial, antiviral and an anti-cancer agent. Citronellal contributes to the tranquilizing effect in the oils of Lavender, Valerian, Calamus and Melissa and is a vital part of Aromatherapy.

As an anti-microbial agent:

Citronellal possesses anti-microbial property and it helps to check bacterial infections. According to the study,” Antimicrobial agents from plants: antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils”, it was found that Citronellal was active against B. subtilis, Cl. sporogenes, Fl. suaveolens, M. luteus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa when the essential oils of nutmeg, geranium, black pepper, oregano and thyme are tested against 25 different genera of bacteria.

When citronellal is tested for its antimicrobial activity against five food borne pathogens- Escherichia coli, E.coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenases and Vibrio vulnifucas, Citronellal showed anti-bacterial activity against a food borne pathogen Vibrio vulnifucas.

Citronellal present in Eucalyptus citriodora attributes to the anti-bacterial activity of the oil.

Anti-cancer agent:

According to a research carried out by German researchers, it had been found that terpenes, especially (-) -Citronellal inhibits the growth of cancerous cells by increasing the concentration of calcium in the cells. Thus Citronellal is one of the terpenes that exhibit anti-cancer activities.

As an anti-fungal agent:

It has strong anti-fungal activity. In the research article, “Antifungal Activity and Molecular Orbital Energies of Aldehyde Compounds from Oils of Higher Plants”, it is stated that the anti-fungal activity of the aldehydes is mainly due to its reaction with SH compounds and their potential to form charge transfer complexes with electron donors.

According to a study titled “Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil from Cymbopogon nardus (Citronella Grass)”, it was found that citronellal constituted in Cymbopogon nardus totally reduced the growth of all the tested fungal strains.

Reference Links:

Citronellal by Wikipedia

The Mosquito Repellent Citronellal Directly Potentiates Drosophila TRPA1, Facilitating Feeding Suppression.

Antibacterial activity of some essential oil components against five food borne pathogens

Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil from Cymbopogon nardus (Citronella Grass)

Menthone

Posted on January 10, 2026 by AyurvedicOils

Menthone is a constituent of the essential oils of peppermint, Pelargonium geraniums, pennyroyal, Mentha arvensis, and others. It is a monoterpene and a ketone; it is structurally related to menthol and is seen to have carbonyl positioned in the place of secondary alcohol. It is seen occurring naturally, with a molecular formula C10H18O, and is among the most abundant in nature of four possible stereo-isomers.

Used in the field of cosmetics and perfumery, menthone is highly acknowledged for its distinguishing minty fragrance and cooling attribute. In most essential oils, it is a minor compound.

For this reason it was first synthesized by oxidation of menthol in 1881, till it was found in essential oils in 1891. Menthone is extracted from mentha shivalik leaves and used in perfumery compositions of rose, lavender, spice and germanium fragrances.

Therapeutic properties of Menthone:

Menthone has been known for its medicinal properties. Being pure and of best quality, it is used in healing applications, in aromatherapy, in oral care like toothpaste, skin care products, chewing gum and pharmaceuticals.

It blends well with cypress, eucalyptus, Basil, benzoin, geranium, black pepper, grapefruit, juniper, lavender, marjoram, niaouli, lemon, rosemary, pine, Ravensara, tea tree.

Medicinal uses of Menthone:

Menthone, is a major constituent of peppermint oil and it performs its pharmaceutical actions by blocking the calcium channels causing smooth muscle relaxation.

Peppermint oil has been used to treat nausea, sore throat, the common cold, cramps, dyspepsia and to relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and tension headaches. It is used primarily as a flavoring and aromatic agent in a wide assortment of products.

It may also be used topically to treat myalgia and neuralgia, and also as an alternative medicine, it has been used as an antispasmodic, an antiseptic, and as an anti-HSV1 and anti-HSV2 antiviral. Overdose of the chemical constituent is rare, but when it occurs it happens due to the actions of menthol.

Antioxidant activity of Menthone:

A study was conducted on ‘In-vitro Antioxidant Activity and GC/MS studies on the Leaves of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae)’ from Morocco. The study was performed to understand the chemical composition and the vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Mentha piperita.

Of the thirty compounds that were identified, the oil represented 58.61%. Of the yield the major compounds derived was Menthone (29.01%) followed by menthol (5.58%), isomenthone (2.12%), menthyl acetate (3.34%), 1,8-cineole (2.40%), menthofuran (3.01%), limonene (2.10%), α-pinene (1.56%), germacrene-D (1.50%), β-pinene (1.25%), sabinene (1.13%) and pulegone (1.12%).

The results found indicated that the essential oils of Mentha piperita exhibited an exceptionally high level of antioxidant capacities in comparison with vitamin C.

Anti-microbial activity of Menthone:

A study conducted on the composition, mineral content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Mentha piperita (L.) and M. spicata (L.) (Lamiaceae), tested on E. coli, P. aeroginosa, C. albicans, and S. aureus.

On conclusion, it was determined that essential oil of M. spicata and M. piperita was found to contain carvone and menthol as major components, respectively. The oil was found to be effective against S. pyogenes, S. aureus and C. albicans and E. coli, except P. aeruginosa and showed strong antimicrobial activity.

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