Allspice aka Pimento Berry Essential Oil

Price: $10.12
Allspice Essential Oil

Pimenta dioica aka officinalis Steam Distilled from the berries in India. Allspice is also known as Pimento Berry.

Aroma: The strong and warm, spicy aroma of Allspice Essential Oil is similar to that of clove and cinnamon essential oils due to the high content of Eugenol. Allspice Essential Oil smells sharp yet sweet.

Common Uses: Arthritis, muscle tone, stiffness, rheumatism, muscular and gastric cramps, indigestion, nausea, depression, nervous tension and exhaustion, neuralgia, coughs, bronchitis. Allspice Essential Oil's high Eugenol (a phenol) content suggests that Allspice may act as an anti-viral. Allspice essential oil, in small dilutions, is said to act as an aphrodisiac.

Although allspice essential oil is regarded for its use in fragrances, massage, arthritic and muscular applications, but allspice essential oil is a dermal irritant. If you choose to use allspice oil on your skin you must dilute it.

Colour: cocoa brown

Consistency: Thin

Perfumery Note: Middle

Major Constituents
Eugenol
1,8-Cineole
B-Caryophyllene
a-Caryophyllene
Methyleugenol
Gamma-Cadinenel
Caryophyllene oxide

Source: B.M. Lawrence, Essential Oils 1976-1978 (Wheaton: Allured Publishing, 1979), 72. B.M. Lawrence, Essential Oils 1988-1991 (Wheaton: Allured Publishing, 1993), 86-87. B.M. Lawrence, Essential Oils 1988-1991 (Wheaton: Allured Publishing, 1995), 184.C.L. Green, F. Espinosa, Jamaican and Central American pimento (Allspice, Pimenta dioica): Characterization of Flavor Differences and Other Distinguishing Features. (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1988). A.O. Tucker, M.J. Maciarello, L.R. Landrun, Volatile Leaf Oils of Caribbean Myrtacea. Three Varieties of Pimenta racemosa (Miller) J. Moore of the Dominican Republic and the Commercial Bay Oil. J. Essential Oil Res. 3, 195-196. Sources cited in Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 393.

CAUTION: This essential oil poses a higher risk of causing irritation and sensitization when used in the bath. Avoid using it in the bath, even if it is solubilized/diluted. If used at full-strength, it can be a potent mucous membrane irritant, so it's best blended at a low ratio with other essential oils before diffusing.

Safety Information
Numerous sources indicate that Allspice Oil can act as a mucous membrane irritant. Tisserand and Young recommend a dermal maximum of 0.15%. They indicate that it may interfere with blood clotting. Reading Tisserand and Young's full profile is recommended. [Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 393.]

Photo thanks to Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons