Bay Oil
Proven Health Benefits of Bay Oil
- Bay essential oil shows strong antioxidant activity.
- The oil beats most to wound healing and skin restoration.
- Bay oil inhibits replication of SARS-CoV and other viruses.
- Bay oil has anti-inflammatory abilities and also relives pains.
- It inhibits mutagenic activity in cells.
What is Bay oil?
Bay oil is the extracted essential oil from bay leaf, the plant being known as Laurus nobilis. It is not to be confused with West Indian bay oils, which is from the leaves of Pimenta racemose. To differentiate, the former is sometimes called bay laurel. Indeed so, it is a laureate of a plant, with an annual global demand of about 3000 tons, just for its leaves and essential oils. Leaves of bay laurel are coveted for their strong spicy aromas, which is sought after in flavoring meat, soups and sauces, and confectionery. A lot more than flavor is attributed to the essential oil of bay leaf, and the terpenoid, 1,8-Cineole is responsible for a lot of that. Commercially, essential oils of bay leaf are extracted by steam distillation.
What is the usefulness of Bay Oil?
Studies show strong antimicrobial activity for the essential oil, and 1,8-Cineole in particular, even for as little as 0.4µL.1 It is effective against all kinds of bacteria, both gram positive and negative. The essential oil, is also seen to exhibit cytotoxic activity in the treatment of neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor that affect nerve cells. In a comparative experiment with Allamanda, bay oil was found to possess better wound-healing qualities, especially in the areas of rate of wound closure, weight of granulation tissue and period of epitheliaization.2 Clinical observations that the essential oil helps relieve hemorrhoid and rheumatic pains is corroborated by animal studies, involving mice and rats, where significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory action is observed. Bay oil is also touted as a strong insecticide, especially against pest of stored wheat as one study reports.3 Bay oil is reported has being able to stimulate the immune system and augment its function.
Health benefits:
- Pain relief
- Antimicrobial
- Antifungal
- Antiviral
- Wound healing
- Antimutagenic
- Antioxidant
- Inhibits onset of convulsions
Nutrition:
Essential oils of bay leaf, for all its uses, could play hard-to-get, having a yield of just about 0.8 – 3% upon extraction. Regardless, it still rich in tannins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, eugenol, steroids and alkaloid. The most abundant specific compounds are 1,8-Cineole (32%), Sabinene (12.2%) and trans-Sabinene hydrate (10.2%). These and many others are responsible for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other properties.
Toxicity:
It is important to clarify that, while bay leaf oil, does contain the essential oils, it is not in itself, the essential oil. Essential oils are purified always possess in high concentrations, phytochemicals and other compounds that should be taken in very small quantities.
Therefore, whereas bay leaf oil can be consumed in “normal” oil quantities for cooking, the essential will have to be mixed with carrier oils before it is used.
The leaf itself can interfere with blood sugar control, and may slow down the central nervous system, and so it is not advised for diabetics and for people being prepped for surgery. Bay leaf oil is virtually harmless in food quantities.