|
Eucalyptol, our product of interest, is a monoterpenoid that can be used as an insecticide and an insect repellant. It is currently obtained in large quantities by fractional distillation of eucalyptus oil, which is obtained through the steam distillation of the leaves of selected Eucalytpus species, which are found primarily in China, but also in South Africa, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Australia, and Chile. Eucalyptol comprises up to 90 percent of Eucalyptus oil, which has a variety of uses including flavoring in baked goods and beverages, preventing the separation problem with ethanol and petrol fuel blends, and it can even be used as a fuel. However, it is not currently used as a fuel because production costs are simply too high for this to be economically feasible. Eucalyptol has also been found to control airway mucus hypersecretion and asthma, inhibit cytokine production in cultured human lymphocytes, reduce inflammation and pain when applied topically, and kill leukemia cells.
|
|
"
