Pine oil is an essential oil obtained by the steam distillation of needles, twigs and cones from a variety of species of pine, particularly Pinus sylvestris.
It is used in aromatherapy, as a scent in bath oils, as a cleaning product, and as a lubricant in small and expensive clockwork instruments. It is naturally deodorizing, and antibacterial. It may also be used varyingly as a disinfectant, massage oil and an antiseptic.
Pine oil is distinguished from other products from pine such as turpentine, the low-boiling fraction from the distillation of pine sap, androsin, the thick tar remaining after turpentine is distilled.
Chemically, pine oil consists mainly of cyclic terpene alcohols.It may also contain terpene hydrocarbons, ethers, and esters. The exact composition depends on various factors such as the variety of pine it is produced from and the parts of the tree used.
Industrially, pine oil is used in metal extraction from ores. For example, in copper extraction pine oil is used to soak all copper sulfide ores for froth flotation.
Properties as a disinfectant
Pine oil is a phenolic disinfectant that is mildly antiseptic. Pine oil disinfectants are relatively inexpensive and widely available. They are effective against Brevibacterium ammoniagenes, candida albicans, enterobacteraerogenes, escherichia coli, gram-negative enteric bacteria, household germs, gram-negative household germs such as those causing salmonellosis, herpes simplex types 1 and 2, influenza type A, influenza virus type A/Brazil, influenza virus type A2/Japan, intestinal bacteria, klebsiella pneumoniae, odor-causing bacteria, mold, mildew, pseudomonas aeruginosa, salmonella choleraesuis, salmonella typhi, salmonella typhosa, serratia marcescens, shigella sonnei, staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus faecalis, streptococcus pyogenes, trichophyton mentagrophytes.
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