A Guide To Caraway Essential Oil and Its Benefits and Uses

Caraway essential oil (Carum carvi) "has protective properties [that enable] our angels to assist us in viewing our life in a spiritual light rather than a physical one," writes aromatherapist Valerie Ann Worwood in Aromatherapy For the Soul. 

Basic Caraway Facts

Plant family: Apiaceae/Umbelliferae

Production: Steam distilled from seeds of the plant, which is a biennial herb. An oil can also be made using a CO2 extraction process.

Aroma: Sweet, warm, spicy, herbaceous — the scent is uplifting and energizing.

Perfume/Aromatic note: Middle

Is caraway safe to use during pregnancy? No, because of the carvone content.

Is caraway essential oil safe for children? Some sources advise not to use the essential oil with children under the age of 2 or 3.

Cautions: If caraway oil becomes oxidized, it can cause skin sensitization. Oxidation is caused by heat, light, and moisture. The better you store your oils away from these elements, the longer the oils will keep their therapeutic properties.

Main components:

• (+)-carvone     47.3-59.5%
• (+)-limonene   36.9-48.8%
• beta-myrcene   0.2-1.0% 

Source: Essential Oil Safety, 2nd Ed.

Benefits and Uses Of Caraway Essential Oil

Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art: Caraway may help relieve colds, poor circulation, dizziness, and nerve pain. "The fragrance helps overcome mental strain and improves energy efficiency."

Aromatherapy For Healing the Spirit: In Traditional Chinese Medicine caraway oil promotes Qi-energy flow in the Stomach and intestines and is useful for digestive problems. Caraway also strengthens the yang energy of the Spleen-pancreas. It reinforces the Earth element and restores our ability to remain centered and steadfast.

Essential Oils Handbook for Aromatherapy Practice: In ayurvedic aromatherapy, caraway is pungent and bitter. It controls Vata and Kapha and increases Pitta.

The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (updated edition): Use caraway for cold relief, coughs, laryngitis, flatulence, gastric spasm, nervous indigestion, and poor appetite.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Caraway is strengthening, fortifying, and useful for gastrointestinal conditions, colic, flatulence, nausea, muscle cramps and spasms, exhaustion, and mental fatigue. The book suggests this massage oil blend for indigestion:

• 5 drops caraway
• 5 drops sweet fennel essential oil
• 5 drops dill essential oil
• 3 drops peppermint essential oil
• 10 drops cardamom essential oil
• 1.5 to 2 tablespoons carrier oil
  

You can also use caraway alone for digestive problems. You can diffuse the oil, make a massage oil for abdominal massage, or make a bath blend for a good soak. A guideline for a massage oil is 3 to 6 drops caraway in one tablespoon carrier oil.

Digestive support blend:

• 5 drops caraway essential oil
• 5 drops bergamot essential oil
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops sweet orange essential oil
• Sweet almond oil

Add the essential oils to a 2-ounce bottle. Then fill the bottle with sweet almond oil. Shake to mix well. Massage a teaspoon of the blend over the abdomen. Source: Eden's Garden

Diffusing the oil can also help calm nerves and support the respiratory system. Using a massage or bath blend may help relieve painful menstrual periods or respiratory congestion.

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Photo Credit: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, bearbeitet von. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons