One of the most reliable indicators of essential oil quality is the AFNOR (Association French Normalization organization Regulation) or ISO certification (ISO is the International Standards Organization which has set standards for therapeutic-grade essential oils adopted from AFNOR). This standard is more stringent and differentiates true therapeutic-grade essential oils from similare oils with inferior chemistry. The AFNOR standard was written by a team headed up by the government-certified botanical chemist Hervé Casabianca, PhD, while working with several analytical laboratories throughout France. Dr. Casabianca introduced these standards into North America when he collaborated with D. Gary Young at Young Living Essential Oils in 2000. During that collaboration, the Young Living chemistry laboratory and GSI chromatograph were calibrated to recognized European standards. Dr. Casabianca recognized that the primary constituents within an essential oil had to occure in certain percentages in order for the oil to be considered therapeutic. He combined his studies with research conducted by other scientists and doctors, including the Central Services Analysis Laboratory certified by the French government for essential oil analysis. For example, the AFNOR standard for Lavandula angustifolia (true lavender) between 25 to 38 percent and the level of linalyl acetate should range between 25 and 34 percent. As long as the oils's marker compounds are within the specified ranges, it can be recogniaed as a therapeutic-grade essential oil. As a general rule, if two or more marker compounds in an essential oil fall outside the prescribed percentages, the oil does not meet the AFNOR standard. It cannot be recognize as therapeutic-grade essential, even though it is still or relatively high quality. What distinguishes a therapeutic-grade essential form an essential oil that is not therapeutic-grade or AFNOR-certified? A lavender oil produced in one region of France might have a slightly different chemistry than that grown in another region and as a result may not meet the standard. It may have excessive camphor levels (1.0 instead of 0.5), a condition that might be caused by distilling lavender that was too green. Or the levels of lavandulol may e too low due to certain weather conditions at the time of harvest. By comparing the gas chromatograph chemistry profile of a lavender essential oil with the AFNOR standard, you may also distinguish true lavender from various species of lavandin (hybrid lavender). Usually lavandin has high camphor levels, almost no lavandulol, and is easily identified. However, Tasmania produces a lavadin that yields an essential oil with naturally low camphor levels that mimics the chemistry of true lavender. Only by analyzing the chemical fingerprint of this Tasmanian lavandin using high resolution gas chromatography and comparing it with the AFNOR standard for genuine lavender can this hybrid lavender be identified. Currently, there is no agency responsible for certifying that an essential oils is therapeutic grade. The only indication for a therapeutic-grade oil is if it meets AFNOR or ISO standards. The therapeutic effects discussed here on this web-site can only be achieved using essential oils which meet the AFNOR standards. To D. Gary Young's knowledge, Young Living is one of the few essential oil producers in North America that has been collaborating with government-certified analytical chemists in Europe to ensure that their essential oils meet AFNOR standard. In the United States, few companies use the proper analytical equipment and methods to properly analyze essential oils. Most labs use equipment best-suited for synthetic chemicals—not for natural essential oil analysis. Young Living Essential Oils uses the proper machinery and has made serious efforts to adopt the European testing standards, widely regarded as the "gold standard" for testing essential oils. In addition to operating its analytical chemical library in order to perform more thorough chemical analysis. Properly analyzing an essential oil by gas chromatography is a complex undertaking. The injection mixture, column diameter and length, and over temperature must fall with certain parameters. Unless someone has gone to France and Turkey as D. Gary Young has and been trained in the analytical procedures of a gas chromatograph, they will not understand how to accurately test essential oils. The column length should be at least 50 or 60 meters. However, almost all labs in the United States use a 30-meter column that is not long enough to achieve proper separation of all the essential oil constituents. While 30-meter columns are adequate for analyzing synthetic chemicals and marker compounds in vitamins, minerals, and herbal extracts, they are far too short to properly analyze the complex mosaic of natural chemicals found in an essential oil. A longer column also enables double-phased ramping, which makes it possible to identify constituents that occur in very small percentages by extremely difficult to identify these molecules, especially if they are chemically similar to each other or marker compound. While gas chromatography (GC) is an excellent tool for dissecting the anatomy of an essential oil, it does have limitations. Dr. Brain Lawrence, one of the foremost experts on essential oil chemistry, has commented that sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between natural and synthetic compounds using GC analysis. If synthetic linalyl acetate is added to pure lavender, a GC analysis cannot really tell whether that compound is synthetic or natural, only that it is linalyl acetate. Adding a chiral column can help, however, in distinguishing between synthetic and naturals oils. This addition allows the chemist to identify structural varieties of the same compound. This is why oils must be analyzed by a chemist specially trained on the interpretation of a gas chromatograph chart. The chemist examines the entire chemical fingerprint of the oil to determine its purity and potency, measuring how various compounds in the oil occur in relation to each other. If some chemicals occur in higher quantities than others, these provide important clues to determine if the oil is adulterated or pure. D. Gary Young has demanded the highest quality oils, insisting that each batch coming into Young Living be tested at either Central Service Laboratory or the Albert Vielille Laboratory, both AFNOR-certified laboratories, by chemists licensed to test therapeutic-grade essential oils. Adulteration of essential oils will become more and more common as the supply of top-quality essential oils dwindles and demand explodes. These adulterated essential oils will jeopardize the integrity of aromatherapy in the United States and may put many people at risk. Reference: Essential Oils Integrative Medical Guide by D. Gary Young, N.D.