The two main chemical compounds of rose oil are geraniol and citronellol.
Geraniol is the most common fragrance compound on the market. Geraniol's taste is described as sweet-flowered rose, citrus-fruit with waxy nuances. Pure geraniol is a clear or pale yellow oil that dissolves in most organic solvents but is not soluble in water.
Geraniol is a compound that acts as an antimicrobial agent, as a plant insect repellent, anti-inflammatory agent, and is also anthelmintic. It should also be note that geraniol is a substrate in the synthesis of other compounds of health-promoting importance, such as vitamins A and E.
Detoxication
Every organism has an elimination system of potentially harmful substances. The detoxification process allows for the conversion of lipid-soluble substances into water-soluble metabolites, which can be easily excreted from the body.
Three phases can be distinguished in the detoxification system. In phase I of detoxification, the structure of the xenobiotic undergoes such an enzymatic modification (biotransformation) that it will not interact with lipophilic destinations. In turn, phase II detoxification reactions usually consist of coupling phase I detoxification products with highly polar compounds such as sugars, amino acids, phosphates or glutathione. These reactions are catalyzed by transferases. Phase III detoxification involves the transport of phase II conjugates from the cells for excretion or sequestration.
Bioavailabity and Metabolism
It's indicated that geraniol can be actively transported from the intestinal lumen into the bloodstream and was not degraded in the digestive tract. Geraniol absorbed in plant fibres gave a total bioavailability of 16%, which indicates that the fibre has the ability to retain geraniol in the intestines, allowing it to reach the colon. Surprisingly, after intravenous administration, geraniol is excreted from the bloodstream with a relatively short half-life of about 12 min, even at concentrations reaching 300 µg/mL The researchers explain this result by its binding to the cellular and protein components present in the blood and by its penetration into the lipid compartments of the body.
Geraniol's pharmacological properties, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antimicrobial activities, and hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective effects.
Geraniol exhibits number of biological activities, such as antimicrobiological, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.