From Temple to Table: The Legacy of Madagascar Vanilla Essential Oil, Part 2

Welcome back to Harvesters’ Corner! In our last blog we discussed Madagascar Vanilla and looked at the reasons why pure Vanilla is the second most-expensive spice in the world. We also looked at the wild price fluctuations and the benefits to the growers available through Co-Impact Sourcing. In today’s blog we will look at several uses of Vanilla, take a brief look at synthetic vanilla, and then explore some of the means by which Vanilla affects the body.

My first exposure to Vanilla, and I am sure this is similar for the majority of people, was in the kitchen as I baked cookies with either my mother or my grandmother. Even today the scent bring happy memories to my mind. But there are other uses for Vanilla, some of which I had never considered. In the days of the Totonac and Aztec peoples, the pods were used to create a poultice to draw out insect venom, and to promote wound healing (1) Vanilla is obviously used as an ingredient in many delicacies, with Vanilla ice cream being the most favorite flavor in America. (2) But did you know that Vanilla is used in industrial settings, as well? The fragrance is used to help conceal the strong rubber odor of tires, and to soften the smell of paint and other cleaning products. (3) Vanilla has other uses in the kitchen, as well. Try adding a drop or two to help cut the acidity of tomato-based recipes, or try adding to fruits, vegetables, even meat or fish to accentuate the flavors! (4) In all. There are an estimated 18,000 products using Vanilla on the market. (5) With pure vanilla selling around US$115 per pound (about US$250 per kilo), it becomes obvious that not every product is using pure Vanilla.

Enter Artificial Vanilla

The main component of Vanilla is a molecule known chemically as 4-hydroxy 3-methoxybenzaldehyde, and is better known as vanillin.(6) As described in a 2017 article in the Smithsonian magazine, “Imitation vanillin or artificial vanilla extract are essentially the same compounds as from the vanilla bean,” according to food scientist Anneline Padayachee. “But they are extracted from different products.” (7) Pure Vanilla extract is made by soaking the seed pods in an alcohol solution. Artificial Vanilla extract was initially made in the early 1900s from either chemical compounds extracted from coal, or modifying the molecule coniferin, gathered from pine trees. After the 1930s, when coal was determined to be a carcinogenic, manufacturers changed by altering the composition of clove oil or chemically modifying a substance called lignin, a byproduct from paper manufacturing. In more recent times the artificial extract is being made from rice bran. This product is quickly becoming a favorite with large corporations due to its low cost to manufacture. (8)

That’s right. We are using a byproduct from paper production or rice bran to flavor our cookies. It is estimated that close to ninety-nine percent of Vanilla on the market is synthetic, or artificial. (9) But there is more, so much more to Vanilla than vanillin. There is an estimated 250 components in the pure plant. (10) The other components in the oil give the pure product a richness that the synthetic can’t touch. These other components have a vital impact where we are concerned, as well.

Dr. Nicole Stevens, chemist and Vice President of Clinical Research at dōTERRA recently referenced studies which show that the aroma of Vanilla triggers hormones in our brain. “It [the scent] makes us feel trust. It makes us feel comfort,” she states, and adds, “when we have that triggered in our mind, …[it] helps us feel calm and happy.” Why does this happen? The answer is the limbic system, deep in our brain. Dr. Stevens states, “as you inhale it, as you smell it in something that’s baking, as you put it in your diffuser, it is interacting with that limbic system that involves things like your amygdala and your hypothalamus, and all of these things are connecting in your brain and giving signals to your body. I’m calm. I’m safe.” (11) It relaxes us and stimulates peaceful feelings. The same small constituents present in pure Vanilla also enable the oil to act as a wonderful blender when combined with other fragrances, just as the oil accents the flavors of food it is combined with.

I was very surprised to see some of the means by which pure Vanilla can benefit the body. There are many studies indicating that Vanilla helps as an aphrodisiac, helps boost our body’s ability to recover from wounds, protects the heart and nerves, and stimulates a cheerful mentality. It can also help reduce stress and decrease anxiety through triggering the limbic system mentioned above. One study concluded by stating, “Due to the potential emerging reports of usage of vanillin as a therapeutic molecule and its inclusion in the food additives as Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS), it is an ideal candidate for health care applications.” (12) Remember that these are positive benefits that will not be obtainable from a synthetic product.

To make these medical application possible, more Vanilla needs to be grown. Between five and seven pounds (2.3 to 3.1kg) are needed to produce one pound (2.2kg) of processed vanilla. (13) While Co-Impact Sourcing has already made impacts on the grower’s lives, our use of Madagascar Vanilla impacts the next generation, as well. The Healing Hands Foundation has helped with donations to the Mahadera Agricultural Training Center. Seventy-five youth from the SAVA region learn about sustainable farming, ethical harvesting, and crop production, not only where Vanilla is concerned, but where many different crops that grow well on Madagascar are involved. This diversification helps improve their access to income. The students are also taught vital skills like financial management to enable them to become more self-reliant. (14) These skills not only improve family income, they help encourage the youth to stay in rural areas to continue a long, rich legacy of generational farming.

I have really come to appreciate Vanilla as more than a simple food flavorant. The potential health implications involving pure Vanilla are really exciting to me, and I am anxious to watch how these get developed. I encourage you to try Madagascar Vanilla essential oil with your favorite oils in the diffuser. It is already present in Citrus Bliss. Mix it with other citrus oils, and blends like Balance. You can even try it with Digest-Zen. Vanilla harmonizes with so many different oils, the options are endless. If you choose to use the oil in baking, get a spritzer and spray on cookies and cakes, rather than adding the oil prior to baking. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

In the first part of this article on Vanilla, we spoke of the supercritical CO2 distillation technique used to obtain the oil from the chopped Vanilla beans. Our next post will take a deeper look at the science behind how the oils are obtained by comparing the different distillation methods available. Until then, stay safe and keep sharing the oils!

SOURCES

1.    Lidz, Franz. “The Delicious, Ancient History of Chocolate and Vanilla.” Smithsonian Magazine, July 2019. Online. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/delicious-ancient-history-chocolate-vanilla-180972551/?> Accessed 17 June 2025.

2.    Rodelle Kitchen. “Vanilla Fun Facts.” Online. <https://www.rodellekitchen.com/ resources/learning/vanilla-fun-facts/>. Accessed 16 June 2025.

3.    Rain, Patricia. “History of Vanilla.” Online. <https://vanillaqueen.com/facts-about-vanilla>  Accessed 17 June 2025.

4.    Rodelle Kitchen. “Vanilla Fun Facts.”

5.    Sethi, Simran. “The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla.” Smithsonian Magazine, 3 April 2017. Online. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bittersweet-story-vanilla-180962757.> Accessed 16 June 2025.

6.    dōTERRA. “Why Madagascar Vanilla Essential Oil Is SO Rare (And Loved) \Uses, Sourcing, Science, & Aroma. “ Video, You Tube. 14 May 2025. Accessed 18 June 2025.

7.    Sethi, Simran. “The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla.”

8.    Crick, Julie. “Vanilla is a Forest Industry Byproduct.” Michigan State University Extension, 11 January 2017. Online. <https://www.canrmsu.edu/ news/vanilla_is_a_forest_industry_byproduct>. Accessed 16 June 2025.

9.    dōTERRA. “Why Madagascar Vanilla Essential Oil Is SO Rare (And Loved) \Uses, Sourcing, Science, & Aroma. “

10. Sethi, Simran. “The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla.”

11. Ibid.

12. Arya SS, Rookes JE, Cahill DM, Lenka SK. “Vanillin: A Review on the Therapeutic Prospects of a Popular Molecule.” AVD TRADIT MED (ADTM). 2021;21(3):1-17. Doi: z10.1007/s13596-020-00531-w. Epub 2021 Jan 7. PMCID: PMC7790484. Online. <https://pmc.ncbi.nih.gov/articled/PMC7790484/#Sec23>. Accessed 11 June 2025.

13. Sethi, Simran. “The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla.”

14. doTERRA. “Behind the Bottle: Madagascar Vanilla.” Video, You Tube. 24 August 2022. Accessed 18 June 2025.