Dill Essential Oil

Dill is an herb based from its plant origin that belongs to the celery, carrot or parsley family also known as Apiaceae or Umbelliferae. Dill is also recognized for its binomial name Anethum graveolens L. that comes from a Norwegian word “dilla,” which means to soothe, as evidenced by its medicinal use aside from serving its culinary purpose.

Dill plant has two variants: the commonly known variety is grown and cultivated in England, Germany, Romania, Turkey, USA and Russia which is Anethum graveolens or popularly called European dill. The other is grown and cultivated in many parts of India known as Anethum Sowa or Indian dill.

Dill Essential Oil is one of the essential oils with medicinal properties providing relief to a vast range of illness including treatment of colic in babies. It promotes increase of milk supply for lactating mothers.

There are two types of dill oil known as Dill Essential Oil and Dill Weed Oil. The difference between the two is that Dill Essential Oil is acquired from mature seeds of the dill plant through the steam distillation. Dill weed oil is retrieved from fresh herbs that have undergone the same process of steam distillation.

Dill Essential Oil is commonly known to have a grass-like smell, usually noted to have slightly yellow to light brown color and appears to have a watery viscidity. Dill Weed Oil appears to have a pale yellow to yellowish color and expels a strong, spicy aromatic odor.

Benefits of Dill Essential Oil

Listed below are the various health benefits that Dill Essential Oil provides:

  • Promotes proper digestion and helps treat any related illness in line with the digestive tract.
  • Provides quick relief from anxiety and depression
  • Aids in preventing wound infections and protecting the skin from infections.

  • It has carminative properties that can effectively deal with any gas trouble especially in babies.
  • It helps promote an increase in milk supply and improve the quality of breast milk for nursing mothers.
  • It has sedative effects that can ease stress, anger, tension and depression.
  • Promotes perspiration and expels unnecessary toxins in the body.

Dill Essential Oil Uses

  1. Dill Essential Oil as Antispasmodic: This oil is known to provide fast relief and helps alleviate pain caused by spasms or abnormal contractions noted in the respiratory tract, intestines, muscles and nerves.
  2. Dill Essential Oil as Anti-inflammatory: Having anti-histamine properties, this oil can be used through steam inhalation, topical application and oral administration. It gets rid of the inflammation, prevents further infection and alleviates the discomfort caused by swelling.
  3. Dill Essential Oil as Disinfectant: Applied topically on the affected area, this oil provides skin protection, prevents infection and promotes fast healing from wounds. It can also be ingested to facilitate healing from microbial infection found in the colon, Kidneys, urinary tract, and genitals.
  4. Dill Essential Oil as Anti-hyperlipidaemic: Proven to acquire antihyperlipidaemic and antihypercholesterolaemic effects, this oil aids in lowering the level of cholesterol in the body.
  5. Dill Essential Oil as Sedative: Known for its sedative and calming effects, this oil provides quick relief from anxiety, depression and stress. It can also help in promoting a restful sleep for people who suffer from insomnia
  6. Dill Essential Oil for Carminative Use: Due to the presence of carminative properties, this oil aids to prevent gas formation in the intestines and helps in driving out excess gas to provide relief from colic.
  7. Dill Essential Oil as Galactagogue: This oil is noted to have galactagogue, a substance that improves the quality of breast milk and increases milk supply for nursing mothers.
  8. Dill Essential Oil as Aid in Digestion: This oil prompts the secretion of acids, gastric juices, and bile in the stomach to facilitates proper and healthy digestion.
  9. Dill Essential Oil as Sudorific: This oil induces sweating that can help in the expulsion of excess water, salt and toxins found in the body that reduces blood pressure and decreases swelling.
  10. Dill Essential Oil in Preventing Cancer: This oil has monoterpenes that aid in the secretion and activation of the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which prevents cancer cell formation. It also neutralizes carcinogenic substances like benzopyrenes.

Dill Essential Oil Side Effects

  • Allergies to any related plants in the Carrot family: People who have known allergies to carrots, celery, parsley and the like should not take Dill Essential Oil. It may trigger adverse allergic reactions once ingested or applied on the skin.
  • Pregnancy and Lactation: Pregnant women should not take or use Dill Essential Oil because it can facilitate menstrual flow thus causing miscarriage. Nursing mothers should onsult a medical practitioner before use.
  • Diabetes: Dill Essential Oil might cause lower blood sugar for patients with diabetes and should be closely watched for hypoglycemia. Frequent monitoring of blood sugar is highly recommended when using Dill Essential Oil.
  • Surgery: If you are scheduled to undergo any type of surgery, it is best not to use Dill Essential Oil at least two weeks before the procedure. Known to lower blood sugar levels, this might affect the blood sugar regulation during and after the surgery.

How to Use Dill Essential Oil

Enlisted below are the different ways to use Dill Essential Oil:

  1. For Aromatherapy. Adding 2 drops of Dill Essential Oil in your diffuser, burner or vaporizer aids in the release of the calming and relaxing effect of the oil to promote deep sleep and fast relief from tension. It can also be added in potpourri blends and herbal pillows.
  2. For Topical Application. Depending on the specific benefit provided by the oil, a specified amount of Dill Essential Oil is applied on the affected site. For example, you can use 2 drops of Dill Essential Oil to massage an infant’s tummy to provide relief from colic.
  3. For Oral Administration. It promotes healing of the specified internal organs that require medical intervention. It may be taken as it is or can be mixed with food to take effect.   

How to Make Dill Essential Oil

Dill Essential Oil is derived from the seeds of a dill plant through the process of steam distillation, a type of a special separation process for organic compounds with temperature sensitive precautions. This process is utilized to avoid natural aromatic compounds to decompose once exposed to high temperatures.

To start with, dill seeds are harvested from the dill plant. It is advisable that the harvesting process takes place in the morning. Make sure that the seeds are fully mature when plucked out from the plant. It is then placed inside the distillation equipment and exposed in high temperatures allowing the steam to extract the natural oil components.

Dill Essential Oil Recipe

You can try to make your own Dill Essential Oil at home, to start off you need to prepare the following: 1 tsp. dill seed, ¼ cup dill weed and 1 cup extra virgin olive oil. Using a saucepan, begin to toast the seeds until the aroma is expelled. Once toasted, quickly remove it from the heat and pulverize the seeds with the use of a mortar and pestle.

Next, add the dill weed and crush it along with the seeds as you slowly add the oil that allows the organic material to fuse. After mixing it all together, scoop all the mixture to a blender, blend for at least a minute and it’s all done. Transfer it in a container for safekeeping.

Where to Buy Dill Essential Oil

Dill Essential Oil is available at your nearest organic outlets. For easy and hassle-free access, you can also find Dill Essential Oil available online. It comes in various sizes and usually stored in amber glass bottles to maintain its potency and acquire its maximum shelf life.

More information on Dill Essential Oil

  • People who suffer from epilepsy should not take Dill Essential Oil.
  • It has active compounds that include: Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium, Vitamin A., Zinc, Amino acids, Isoleucine, Threonine, Leucine, Methionine, Lysine, Phenylalanine, Arginine, Valine, and Histidine.
  • It best blends with lime, orange, lemon, and other citrus oils. It can also be combined with caraway, bergamot, and nutmeg essential oils.
  • It can be used for cosmetic purposes by infusing water for topical preparations.