oleoresin
{{Short description|Semi-solid extracts from manufacturing}}
Oleoresins are semi-solid extracts composed of resin and essential or fatty oil, obtained by evaporation of the solvents used for their production.{{citation | contribution=EXTRACTS | title=British Pharmacopoeia | volume=3 | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-11-322799-0| last1=Commission | first1=British Pharmacopoeia | publisher=Stationery Office }} The oleoresin of conifers is known as crude turpentine or gum turpentine, which consists of oil of turpentine and rosin.{{Cite web |title=Turpentine |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/turpentine |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=Britannica}}
Properties
In contrast to essential oils obtained by steam distillation, oleoresins abound in heavier, less volatile and lipophilic compounds, such as resins, waxes, fats and fatty oils. Gummo-oleoresins (oleo-gum resins, gum resins) occur mostly as crude balsams and contain also water-soluble gums. Processing of oleoresins is conducted on a large scale, especially in China (400,000 tons per year in the 1990s), but the technology is too labor-intensive to be viable in countries with high labor costs, such as the US.{{Ullmann|author=Lars-Hugo Norlin|title=Tall Oil|year=2002|doi=10.1002/14356007.a26_057}}
Oleoresins are prepared from spices, such as basil, capsicum (paprika), cardamom, celery seed, cinnamon bark, clove bud, fenugreek, fir balsam, ginger, jambu, labdanum, mace, marjoram, nutmeg, parsley, pepper (black/white), pimenta (allspice), rosemary, sage, savory (summer/winter), thyme, turmeric, vanilla, and West Indian bay leaves. The solvents used are nonaqueous and may be polar (alcohols) or nonpolar (hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide).{{citation | author=George A. Burdock | title=Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients | edition=6th | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4200-9077-2}}
Oleoresins are similar to perfumery concretes, obtained especially from flowers, and to perfumery resinoids, which are prepared also from animal secretions.
Use
File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Oleoresin Capsicum gas.jpg
Most oleoresins are used as flavors and perfumes, some are used medicinally (e. g., oleoresin of Cannabis). Oleoresin capsicum is commonly used as a basis for pepper sprays. There are also uses known in the manufacture of soaps of cosmetics, as well as coloring agents for foods. A well-known pipe thread sealant, Rectorseal #5, is stated to have an "oleoresinous base".