The College of Science, Department of Life Sciences, University of Basra, organized a panel discussion on (the toxicological and therapeutic effects of volatile oils and their effect on animal tissues) for graduate student Duaa Abdul-Azim Imran. Its importance through its many uses in industry such as the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes and chemicals. The study focused on the extraction of volatile oils from aromatic plants.

The essential oil is a concentrated plant extract that serves as the spirit or essence of the plant, or as it is sometimes called (plant hormone). This oil is secreted by special glands of the plant, which may be found in the flowers, leaves, stems or roots, as well as in the bark of some trees. These essential oils contain oxygen compounds, which divide essential oils on the basis of what they contain of those substances such as alcohols, esters, aldehydes, phenols, and ketones.