Serenity Softgels food supplement dōTERRA | 60 softgels

The best-known oil in the world, and probably the oldest: the Romans already scented their baths with it, which is where its name comes from. Its linalool and linalyl acetate form that soft floral aroma, recognisable at once. It is the heart of every blend it enters.

Once dry, valerian root gives off a powerful, earthy smell often compared to old leather. It comes from the valerenic acids, which appear only on drying and are absent from the fresh plant. It is that smell that calls for a capsule rather than an infusion.

The tart cherry, or morello, differs from the dessert cherry in its anthocyanin content, the pigments behind that almost black red. Too sour to be eaten raw, it is traditionally dried or pressed. The extract keeps all of its colour.

It is the stems and the leaves of the passionflower, not its fruit, that go into the extract. The plant owes its name to the Jesuits, who read the instruments of the Passion in the architecture of its flower. It is harvested at flowering, when the flavonoid content is at its highest.

German chamomile, or matricaria, is recognised by its domed, hollow yellow centre, where that of Roman chamomile is solid. Its flower heads are picked in full bloom and then dried in the shade. The extract keeps their light bitterness, the one found in the infusion.