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Sandalwood oil company
Sandalwood oil is an essential oil obtained from the steam distillation of chips and billets cut from the heartwood of various species of sandalwood trees (e.g. Santalum album and Santalum spicatum).
Contents
- Sandalwood oil company
- Where does sandalwood oil come from
- Main constituents
- Traditional uses
- Production
- Synthetic equivalents
- References
Sandalwood oil is used in perfumes, cosmetics, and sacred unguents.
Where does sandalwood oil come from
Main constituents
Sandalwood oil contains more than 90% sesquiterpenic alcohols of which 50-60% is the tricyclic α-santalol. β-Santalol comprises 20-25%.
The composition of the oil will depend on the species, region grown, age of tree, and possibly the season of harvest and details of the extraction process used.
Current ISO standards for S. album oil, are 41-55 % α-santalol and 16-24 % β–santalol (ISO 3518: 2002E).
Traditional uses
Sandalwood essential oil is used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of both somatic and mental disorders. A study investigating the effects of inhalation of East Indian sandalwood oil and its main compound, α-santalol, on human physiological parameters found that the compounds elevated pulse rate, skin conductance, and systolic blood pressure.
Sandalwood oil and α-santalol have been associated with chemopreventive activity in animal models of carcinogenesis.
Production
The oil is distilled from the wood of the entire tree including stump and roots. (See also Sandalwood#Production)
Synthetic equivalents
There are several synthetic odorants with odour similar to sandalwood oil, used as lower-cost alternatives for perfumes, emollients, and skin cleaning agents. Two of these, Sandalore and Brahmanol, have been found to be agonists of the cutaneous olfactory receptor OR2AT4, with potential therapeutic benefits for wound healing. Natural sandalwood oil, and other synthetic sandalwood odorants, did not have the same effect.
