Sandalwood essential oil
Latin name: Santaslum album (Santalacaeae)
Other species: Pterocarpus santalius or santalum rubrum (red sandalwood) solely used for colouring and dyeing. Other varieties come from the Sandwich islands, Western Australia and New Caledonia. The Australian (S. picatum or Eucarya spicata) produces a very similar oil but with a dry-bitter top note. The so called West Indian Sandalwood or Amyris (amyris balsamifera) is a poor imitation and bears no botanical relation to the East Indian sandalwood.
History / Traditions: Sandalwood has an uninterrupted sacred 4,000 year history being mentioned in Sanskrit and Chinese manuscripts. The oil was used in religious ritual, and many deities and temples were carved from its wood. The wood is soft to carve and one frequent use is fragrant carvings.
The ancient Egyptians imported the wood and used it in medicine, embalming and ritual burning to venerate the gods.
The true sandalwood S. album is an evergreen, semi-parasitic tree native to southern Asia, the other varieties growing in the Pacific and Australasia. the tree is medium sized 12-15m maturing at 40-50 years which is when the center of the slender trunk (the heart wood) has achieved its greatest oil content. The heartwood and roots are fragrant and contain the oil, the bark and sapwood are odorless. The branches are not used.
The tree has leathery leaves and small pinky-purple flowers and the tree must be over 30 years old before it produces essential oil, although the trees should be left until they are 50.
Extraction: The heartwood and roots are used both for wood and in the production of volatile oil.
The base note of this oil lingers for a long period. In India temples built of Sandalwood centuries ago still emit the odor of this wood.
Details of Oil: Once the oil has been distilled it is matured for six months so that it can achieve the right maturity and perfume. It develops from a very pale yellow to a brownish yellow. it is extremely thick and viscous with a heavy, sweet, woody and fruity aroma which is pungently balsamic.
Adulteration: Sandalwood oil can be adulterated with diverse oils such as caster, palm and linseed. Although experts can spot this many people are deceived in this way.
When buying Sandalwood oil one sold make sure that it is not Australian or West Indian, oils from these sources have little therapeutic value. Vietnam and New Caledonia have well controlled plantations of genuine Sandalwood. The best quality oil comes from the Indian province of Mysore where the Sandalwood trees are protected by the state government.
Properties: Bitter, astringent, slightly sweet, cold, dry. also astirnging, restoring, relaxing, disinfecting, a urinary and pulmonary antiseptic, soothing, calming.
Physical Effects: The oil is one of the main remedies in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. In Europe it is used mostly in soaps and perfumery, its sweet, powerful, lasting odour makes it an excellent fixative in perfume.
A mild herb with minimal chronic toxicity. E.O. is said to be safe for use during pregnancy. It is an oil that can be applied neat as a perfume. It is non toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing.
Uses: The oil is a powerful urinary anti-septic. It is a pulmonary anti-septic useful in the treatment of dry, persistent coughs. The soothing of sore throats is an effective application for the oil.
It also has a strong effect on other throat conditions such as laryngitis. Other uses include dry eczema, relief of itching and inflammations, sensitive skin, tension, stress, nausea and vomiting and sunstroke.
Components: The oil (includes 80 to 90% terpeniod alcohols incl. alpha-santalol and beta santalol which is a mixture of two primary sesquiterpenic alcohols) santalic and teresantalic acid, aldehyde, pterocarpin and hydrocarbons, isovaleric aldehyde, santene, santenone.
Related pages: Distance Learning Diploma course in Aromatherapy - http://www.kevala.co.uk/courses/aromatherapy.php
Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy. This information should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional.
