Sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Consequently, some species of these slow-growing trees have suffered over-harvesting in the past.
Nomenclature
The nomenclature and the taxonomy of the genus are derived from this species' historical and widespread use. Etymologically it is ultimately derived from Sanskrit चन्दन Chandana, meaning "wood for burning incense" and related to candrah, "shining, glowing" and the Latin candere, to shine or glow. It arrived in English via Late Greek, Medieval Latin and Old French in the 14th or 15th century.True sandalwoods
Sandalwoods are medium-sized hemiparasitic trees, and part of the same botanical family as European mistletoe. True sandalwoods are native to Insular Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The main cultivated species, Santalum album, were introduced in ancient times into mainland Asia by Austronesian traders and have since naturalized in South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, southeastern China, and Taiwan. The main distribution of both wild and introduced sandalwood trees are in the drier tropical regions of India and the Indonesian islands of Timor and Sumba.S. album spread to other regions through the Austronesian [maritime trade network], the incense trade route, and the Maritime Silk Road, until the sixteenth century CE. The sandalwood produced in peninsular India and the Malay Archipelago supported most consumption in East Asia and West Asia during the time of the incense trade route before the commercialization of Australian sandalwood in sandalwood plantations in Australia and China, although sandalwood album is still considered to have the best and original quality in terms of religion and alternative medicine. Santalum spicatum is marketed as the notable member of this group today by merchants because of its stable sources; others in the genus also have fragrant wood.
- S. album is a threatened species native to dry tropical regions of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Western Australia. It was one of the plants exploited by Austronesian arboriculture and it was introduced by Austronesian sailors to East Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia during the ancient spice trade, becoming naturalized in South India by at least 1300 BCE. In India, the principal sandal tracts are most parts of Karnataka and adjoining districts of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Although sandalwood trees in India, Pakistan, and Nepal are government-owned and their harvest is controlled, many trees are illegally cut down. Sandalwood oil prices had risen to per liter by 2017.
- S. ellipticum, S. freycinetianum, and S. paniculatum, the Hawaiian sandalwood, were also used and considered high quality. These three species were exploited between 1790 and 1825 before the supply of trees ran out. Although S. freycinetianum and S. paniculatum are relatively common today, they have not regained their former abundance or size, and S. ellipticum remains rare.
- S. yasi, a sandalwood from Fiji and Tonga.
- S. spicatum is used by aromatherapists and perfumers. The oil concentration differs considerably from other Santalum species. In the 1840s, sandalwood was Western Australia's biggest export earner. Oil was distilled for the first time in 1875, and by the turn of the 20th century, production of Australian sandalwood oil was intermittent. However, in the late 1990s, Western Australian sandalwood oil enjoyed a revival and by 2009 had peaked at more than per year – much of which went to the fragrance industries in Europe. Although overall production has decreased, by 2011, a significant percentage of its production was heading to the chewing tobacco industry in India alongside Indian sandalwood – the chewing tobacco market being the largest market for both oils in 2012.
- Other species: Commercially, various other species, not belonging to Santalum species, are also used as "sandalwood."
Unrelated plants
- Adenanthera pavonina - sandalwood tree, red or false red sandalwood
- Baphia nitida - camwood, also known as African sandalwood
- Eremophila mitchellii - sandalwood; false sandalwood
- Myoporum platycarpum - sandalwood; false sandalwood
- Myoporum sandwicense - bastard sandalwood, false sandalwood
- Osyris lanceolata - African sandalwood
- Osyris tenuifolia - east African sandalwood
- Pterocarpus santalinus - false red sandalwood growing in southern Indian regions
Production
Australian sandalwood is grown in commercial plantations throughout the wheatbelt of Western Australia, where it has been an important part of the economy since colonial times. Western Australia has the largest plantation resource in the world.
Sandalwood is expensive compared to other types of woods. To maximize profit, sandalwood is harvested by removing the entire tree instead of felling at the trunk near ground level. This way wood from the stump and root, which possesses high levels of sandalwood oil, can also be processed and sold.
Australian sandalwood is mostly harvested and sold in log form, graded for heartwood content. The species is unique in that the white sapwood does not require removal before distilling the oil. The logs are either processed to distill the essential oil, or made into powders for making incense. Indian sandalwood, used mainly for oil extraction, does require removal of the sapwood prior to distillation., Australian sandalwood oil sold for around per , while Indian sandalwood oil, due to its higher alpha-santalol content, is priced at about per kg.
Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world, along with African blackwood, pink ivory, agarwood and ebony.
Sandalwood has historically been an important tree in the development of the political economy of the Pacific. Prior to colonization in the region, the sandalwood tree was a marker of status, rank and beauty. It then became an important part of the Pacific trade during the colonial period, as it was one of the few resources the West was able to successfully trade with Chinese merchants. This western trade began to put pressure on the production of sandalwood in the region.
Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom in the Oceania region, saw a collapse of its sandalwood tree population due to the disruption of fahu, the hierarchical kinship-based social system which traditionally governed ʻahi harvest. When, in the early 1980s, a Chinese merchant willing to pay high prices arrived at the island of Haʻano, lower-ranking family members began to harvest the trees without permission, encouraging many farmers to harvest their trees defensively, leading to overharvest. Nearly all of the sandalwood resources on the island were depleted over the span of two years. Anthropologist Mike Evans concluded, "whatever the short-term ecological benefits of enforcing privatized land tenure, because private property not only fragments social ties by allowing an individual to deny others, it has the potential to fragment the regional ecology as well."
Uses
Fragrance
has a distinctive soft, warm, smooth, creamy, and milky precious-wood scent. Its quality and scent profile is greatly influenced by the age of the tree, location and the skill of the distiller. It imparts a long-lasting, woody base to perfumes from the oriental, woody, fougère, and chypre families, as well as a fixative to floral and citrus fragrances. When used in smaller proportions in a perfume, it acts as a fixative, enhancing the longevity of other, more volatile, materials in the composite. Sandalwood is also a key ingredient in the "floriental" fragrance family – when combined with white florals such as jasmine, ylang ylang, gardenia, plumeria, orange blossom, tuberose, lily of the valley, etc. Its also acts as a versatile base that blends well with other woody scents like patchouli and cedar.Sandalwood oil in India is widely used in the cosmetic industry. The main source of true sandalwood, S. album, is a protected species, and demand for it cannot be met. Many species of plants are traded as "sandalwood". The genus Santalum has more than 19 species. Traders often accept oil from closely related species, as well as from unrelated plants such as West Indian sandalwood in the family Rutaceae or bastard sandalwood. However, most woods from these alternative sources lose their aroma within a few months or years.
Isobornyl cyclohexanol is a synthetic fragrance chemical produced as an alternative to the natural product.
Sandalwood's main components are the two isomers of santalol. It is used in aromatherapy, in scented candles and to prepare soaps.
Idols/sculptures
Sandalwood lends itself well to carving and has thus, traditionally, been a wood of choice for statues and sculptures of Hindu gods.Technology
Due to its low fluorescence and optimal refractive index, sandalwood oil is often employed as an immersion oil within ultraviolet and fluorescence microscopy.Food
eat the seed kernels, nuts, and fruit of local sandalwoods, such as the quandong.Early Europeans in Australia used quandong in cooking damper by infusing it with its leaves, and in making jams, pies, and chutneys from the fruit. In Scandinavia, pulverised bark from red sandalwood is used—with other tropical spices—when marinating anchovies and some types of pickled herring such as matjes, sprat, and certain types of traditional spegesild, inducing a reddish colour and slightly perfumed flavour.
Present-day chefs have begun experimenting in using the nut as a substitute for macadamia nuts or a bush food substitute for almonds, hazelnuts, and others in Southeast Asian-styled cuisine. The oil is also used as a flavour component in different food items, including candy, ice cream, baked food, puddings, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and gelatin. The flavouring is used at levels below 10 ppm, the highest possible level for use in food products being 90 ppm.
Distillation
Oil is extracted from sandalwood through distillation. Many different methods are used, including steam distillation, water distillation, CO2 extraction, and solvent extractions. Steam distillation is the most common method used by sandalwood companies. It occurs in a four-step process, incorporating boiling, steaming, condensation, and separation. Water is heated to high temperatures and is then passed through the wood. The oil is very tightly bound within the cellular structure of the wood, but can be released by the high heat of the steam. The mixture of steam and oil is then cooled and separated so that the essential oil can be collected. This process is much longer than any other essential oil's distillation, taking 14 to 36 hours to complete, but generally produces much higher quality oil. Water, or hydro, distillation is the more traditional method of sandalwood extraction which involves soaking the wood in water and then boiling it until the oil is released. This method is not used as much anymore because of the high costs and time associated with heating large quantities of water.Religion
Hinduism
Sandalwood is considered sacred in the Hindu Ayurveda and is known in Sanskrit as chandana. The wood is used for worshipping the deities, and it is said that Lakshmi, the goddess of well-being, lives in the sandalwood tree; therefore, it is also known as Srigandha.Sandalwood paste is prepared by grinding a piece of dry sandalwood into powder, against a stone slab. With the gradual addition of water, a thick paste forms, and it is mixed with saffron or other such pigments to make chandanam. Chandanam, further mixed with herbs, perfumes, pigments, and some other compounds, results in javadhu. Kalabham, chandanam, and javadhu are dried and used as kalabham powder, chandanam powder, and javadhu powder, respectively. Chandanam powder is very popular in India and is also used in Nepal.
In Tirupati, after religious tonsure, sandalwood paste is applied to protect the skin. In Hinduism and Ayurveda, sandalwood is thought to bring one closer to the divine. Thus, it is one of the most used holy elements in Hindu and Vedic societies.
This paste is integral to rituals and ceremonies, for making religious utensils, for decorating sacred images, and it is believed to calm the mind during meditation and prayer. It is also distributed to devotees, who apply it to their foreheads or necks and chests. Sandalwood paste is used for most pujas both in temples and private households.