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Sandalwood oil
Family: Santalaceae Specie: Santalum spitacum Common names: Australian Sandalwood
BOTANY
The genus Santalum, represented by 16 species, belongs to the family Santalaceae. Its natural distribution is broad ranging from India (Santalum album), through Indonesia, Australia (Santalum spicatum), New Zealand, Polynesia (Santalum austrocaledonicum) eastwards to the Hawaiian Islands (Santalum ellipticum), and the Juan Fernandez Islands.
Sandalwood is naturally found in the southern part of Western Australia, where this land is home to over 161 million hectares of the native trees Santalum spitacum, making it the largest natural Sandalwood resource in the world.
Large plantations of Indian Sandalwood have also been established in northern part of Western Australia, expecting to supplement the wild supply in the future.
Together with a strict regulation of tree’s harvesting, It exists their a 150 year Resource Management Plan to preserve native Sandalwood.
As an example, 12 seeds are planted for every Sandalwood tree harvested. 30 – 40% of these are expected to survive beyond 10 years, and 1 kilogram of seeds (≈ 400) is planted for every 1 tonne of dead Sandalwood collected.
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
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It has a similar distribution to quandong (Santalum acuminatum) and is a hemi-parasite requiring macro-nutrients from roots of hosts. The main host species is Acacia acuminata which is used in plantations which sustains a 15 to 30 year long term host species in loamy sands over clay duplex soils. Rock sheaok Allocasuarina huegeliana, wodjil Acacia resinimarginea and mulga Acacia aneura are also used.
Sandalwood has a shrubby to small tree habit, but can grow to 6 metres and is tolerant of drought and salt. The foliage is grey-green in colour. The fruit of S. spicatum is spherical, about 3 cm in diameter and is orange. An edible kernel with a hard shell forms the bulk of the fruit; the shell is smoother than S. acuminatum's deeply pitted surface. Germination occurs during warm and moist conditions.
Sandalwood cannot persist in moist, dense forest types due to its poor tolerance of high shade levels. Sandalwood species generally have a broad edaphic range, usually with a preference for well drained neutral to slightly alkaline soils. They grow more quickly in fertile soils but are more at risk of being shaded out by taller, faster growing trees on such sites.
Sandalwoods have a good regeneration potential and ability to colonize/invade nearby suitable sites. So long as some mature fruit-bearing trees are retained, birds will spread the fruit. Their invasive potential is seldom considered a drawback due to the exceptionally high value of their heartwood. Furthermore, their small stature and susceptibility to being shaded out means they never become dominant and/or substantially modify or replace existing plant communities.
The foliage shows wide variation. Leaves are opposite, usually in one plane, decussate on erect new growth, simple, entire, glabrous, dark green, and shiny on top and dull light green to glaucous underneath. The shape of the leaf is initially long and thin becoming shorter and broader in older plants.
The fruit is a subglobose or ellipsoid, one-seeded drupe (7–20 mm long by 10–15mm diameter), green and firm, ripening red and turning purplish black and thinly fleshy when mature. Fruits have four longitudinal ridges and a square calyx scar at the apex.
The kernels consist of a hard (woody), smooth or slightly rough, light- coloured endocarp enclosing a single seed.
The primary advantages of sandalwoods are their ability to produce a high-value, non-perishable product (heartwood) that can provide cash income to nearby living people and communities.
China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, with no natural resources of sandalwood, are the main markets, together with India, which has its own production capability. Production of sandalwood heartwood from the South Pacific is highly variable, experiencing periods of boom and bust since exploitation commenced in the early 1800s.
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
Biocosmethic – 6, rue du grand chêne 78830 Bonnelles – tél. : (+33)1 30 88 49 18 [email protected] – www.biocosmethic.com
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CHEMISTRY
The heartwood oil composition from S. austrocaledonicum is indicated in Table 1 below.
Oil component Minimum % Maximum % α - santalol 10% 30% epi – α - bisabolol 2% 12.5% cis - β - santalol 8% 30% epi - β - santalol 0.5% 3.5% z – α – trans - bergamotol 2% 10% trans, trans farnesol 2.5% 15% z – β – curcumen -12 - ol 5.0% 15% z - lanceol 2% 10%
Table 1: S. spitacum’s oil composition
Most of the compounds belong to Sesquiterpenes’s family.
α -santalol β -santalol Image 1: α -santalol and β -santalol
TRADITIONAL USES
The heartwood of Santalwood was a major export during the early 1800s, and the sandalwood trade was one of the first attractions drawing Europeans into the South Pacific.
Wood from sandalwood was traditionally used in the South Pacific for carvings, cultural uses, medicine, and burnt as an insect repellent. However, it is rarely used nowadays because of its scarcity and cash value. The grated wood was traditionally used to a limited extent to scent coconut oil (for application to the hair and body) and cultural artifacts such as tapa cloth.
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
Biocosmethic – 6, rue du grand chêne 78830 Bonnelles – tél. : (+33)1 30 88 49 18 [email protected] – www.biocosmethic.com
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Therapeutic Uses
Diuretic Powerful urinary antiseptic – cystitis & gonorrhoea
Expectorant Relieves bronchitis and dry coughs
Antiseptic Sore throat, tonsilitis, sinusitus
Antiviral Cold sores
Antibacterial Acne, Antibacterial washes and lotions
Antifungal tinea
Anti-inflammatory Eczema, dandruff, dermatitis, sunburn
Sedative Calming preparations, focus
COSMETIC APPLICATIONS
Properties Emollient and moisturising Calming and smoothing Antiseptic, antifungal, and antibacterial Anti-inflammatory Astringent Diuretic Perfuming
Applications Natural fragrance Aromatherapy Skin care products: purifying, astringent, anti-acne, anti-blotches Body care products Balm and lipstick
RECOMMENDED DOSAGE
Cosmetic products: 0,1 à 0,5 % Aromatherapy: used pure or as an active, or associated with other oils
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
Biocosmethic – 6, rue du grand chêne 78830 Bonnelles – tél. : (+33)1 30 88 49 18 [email protected] – www.biocosmethic.com
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sandalwood. Wikipedia. Consulted on 2nd of december 2008. Available on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandalwood
A. Erligmann. Séminaire Phyto-Diététique. Phytothérapie et préparations officinales en Europe. Intérêt thérapeutique de l’huile essentielle de bois de santal. 15.06.2001. 20p.
Battaglia, S. (2003) The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, The International Centre for Aromatherapy: Australia.
Bojar, R. & K. Holland (2004) “Acne and Propionibacterium acnes” in Clinics in Dermatology, 22.
Dwiredi, C. & A. Abu-Ghazaleh (1977) “Chemopreventative effects of sandalwood oil on skin papillomas in mice” in European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 6:399-401.
Erligmann, A. (2001) “Sandalwood Oils” in The International Journal of Aromatherapy, 11:4.
Lassak, E.V. & T. McCarthy (1983) Australian Medicinal Plants, Menthuen Press: Australia.
Sheen, J. & J. Stevens (2001) “Self Perceived Effects of Sandalwood” in The International Journal of Aromatherapy, 11:4.
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
Biocosmethic – 6, rue du grand chêne 78830 Bonnelles – tél. : (+33)1 30 88 49 18 [email protected] – www.biocosmethic.com
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