Information About ™Agarwood |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AGARWOOD | |
| incense | |
| resins | |
| wood | |
| materials involved in hinduism | |
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HISTORY The odour of agarwood is complex and pleasing, with few or no similar natural analogues. As a result, agarwood and its Essential Oil gained great cultural and religious significance in ancient civilizations around the world. In as early as the 3rd Century , the Chronicle '' Nan Zhou Yi Wu Zhi '' written by Wa Zhen of the Eastern Wu Dynasty mentioned agarwood produced in the Rinan Commandery , now Central Vietnam , and how people collected them in the mountains. ETYMOLOGY Agarwood is known under many names in different cultures:
FORMATION Formation of agarwood occurs in the trunk and roots of trees that have been infected by a Fungus . As a response, the tree produces a Resin high in volatile organic compounds that aids in suppressing or retarding fungal growth. While the unaffected wood of the tree is relatively light in colour, the resin dramatically increases the mass and density of the affected wood, changing its colour from a pale beige to dark brown or black. TRADE AND USE Singapore serves as an important trading center for agarwood products, because of its location and it economic position in Southeast Asia . Agarwood is used in Arab countries (especially in the Persian Gulf ) as Incense . In Japan, it is used in ''Kodo'' or "incense ceremony" along with Sandalwood . Aloeswood was used by the Ancient Egyptians for embalming dead bodies. Agarwood extract is rarely used in western perfumery due to its prohibitive price. Due to its rarity and the high demand for it, agarwood and agarwood extracts bring high prices. Indiscriminate cutting of trees of the relevant species in the hope of finding agarwood has resulted depletion of wild trees. A single species has been CITES -listed. Projects are currently underway in some countries in southeast Asia to infect cultivated ''Aquilaria'' trees artificially to produce agarwood in a sustainable manner. ODOR PROFILE A natural perfume oil obtained by CO2 extraction from agarwood retains the odor of "true" agarwood: a Cepes (mushroom) and carrot seed accord, which can be roughly approximated by combining Ambergris , Jasmine , earth and wood notes. Lightly infected wood, sometimes cultivated, produces an inferior oil with a Vetiver / Sandalwood / Patchouli character. EXTERNAL LINKS
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