Oud - Agarwood
Oudh/Agarwood oil is derived from an Agarwood tree that grows abundantly in Laos, but is found all over Southeast Asia. The highest quality Agarwood trees can be found in the former countries of Indochina, such as: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Also found in Assam a province in India, where the best distillers in the world can be found. Agarwood/Oud oil are products of infected species of trees, commonly being sought from Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees.
New methods to cultivate Agarwood in plantation grown trees by stimulating naturally occurring compounds called Sesquiterpenes and Chromones. These compounds are produced as a defense mechanism in the living tree to ward off microbial attack and are produced only under very specific circumstances within a tiny percentage of trees. The resin can now be produced in trees as young as ten years old, without adversely affecting the environment and creating jobs for some of the poorest areas in the world.
With less than one percent of wild Agarwood trees producing the resin and no way of knowing which trees have the resinous wood, indiscriminate cutting has resulted in very few old Agarwood trees remaining in the wild. Although protected by law in most countries and by international treaties, illegal cutting still occurs and old trees are endangered.
Agarwood comes in solid or liquid form. Solids are only solid at room temperature, and if warmed slightly, it turns to mobile liquid. It is an anti-asthmatic and can be applied directly to the skin as it is non-irritating. The oil is very tenacious and only the tiniest of drops is needed to fill the air with its soul evoking aroma. It is a complex aroma with many nuances, deep and ethereal. The aroma takes about 12 hours to unfold and it will last on the skin for more than a day, and if placed on any material, the scent can last for months. It can be used as a perfume, an aroma therapy and an essential oil or as an aid for the deepest meditation. It is believed that this fragrances will unlock the subconscious and allow you to go deep into your memories. The resin is also used in perfumery, Yves Saint Laurent and Amouage use Agarwood in their top perfumes as a base.
The Aquilaria tree grows up to 40 meters high and 60 centimeters in diameter. It bears sweetly-scented, snow-white flowers. These trees form resins within the heartwood that can then produce Oudh/Agarwood oils. Of the 26 species (two of them are believed to be extinct) of Aquilaria trees found in fifteen countries around the world, it is thought that 4-6 of them can produce the highly acclaimed Oudh oil resin. The trees frequently become infected with a parasite fungus or mold, Phialophora parasitica, and begin to produce an aromatic resin, in response to this attack. The results are achieved by allowing plenty of time for infection to take place, and preferably in the forest or other non-contrived settings. Eventually, this infection will cause the tree to die, and Agarwood resin can then be chipped away, in various grades of quality, and sold. For the extraction of Oudh oil, the tree has to be alive and infected, distillation has to take place within a few months of cutting or the oil will dry up. Uninfected trees have no value and is used for firewood.
The lesser quality Agarwood has a whitish color and contains less resin. They are graded, chopped, shredded, soaked, distilled, dried, and rolled into incense sticks. The uninfected Agarwood has no scented value. Oud oil has an eccentric, as well as, acquired fragrance. It is regarded as a very sophisticated and highly prized Oudh fragrance in the Arab world.
The fragrance oil business is a complex, multi-faceted business. Many people are involved in the making of one good oil. You, the consumer, benefit from the hundreds of pages of research and countless hours of testing. Fragrance oils open up a whole new world for soap and toiletry makers; scents that you have never dreamed of are out there for you to use and enjoy. You’ll be delighted with the world of fragrance out there when you start to explore.
