Agarwood, also known as oud or aloeswood, is formed in certain tree species, primarily

from the Aquilaria genus, when they undergo a specific process triggered by injury or
infection. Here's how agarwood is formed in trees:

1. **Aquilaria Trees**: Agarwood is primarily obtained from the Aquilaria trees, particularly
Aquilaria malaccensis, Aquilaria crassna, and Aquilaria agallocha. These trees are native to
various regions in Asia, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, and parts of the Middle East.

2. **Wounding or Infection**: Agarwood formation is typically initiated when the tree

experiences some form of injury or infection. This can happen through natural means, such
as insect infestations or fungal attacks, or through human intervention, like deliberate tree
tapping or wounding.

3. **Defense Mechanism**: When the tree is wounded or attacked, it initiates a defence

mechanism to protect itself from the invading pathogen or injury. To fend off the threat, the
tree produces a resin. This resin is the key to agarwood formation.

4. **Resin Accumulation**: Over time, the tree continues to produce and accumulate resin
as a response to the ongoing threat. The resin gradually fills the cavities and voids within the
heartwood of the tree, which is the central, dense part of the trunk and branches.

5. **Hardening and Darkening**: As the resin accumulates, it undergoes chemical changes,

including oxidation and polymerization. These processes cause the resin to harden and
darken, eventually transforming into agarwood. The distinctive aroma and characteristics of
agarwood are a result of the complex chemical compounds that develop during this
transformation.

6. **Harvesting**: Agarwood is typically harvested by carefully cutting down or extracting

the agarwood-infused portions of the tree. This requires expertise to avoid damaging the
valuable agarwood while leaving the tree intact for potential resin production in the future.

It's important to note that the formation of agarwood is a natural response to stress in
these trees, and not all Aquilaria trees produce agarwood. Additionally, the quality and
aroma of agarwood can vary widely depending on factors such as the tree species, the type
of injury or infection, environmental conditions, and the region where it is grown.

Due to its scarcity and high market demand, agarwood has become a valuable and sought-
after commodity in various industries, including perfumery and traditional medicine.
Sustainable harvesting practices and conservation efforts are crucial to ensure the
continued existence of agarwood-producing trees.

Agarwood oil

Agarwood oil, also known as oud oil or agarwood essential oil, is extracted from the
resinous wood of the agarwood tree (usually from the Aquilaria species) through various
methods. The extraction process can be quite complex and requires expertise to obtain the
highly prized agarwood oil. Here are the primary methods used to extract agarwood oil:

1. **Steam Distillation**:

- **Chopped Agarwood Chips**: One common method for extracting agarwood oil is by
steam distillation of chopped agarwood chips or wood shavings. The wood is first cut into
small pieces to increase the surface area for extraction.

- **Steam Application**: These wood pieces are then subjected to high-temperature

steam. The steam penetrates the wood, causing the essential oil to vaporize and rise with
the steam.

- **Condensation**: The steam and vaporized essential oil are condensed into a liquid
form in a cooling system. The condensed liquid contains both water and agarwood oil.

- **Separation**: The oil, being less dense than water, floats on top of the condensed
liquid and is separated, resulting in pure agarwood essential oil.

2. **Hydrodistillation**:

- **Chopped Wood and Water**: Similar to steam distillation, agarwood chips are
immersed in water in this method.

- **Heating and Distillation**: The mixture is heated, and the water turns into steam,
which carries the essential oil with it.
 - **Condensation and Separation**: As with steam distillation, the steam containing the
oil is condensed, and the oil is separated from the water.

3. **Solvent Extraction**:

- **Ground Agarwood and Solvent**: This method involves grinding agarwood into a fine
powder or using agarwood chips and then mixing them with a suitable solvent, such as
ethanol or hexane.

- **Extraction**: The solvent dissolves the essential oil from the agarwood. This process is
known as maceration.

- **Separation and Evaporation**: The solvent-oil mixture is then separated from the
plant material. The solvent is evaporated, leaving behind the agarwood oil.

4. **Supercritical Fluid Extraction**:

- **High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide**: In this method, supercritical carbon dioxide is used as

a solvent. It is a high-pressure, high-temperature fluid that can effectively extract essential
oils.

- **Extraction**: The supercritical carbon dioxide is passed through the agarwood

material, extracting the essential oil.

- **Separation**: The supercritical fluid is depressurized, allowing the essential oil to

separate from the CO2.

5. **Enfleurage** (Less Common):

- **Agarwood and Solid Fat**: This traditional method involves placing agarwood chips or
wood powder on a layer of solid fat (usually animal fat or vegetable fat).

- **Absorption and Extraction**: Over time, the fat absorbs the aromatic compounds from
the agarwood.

- **Repetition**: This process may be repeated several times with fresh agarwood
material until the fat is saturated with the fragrance.

- **Alcohol Extraction**: After saturation, the fat is extracted with alcohol to separate the
essential oil from the fat.
The choice of extraction method can impact the quality and fragrance profile of the
agarwood oil, and different methods may yield oils with varying characteristics. Due to the
high demand and value of agarwood oil, it is crucial to use sustainable and ethical practices
to ensure the conservation of agarwood-producing trees.

Brief Explanation:

Agarwood trees grown in special climatic condition such as in Assam India bear agarwood
oil in them. Agarwood trees grown elsewhere where the climatic conditions are not suitable
will not bear or produce agarwood oil, hence even the wood after burning will not give the
special agarwood aroma it is famous for. Agarwood oil is produced by the insects which
infect the agarwood tress in a specific condition and as the tree gets more infested, it
produces more oil. Sometimes if the trees are not infected, they are wounded or treated
with special chemicals to cause infection.

Hence these oil bearing trees are very expensive. So are the agarwood sticks taken out from
them.

Agarwood oil: The infected agarwood trees are cut and small pieces are made of the wood,
which are put in a container called deg in India with water in it and it is continuously (24
hours) heated to get oil from the water using the condensation process. The oudh oil which
is mixed with some water during condensation process, is kept under the sun for longer
periods, the water gets evaporated and pure oil remains behind. 1 kg approximately gives 1
tola (11.62 grams) say 12 grams of oudh oil, therefore it is very expensive.

Note: the older the oudh oil gets, the water inside goes on evaporating giving it a strong
fragrance, Therefore old extracted oils are more expensive.