Sandalwood Oil
Different qualities of sandalwood oil are produced in India, including unbranded oil, branded oil, Agmarked oil and Mysore oil (Chana 1994). The unbranded oil is used exclusively by the flavor and fragrance industry in India, and it generally does not meet the Indian standard of 90% total santalols. Some of the branded oil is exported, although most is used domestically. Agmark oil is an export-quality material with a santalol content guaranteed to be greater than the Indian standard. Mysore oil is produced at the Mysore and Shimoga distilleries, which were at one time under the control of the Karnataka government; however, they are now controlled by the Karnataka Soap and Detergents Co. Ltd.
Chana (1994) reported that the oil content of the heartwood of 10-yearold sandalwood trees was 0.9% as compared to 30-year-old trees, which possessed 4.0% oil. Furthermore, he noted that the total santalols, santalyl acetate and santalenes in the oil produced from the 30-year-old heartwood were 89.2%, 3.5 % and 2.3%, respectively.
