Agarwood oil and its formation

Agarwood (or simply Agar) may be the resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees, huge evergreens native to southeast Asia. The trees occasionally turn into infected with mold and start to make an aromatic resin in response to this attack. Because the infection grows, it results within a extremely rich, dark resin within the heartwood. The resin is commonly named gaharu, jinko, aloeswood, agarwood, or oud (not to become confused with 'Bakhoor') and is valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and as a result is employed for incense and perfumes. Among the reasons for the relative rarity and high cost of agarwood could be the depletion from the wild resource. FormationThere are fifteen species in with the Aquilaria genus and eight are known to make agarwood. In theory agarwood may be made from all members; however, till lately it was mainly developed from A. malaccensis. A. agallocha plus a. secundaria are synonyms for a. malaccensis. A. crassna along with a. sinensis would be the other two members in the genus that are normally harvested. Formation of occurs in the trunk and roots of trees which have been infected by a parasitc ascomycetous mold, Phaeoacremonium parasitica , a dematiaceous (dark-walled) fungus. As a response, the tree produces a resin high in volatile organic compounds that aids in suppressing or retarding the fungal development. Whilst the unaffected wood with the tree is relatively light in colour, the resin drastically increases the mass and density of the impacted wood, altering its colour from a pale beige to dark brown or black. In natural forest only about 7% in the trees are infected by the fungus.