Olibanum Resinoid
Cool, balsamic-resinous with a churchy, incense quality. Olibanum resinoid is frankincense in its darker, more resinous form — less citrusy than the oil, more complex, more somber.
Scent
Grades & Aging
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Did You Know?
The word 'olibanum' derives from the Arabic 'al-lubān' (the milk), referring to the milky-white appearance of the fresh resin as it exudes from Boswellia tree bark. This same root gives us the French 'encens' (from 'incendere,' to burn) and ultimately 'incense' in English.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method
Solvent extraction of Boswellia gum resin. The resinoid retains incensole and boswellic acids that are too heavy for steam distillation. Major sourcing from Somalia (B. carterii) and Oman (B. sacra). The resinoid is thicker and darker than the essential oil.
- Formula
- Complex mixture (major: boswellic acids C₃₀H₄₈O₄)
- CAS
- 8050-07-5
- Botanical
- Boswellia sacra Boswellia carterii
- Appearance
- Pale yellow to dark amber semi-solid resinoid
- Lasting power
- 400 hour(s) at 20.00 %
- Synonyms
- FRANKINCENSE RESINOID BOSWELLIA RESINOID
No IFRA Standard for the material itself (51st Amendment)
- Flash point
- > 212.00 °F. TCC ( > 100.00 °C. )
- Specific gravity
- 1.07800 to 1.09200 @ 25.00 °C.
- Refractive index
- 1.48000 to 1.49900 @ 20.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Base note in incense, amber, and sacred compositions. Olibanum resinoid provides the deep, resinous, 'church incense' quality that the essential oil is too bright to deliver. It anchors incense accords, provides dark balsamic depth in ambers, and works in compositions evoking meditation, spirituality, and antiquity. Pairs with myrrh, benzoin, labdanum, and styrax. Powerful fixative.