Камбоджійський уд

Origin

Aquilaria crassna is one source of agarwood, a resinous heartwood used for perfume and incense. It is critically endangered and native to Southeast Asia. The genus Aquilaria includes 21 species native to Southeast Asia, occurring particularly in the rainforests of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and other countries. Aquilaria crassna is a native agarwood species of the Cardamom Mountain range in southwestern Cambodia. Most of the remaining wild agarwood trees in Cambodia now exist in deep forest areas of Protected Areas.

The aromatic qualities of agarwood vary with the species, the geographic location, the branch, trunk or root of origin, the length of time since infection, and the methods of harvesting and processing. Cambodia's agarwood is highly regarded by some consumer countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, for its high quality. Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia import agarwood from Laos and Cambodia for re-export to markets in the Middle East and East Asia.

Formation

The tree produces the resin in response to infection by a parasitic ascomycetous mould, Phaeoacremonium parasitica. The resin dramatically increases the mass and density of the affected wood and changes its colour from pale beige to yellow, orange, red, dark brown or black. Natural agarwood formation can take up to 10 years.

A common method in planted forestry is to inoculate trees with the fungus. In the plantation process described for Cambodia, chemical inoculation is carried out by drilling holes into the trees at around eight years of age. Resin begins to form over a period of about three years after inoculation, after which harvesting should be carried out. Aquilaria crassna is favored in plantations because of its higher resin yield.

Chemistry

The composition of agarwood oil is exceedingly complex, with more than 150 chemical compounds identified. At least 70 of these are terpenoids, in the form of sesquiterpenes and chromones, and no monoterpenes have been detected at all. 2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromones, especially the highly oxidized 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones, are the main representative compounds of agarwood. Among 89 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones, 33 highly oxidized chromones appear to be unique to agarwood and are not found in healthy Aquilaria specimens.

Other common classes of compounds include agarofurans, cadinanes, eudesmanes, valencanes and eremophilanes, guaianes, prezizanes and vetispiranes. The exact balance of these materials varies with the age and species of the tree and with the details of the oil extraction process.

Trade

More than 99% of traded Aquilaria crassna is sourced from plantations, because of the significant decline of wild populations of this critically endangered species. Demand for wild-sourced agarwood remains strong because of its perceived higher quality.

—

Related: Agarwood Oil · Agarwood Oud · Australian Oud · Chinese Oud · Indian Oud · Indonesian Oud · Laotian Oud · Malaysian Oud