Ладан (incienso)

Incienso is the Spanish word for incense, but in perfumery it designates a specific accord: the smell of liturgical resin burning on charcoal. The reference point is olibanum (Boswellia sacra, B. carterii), though myrrh, benzoin, and styrax often participate. The opening is sharper than most people expect — alpha-pinene and limonene give fresh, almost citrus-like brightness before the smoke arrives. The resinous body develops around incensole and incensole acetate, two diterpenes unique to Boswellia species.

The smoke quality in an incense accord comes from phenolic molecules: guaiacol, cresol derivatives, and occasionally birch tar rectified. The warm, balsamic bed underneath relies on natural resinoids or their synthetic equivalents — labdanum absolute, benzoin Siam, olibanum resinoid. Iso E Super and Cashmeran are frequently used as amplifiers, adding volume and radiance to the accord without altering its character.

Boswellia sacra resin yields 3–8% essential oil by steam distillation. The oil is dominated by monoterpenes (alpha-pinene 25–70%, alpha-thujene, limonene). CO2 extraction captures a fuller profile, retaining heavier boswellic acids lost in distillation. The resinoid, obtained by solvent extraction, yields approximately 60% and provides the deepest, most church-like quality — the true fixative in an incense formula.

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Related: Alder · Alpha Humulene · Amaranth · Amberever · Amburana Bark · Antillone · Apple Tree