Agarwood
Agarwood is a resinous substance occurring in trees of the genus Aquilaria (a member of the Thymelaeceae family), a fast-growing forest tree which can be found growing from the foothills of the Himalayas to the rain forests of Papua New Guinea. Outside its native habitat, agarwood is best known in the Near East and Japan.
The most important resin-producing species of Aquilaria are A. agollocha, A. malaccensis and A. crassna.
A. malaccensis is protected worldwide under the (CITES) convention. A. crassna is listed as an endangered species by the Vietnamese Government.
Agarwood has been used for centuries as incense, for medicinal purposes and in perfumery.
First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, with prices in consumer countries ranging from a few dollars
per kilogram for very low quality material to more than US$30 000 per kilogram for top quality wood. Agarwood oil fetches similarly high prices. (Source: Agarwood “Wood of Gods” International Conference.)
Agarwood is a one of the most valuable minor forest products of the Southeast Asian tropical forests. In Viet Nam, agarwood is produced from the heartwood of rarely available natural Aquilaria crassna trees. In the authors’ fieldwork in Viet Nam, a natural A. crassna was found in Khanh Hoa province. Information on agarwood exploitation and production was gathered by interviewing local people. The results showed that some of the local people earn their living through agarwood production, but owing to overexploitation the natural resource for this valuable plant has declined dramatically in the past decades, while the demand for the resource remains constant or even increases. The cultivation of A. crassna has started in several places in the country as an initiative for conserving this endangered but economically important plant species. (Source: Quan-Le-Tran, Qui-Kim-Tran, Kouda-K, Nhan-Trung-Nguyen, Maruyama-Y, Saiki-I & Kadota-S. 2003. A survey on agarwood in Vietnam. Journal of Traditional Medicines, 20(3): 124–131.)
For more information, please contact:
Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
The most important resin-producing species of Aquilaria are A. agollocha, A. malaccensis and A. crassna.
A. malaccensis is protected worldwide under the (CITES) convention. A. crassna is listed as an endangered species by the Vietnamese Government.
Agarwood has been used for centuries as incense, for medicinal purposes and in perfumery.
First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, with prices in consumer countries ranging from a few dollars
per kilogram for very low quality material to more than US$30 000 per kilogram for top quality wood. Agarwood oil fetches similarly high prices. (Source: Agarwood “Wood of Gods” International Conference.)
Agarwood is a one of the most valuable minor forest products of the Southeast Asian tropical forests. In Viet Nam, agarwood is produced from the heartwood of rarely available natural Aquilaria crassna trees. In the authors’ fieldwork in Viet Nam, a natural A. crassna was found in Khanh Hoa province. Information on agarwood exploitation and production was gathered by interviewing local people. The results showed that some of the local people earn their living through agarwood production, but owing to overexploitation the natural resource for this valuable plant has declined dramatically in the past decades, while the demand for the resource remains constant or even increases. The cultivation of A. crassna has started in several places in the country as an initiative for conserving this endangered but economically important plant species. (Source: Quan-Le-Tran, Qui-Kim-Tran, Kouda-K, Nhan-Trung-Nguyen, Maruyama-Y, Saiki-I & Kadota-S. 2003. A survey on agarwood in Vietnam. Journal of Traditional Medicines, 20(3): 124–131.)
For more information, please contact:
Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
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