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Pieces of Agar wood from forest trees

EMPEROR OF PERFUMES AGAR

By N. Raghu Ram

The story of the Indian fragrant wood AGAR, dates back to the epic times of Ramayana with allusions to the Vedic era. As per the Susruta Samhita agar can be used as perfume, as fumigant in surgeries and for worship. In those times, agaru came largely from the tree Acquilaria agallocha. Through out Malaysia and Indonesia agar was called by the name GAHARU, a Malay word derived from the much older Sanskrit term AGARU meaning heavy. The scented wood was given that name in Sanskrit because, indeed, a high quality piece of Agaru will sink in water. In Islamic world it is called as ud (pronounced as ood), simply wood in Arabic.

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There is mention of the use of Agar in Abhijnanmam Shakuntalam of Kalidasa and Arthashastra of Chanakya. Agar is inextricably linked to Assams rich cultural heritage. In antiquity, Assams monarchs employed the used bark of the Sasi Agar tree for chronicling their royal circulars and diktats. The first historical biographies in Sanskrit the Harsha Charita written by Bana in 652 AD also chronicles the fact that among the many gifts sent by Assamese king Bhaskara Varman to Harsha, volumes of fine writing in leaves made from aloe bark and black aloe oil occupied a very prominent place. The Nowgong grant of Balavarman gives a graphic description of Pragjyotisha Nagara where areca nuts are wrapped in leaves of creeper of betel-plants and Krishnaguru (Telugu for Agarwood) or black agar wood trees were surrounded with cardamom creepers. It is also recorded that after conquering the last king Gaur Gobind in 1348AD, in Sylhet, Saint Fakir Ali Shah Jalal and his followers found agar wood and agar attar along with many other valuables in the royal store. This clearly indicates that distillation of agar oil was done as far back as 13th century or even much earlier. Abul Fazal Allami in his Ain-I-Akbari (memoirs of Emperor Akbar) written in 1590 AD gives a vivid description of agar wood and

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agar oil along with their manufacturing process and uses. It is also said that the Mughals invaded Assam mainly for agaru. Such was it lure!! From Kamrup Agaru was exported to the Middle East, most probably by Chinese traders through the Silk Route which extended from China to Middle-east through Kamrup and then India. In those days agaru was the main cosmetic item. The first recorded trading interest was from the Chinese, who were busy traders of the fragrant wood during the 1st century in South East Asia. The chief sources are Aquilaria malaccensis and Aetoxylon sympetalum. The Chinese roll in the agar (ud) has been significant since the Han Dynasty (206 BC 220AD), when Imperial perfume blenders used it along with cloves, musk, costus root oil and camphor. Like the Indians, the Chinese named the wood for its density, calling it cben Hsiang, the incense that sinks in water. In those days, ud was sorted as many as 20 different grades. Responding to the increasing domestic and international demand for ud Chinese traders, ventured into Annan now part of Vietnam where they found top quality trees in abundance.

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This new source of supply allowed them to become wholesale dealers and middle men and to this day they retain this position world wide. As mentioned in the 12th - 13th Chinese Sea Trade Manuals the search for ud had intensified, tracing it to Hainan Island, parts of present day Vietnam, lands about the Malay peninsula, Cambodia and the islands of Sumatra & Java. As per this manuals, the greater interest of the Muslim community as custom to wake up, bathe and perfume themselves with the ud smoke before going to the mosque for the morning prayer.

Cross section of a tree showing dark regions of agar formed inside

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In the modern era, 1935 reference, the ud or Agar was described in scientific terms by the Dictionary of Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula as the agar is an aromatic resin deposit found in certain species of Aquilaria trees. especially Aquilaria malaccensis, accordingly the resin is produced by the tree as an immune response to a fungus (Phialophora parasitica) that invades the tree and over many years spreads through it. It is these diseased sections of the tree that are collected by people in the jungles of south east Asia-by Isac H.Burkill, the author of the dictionary. The collecting tribes men usually look for a agar wood tree by spending a week or more and after making sure of the identity, they make a series of shallow exploratory cuts into its trunk, branches and roots; they cut it down only when they are persuaded the tree has the fungus and will yield a reasonable amount of good agar. If the tree contains only low grade of agar they will often let it grow for another few years before retesting it. If they decided to cut it down they will spend days extracting agar and cleaning it with smaller knives. Now a days the agar is getting more difficult to find because large scale logging operations have destroyed many of the hill forests in entire south east Asia where the agar trees are found. If the collecting tribes men have good luck they may collect a kilo of an average quality in three to four days- but it is increasingly common for them to return with nothing or with very lowest grades.

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The need for research into this dwindling valuable resource is compelling. Except in Nagaland, there is no Agar left in India. Traditional sources are drying up. Reserves in Kalibanthan and Salabasi in Indonesia are also diminishing day by day. Fortunately for traders, new sources have been discovered in Maraoca near Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Laos and parts of Java. The best grade of agar is hard, nearly black and very heavy. In general agar becomes inferior as it appears lighter in tone, flecked with diminishing amounts of resin. The only truly reliable way to test for quality however, is to burn a small bit and evaluate the complexity and richness of the smoldering wood. Agar oil can be taste tested. Touch a bit to the tongue and a bitter taste points to high quality.

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Some thirty years ago Hong Kong played an important roll in the agar trade but today the international hub for agar is Singapore. There Chinese traders, receiving agar from agents scattered across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Borneo, Hainan Island and most recently Irian Jaya of Indonesia, dominate the business. At present the rarest and expensive type, know as Keenam comes from Vietnam. In Singapore and in International trade agar is called as ud and it is graded in descending quality from Super AA (which is weighed on a jewellers scale) to Super A, Super and lesser grades numbered 1 through 8. The lowest quality, called Kandulam (in Malay) is used to make incense sticks, selling roughly 3 US cents a gram (1998). The value of ud shipped out of Singapore each year has been estimated to exceed US$ 1.2 billion (1998). In Dubai, there are entire streets lined up shops selling Ud. Among them the most noted family company Ajmal Co. as one of the largest dealers in pure and blended Ud perfumes in all of the middle east. From their 22 shops through out Arabian Peninsula, they sell Ud oil from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Their most extravagant creation being a blend of aged Ud oils called Dahanal Oudh al-Moattaq, the price US$850 (1998) per 30gms bottle.

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Given the popularity of the Ud, its high price and the difficulty of the collecting it from the wild, quite a few Institutions and Perfumery Units spread across South east Asia have started to look into the possibility artificially introducing the Ud fungus into Aquilaria trees in hopes of creating commercial Ud plantations. Tailpiece! Botanists call it Aquillaria, manufacturers call it Agaru, traders call it Profit, the poor call it Survival, and the common man simply calls it Agar.

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What is Agarwood?
Agarwood is a resinous wood that sometimes occurs in trees belonging to the Aquilaria genus, Thymelaeceae family. A nonprofit organization dedicated to the reservation of the worlds forests. has studied the formation of resin in Aquilaria trees and found a method to produce the resin in plantation grown young trees. This technique consists of wounding trees in a specific manner and applying treatments to accelerate the natural defense responses of the tree. The technique allows a sustainable yield of resin to be produced in relatively young trees. Agarwood is a high value forest product that is easy to store and ship. Our newly developed methods to produce resin will provide a new economic nontimber product for Southeast Asia and other tropical regions of the world. Aquilaria is a fast-growing, archaic tropical forest tree, which occurs in South and Southeast Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The tree grows in natural forests at an altitude of a few meters above sea level to about 1000 meters, and it grows best around 500 meters. It can grow on a wide range of soils, including poor sandy soil. Seedlings need a lot of shade and water. Trees grow very fast, and start producing flowers and seeds as early as four years old. At least fifteen species of Aquilaria trees are known to produce the much sought-after Agarwood. In South Asia Aquilaria achalloga is found, particularly in India, Aquilaria malaccensis is mostly known from Malaysia and Indonesia, and Aquilaria crassna principally grows in Indochina. A number of other species are known such as Aquilaria grandfolia, Aquilaria chinesis etc.
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Usage
The Wood of the Gods has been traded and highly appreciated for thousands of years. Resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as perfume and perfume component. Outside native countries it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known from around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and Agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring Agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong delta communities.

Value
The value of first-grade Agarwood is extremely high. A whole range of qualities and products is on the market varying with geographical location and cultural deposition. Prices range from a few dollars per kilo for the lowest quality to over thirty thousand US dollars for top quality oil and resinous wood. Aquilaria crassna is listed as an endangered species in Viet Nam, and A. malaccensis is listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union, IUCN.

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Extinction
Resin producing trees are endangered throughout their known habitat all across Southeast Asia. The main driving force, which initiated this project, was the recognition of unsustainable Aquilaria harvesting in natural forests that resulted in the near extinction of this tree genus in Viet Nam and elsewhere. Aquilaria crassna is now listed as a protected species in Viet Nam, and Aquilaria malaccensis is a CITES red data book listed tree. Trade and harvesting restrictions will be virtually impossible to achieve if no alternative is developed to forest-based harvesting. In addition, both in the short and long-term, a natural resource base needs to be maintained to supply present and future Aquilaria plantations with genetic source material, in order to prevent plant decease, maintain diversity and possibly improve resin production.

Substitutes
Development of synthetic substitutes usually arises when sustainable supplies of the natural product are not available. One of the first questions pursued when contemplating the previous pilot project was: is it possible to synthesize Agarwood and Agarwood oil? The answer is a qualified no. Agarwood cannot be synthesized. Chemical substitutes are already available for perfume; these are cheap and constitute the least profitable end of the market. In addition, these products do not come even close in mimicking the natural product and thus do not pose a threat to producing naturally based Agarwood products.
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The major chemical components responsible for the characteristic scent of Agarwood products, sesquiterterpenes, can in principle be synthesized. However, these are very complicated structures that will be extremely expensive to synthesize, which makes it commercially completely unattractive. Bibliography
1. Ramayana 2. Susruta Samhita 3. Abhijnana Shakuntalam 4. Arthashastra 5. Harsha Charita 6. Ain-I-Akbari 7. Dictionary of Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula 8. The wealth of India 9. Vasthu Guna Dipika 10. Hidden History of Agar by Eric Hansen

Compiled by

Mr. N. Raghu Ram

M/s. Sampada Farms & Consultants, Secunderabad.

Kindly send your comments to sampadafarms@gmail.com Please note that due to various factors Agar wood plantation is not advisable without proper understanding the tree and the formation process of Agar.

Sampada Farms & Consultants Secunderabad-3 Ph.: 040 277 21 868, Fax: 040 278 11 087 e mail: sampadafarms@gmail.com November, 2004