Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album) is a tropical tree that belongs to the Santalaceae family of plants. Other common names include White sandalwood, Safed Chandan (Hindi) and Srigandha (Sanskrit). The tree is small, and native to India, Indonesia and Malaysia. The tree grows well in arid regions with stony or rocky ground. The tree has aromatic properties, and in traditional medicine can be used as a diuretic, stimulant and disinfective. Evidence shows that Indian sandalwood possesses significant antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, and these are a result of the unique phytochemical profile it possesses. Indian sandalwood oil also has been demonstrated to have sedative effects in mice. Indian sandalwood essential oil via inhalation has also been shown to have anxiolytic effects in mice exposed to experimental stress. These anxiolytic effects were evident for up to 24 hours and were thought to be due to the presence of α-santolol and β-santolol in the sandalwood oil.
Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album) contains a volatile oil which constitutes about 2.5 to 6 % of plant weight. The oil is extracted from the roots and the heartwood. The main constituents of the oil are α-santolol and β-santolol which account for about 90 % of the oil, plus other minor constituents including isovaleric aldehyde, terpenes, santanone, santalone and tannic acid. Image is Indian sandalwood leaves and stem. Image from: By L. Shyamal – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/ w/ index.php?curid=1903624.
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