Oud, Panacea in the East, Impostor in the West

by Chandra Shukla

Agarwood or oud chips

Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gharuwood or the Wood of Gods, and most commonly referred to as oud or oudh in Arabic as well as the perfume industry though it goes by many names in many cultures is one of the world’s most sought after perfume ingredients. Agarwood oil by itself is one of the most treasured fragrances and more often found in perfume blends, attars and as incense in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Not only because it smells amazing, but also because of its use in medicinal systems and traditions all over Europe, Asia, Africa and wherever else access to it has existed via trade routes.

So what exactly is oud?

To answer what oud is comes with a complex and multifaceted response. The heartwood of an Asiatic tree known as the Aquilaria tree becomes infected with a type of mold known as Phialophora parasitica. As a result it exudes a fragrant resin to combat the mould. Prior to infection, the heartwood just smells like any ordinary wood and exudes a relatively light and pale colored; however, as the infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin, called aloes (not to be confused with the succulents aloe ferox or aloe vera) or agar (not to be confused with the edible, algae-derived agar) this resin goes by many names in many cultures. In response to the attack, the Aquileria tree then produces a very dense, dark, resin-embedded fragrant heartwood. Without the infection, agarwood is not as valuable. However it is now becoming endangered after much poaching, marking and cultivation of oud. This has resulted in planting agarwood trees on plantations yet now with the over harvesting of plantations, oud in the wild will hopefully have a chance to flourish again. The major issue with plantation oud is it tends to be young. Oud in the wild if aged is more prized and exudes a darker, richer, more complex oleoresin.

The resin-embedded wood is valued in the Middle East and South Asian cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and thus is used for incense, perfumes and topically in folk medicine recipes as well as aromatherapy. Many different species and locations of the Aquilaeria tree account for different types of oud.

In 2007 oud was introduced as a fragrance to the Western perfume market, however it wasn’t this amazing oud resin being used as oil in the so-called “oud” fragrances, as that would then result in an escalation of price tags to another financial bracket that the average consumer couldn’t afford. In its place, aroma chemical accords were used invented by fragrance ingredients manufacturers Givaudan and Firmenich. Though actual real oud / agarwood oil wasn’t used in these new Western fragrances by designer fragrance brands. These large fragrance houses using the fake accords didn’t hesitate to still price hike many of their fragrances though allegedly using "oud” in their fragrance names.

Unfortunately because of oud harvesting, the Aquilaeria trees in Southeast Asia are facing extinction. The depletion of wild trees from indiscriminate cutting for agarwood has resulted in the trees being listed and protected as an endangered species. To make up for this, agarwood exists on many plantations. This is exactly where as a company have decided to source our Agarwood from.

Niche perfume houses that engage in perfumery as more of an olfactory art, such as Ensar Oud, Areej le Dore, Agar Aura, Bortnikoff, Amouage and Xerjoff offer real oud oils in their perfumes and do their own distillations of oils. Enter 2023 and the beginning of XAMBUCA OLFACTORY. We too are a niche perfume house. As “Poseidon” was our first endevor with real kinam oud / agarwood oil, we plan many more. We will be working and offering more real and authentic oud varieties and (not fake aroma chemical) flavors in our perfumes going forward.