# Agarwood (Aquilaria)

**Legno aloe**

**Known today as.** The fragrant resinous heartwood of *Aquilaria* trees, oud; not the aloe plant.

Kind: Resin & Wood

## What did Canale use it for?

In the water, pills, julep, and oil (chs. 6, 9).

## What does modern science say?

A perfume and incense wood.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones**: the resin’s signature
- **agarospirol and jinkoh-eremol**: sesquiterpenes
- **benzylacetone**: in the smoke

**Mechanism.** The resin is laid down by *Aquilaria* trees in answer to a fungal infection of the wounded wood; its vapour is sedative in mice and the smoke is the incense. No internal pharmacology is established.

**Dose.** No toxicity recorded.

**Standing.** CITES Appendix II since 2004 for all *Aquilaria*; the resin sells by the gram, and most wild trees are gone.

## What lore surrounds it?

Agarwood carries devotional weight in several traditions independently: it appears in Vedic texts for its healing properties, is central to Islamic incense practice,. The most famous single piece in the historical record is the Ranjatai, a block of aloeswood so prized that it passed through the hands of Japanese emperors and shoguns as a treasured relic.

## Sources

- “Aloeswood” and “Ranjatai” (reference articles).
- Naef, R. (2011). “The volatile and semi-volatile constituents of agarwood, the infected heartwood of *Aquilaria* species.” *Flavour and Fragrance Journal* 26.
- Takemoto, H., et al. (2008). “Sedative effects of vapor inhalation of agarwood oil and spikenard extract.” *Journal of Natural Medicines* 62.

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*Agarwood.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/agarwood

Historical description, not medical advice.