Sandalwood oil has been used in the Indian Ayurvedic system and Chinese medicine since the early 1800s. It helps to treat stomach pains, vomiting, and gonorrhea. Sandalwood oil benefits also include treatments against aging skin issues like wrinkles, dark circles, and fine lines. Besides this, it may act as an antidepressant, aphrodisiac, astringent, calming, disinfectant, diuretic, expectorant, sedative, and stimulant properties.
Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) of the family Santalaceae is a fragrant wood, commonly known as East Indian sandalwood. The oil of sandalwood is derived by steam distillation from chips and billets cut from heartwood trees that are at least 30 years old and are used in perfumes, cosmetics, and sacred unguents.
The oil of sandalwood is pale yellow to green brownish, with the characteristic soft, sweet, warm, woody, and fruity aroma which can be used for calming the brain thus for spiritual benefits.
Uses of Sandalwood oil
Sandalwood oil is a significant item of commerce, used in many personal care products and perfumes, and is listed in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Chemicals Codex as a natural flavoring ingredient. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has classified the oil as a Listed Medicine, available as an active ingredient in many non-prescription products.
This oil is used as a fragrance in many soaps, detergents, cosmetics, aromatherapy, and fragrances. Sandalwood oil is an excellent base and fixative for other high-grade perfumes and, by itself, is an excellent, mild, long-lasting, and sweet perfume (1).
Composition of Sandalwood oil
Sandalwood oil contains sesquiterpene alcohols α-santalol (44–60%) and β-santalol (20–32%), epi-β-sanalol (3–6%). Also, present the ester santyl acetate (3–6%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons α- and β-santalene (7–30%) and epi-β-antalene (4–7%). The main ingredient of sandalwood oil are α-santalol β-santalol and santenone that has many therapeutic properties, also contain santalic and teresantalic acid, aldehyde, pterocarpin and hydrocarbons, isovaleric aldehyde, santene, santenone (2).
Sandalwood oil benefits
Sandalwood oil exhibits various pharmaceutical properties such as sublime, aphrodisiac, diuretic, and urinary antiseptic properties (3). This oil also contains astringent, restoring, relaxing, disinfecting, soothing, calming, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, astringent, and other properties. Sandalwood oil benefits are as follows
1. May have anti-inflammatory properties
It contains a natural antiseptic compound that may exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. Application of Sandalwood oil may be used as an attractive natural therapeutic agent for the reduction of psoriasis and eczema/atopic dermatitis, common warts, and serious condition molluscum contagiosum (4).
2. Treat acne
Sandalwood oil has antimicrobial properties which show a wonderful effect on mild to moderate acne 90% of patients benefited after 2 months of treatment without any adverse effects (5).
3. Possibly treats Psoriasis
Application of Sandalwood oil is tolerable and helpful in alleviating mild to moderate psoriasis symptoms as it contains santalols that suppress pro-inflammatory events by keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. Therefore, this oil may be useful as a potential treatment for a variety of pathophysiologic inflammatory and autoimmune skin ailments, including psoriasis (6).
4. May protect from UV radiation
Alpha-santalol is a naturally occurring sesquiterpene found in Sandalwood oil that inhibits UV-induced AP-1 activity. Therefore, sandalwood oil has beneficial effects on the skin (7).
5. Sandalwood oil benefits for skin
Tyrosinase and cholinesterase is an important enzyme that plays an important role in skin color and brain signal. However, alpha-santalol obtained from Sandalwood oil is a strong inhibitor of both tyrosinase and cholinesterase. Thus, this oil may be helpful for the treatment skin skin-related issues (8).
6. May treat Anxiety
Sandalwood oil may act as an anxiolytic agent and possess properties like calming effects without sedation, as well as a lack of dependence, tolerance, or withdrawal thus this oil in aromatherapy, is very safe and helpful for the treatment of anxiety disorders (9).
7. α-Santalol of Sandalwood oil possibly reduces stress
Sandalwood essential oils contain α-santalol and many other bioactive constituents which significantly reduce systolic blood pressure, especially during the recreation phase. Sandalwood oil inhalation induces relaxation rather than activation at the physiological level during a stressful experience and reduces salivary cortisol levels. Therefore, inhalation of sandalwood oil can facilitate recovery during and after exposure to cognitive and social stress (10).
8. Induce sleep
The presence of santalol in Sandalwood oil aromatherapy may act via the circulatory system, be absorbed into the blood through the respiratory mucosa, and then exert its action. Therefore, santalol may be useful in patients having difficulty maintaining sleep by a decrease in total waking time and an increase in total non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep time (11).
9. Healthy brain
α- and β-santalol found in Sandalwood oil an excellent antioxidants and antiapoptotic activity shows a wonderful effect on the extension of the lifespan. It also inhibits ROS generation and germline cell apoptosis.
This oil also has a potential effect on the improvement of learning and memory. Therefore, sandalwood oil may be useful as a redox-based neuroprotectant for the prevention and management of age-related neurological disorders (12).
10. Improves mood
Sandalwood oil inhalation increases attentiveness and mood because the presence of alpha-santalol increases arousal levels thus aromatherapy of sandalwood oil is beneficial to keep calm and relaxed (13).
11. May manage diabetes
Sandalwood oil contains a high amount of α –santalol (53.8 %) which plays an important role in the improvement of insulin secretion and glycemic control thus possibly reducing blood sugar levels (14).
12. Antiviral properties of Sandalwood oil
It is a good source of β-Santalol (100 μg/ml) which may be beneficial for antiviral activity against influenza A/HK (H3N2) virus by inhibition of viral mRNA synthesis (15). Research also suggested that this oil also inhibits the replication of Herpes simplex viruses-1 and -2 (16).
13. Potential antimicrobial properties
Sandalwood oil is a cheap and effective antiseptic topical treatment. This oil also shows antibacterial activities against Helicobacter pylori (a leading cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer) (17).
Side effect of Sandalwood oil
Research studies support that sandalwood oil is less toxic. As it has a long history of oral use without any adverse effects reported.
Sandalwood oil is approved for food use by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Also approved by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), and Council of Europe (CoE). However, we need precautions like harmful if swallowed, sometimes irritating to eyes and skin; may cause sensitization by skin contact (18).
It also may cause mucous membrane irritation or numbness, gastrointestinal irritation, and dermal irritation. Ocular exposure may cause irritation, erythema, pain, and possible chemical conjunctivitis (19, 20).