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Santalum album
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Botanical Name :
Santalum album
A small to medium-sized, evergreen semi-parasitic tree, with slender branches, sometimes reaching up to 18 m. in height and 2.4 m. in girth. The bark is reddish or dark-grey or nearly black, rough, with deep vertical cracks on old trees; leaves glabrous, thin, elliptic- ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-8 cm. x 1.6-3.2 cm., sometimes larger, flowers straw-coloured, brownish purple, reddish purple, or violet, unscented, in terminal and axillary paniculate cymes; the drupe globose, 1.3 cm. diam., purple-black, with hard, ribbed endocarp; the seeds globose or obovoid. |
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Principal Constituent: The main constituent of sandalwood oil is santalol. This primary sesquiterpene alcohol forms more than 90 per cent of the oil and is present as a mixture of two isomers, a -santalol and ß-santalol, the former predominating. The characteristic odor and medicinal properties of sandalwood oil are mainly due to the santalols. The other constituents reported in sandalwood oil include: the hydrocarbons santene, nor-tricycloekasantalene and a- and ,ß-santalenes; the alcohols santenol and teresantalol; the aldehydes nor-tricycloekasantalal, and isovaleraldehyde; the ketones l-santenone and santalone; and the acids teresantalic acid occurring partly free and partly in esterfied form, and a-and ß-santalic acids.
Medicinal Use:
Specification:
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