Patchouli oil

Patchouli oil

The oil is produced by steam distillation of the dried leaves of Pogostemon Cablin,a native of Philippine Islands and Indonesia where the bulk of today's patchouli oil is produced.

The plant is cultivated for production of essential oil in Sumatra, Malaya, the Seychelle islands and China and, on a smaller scale in Japan, Brazil, Mauritius and India.

It is used upto 10% in fragrance formulations and upto 200 ppm in flavours.

The oil has a woody, aromatic, earthy, musky, camphoreous, and green odour with lime and citrus nuances.

Its distinctive aroma has always captured the imagination of the perfume industry. It is often used as a base and a fixative. Its earthy ,musky scent is the preferred base for many types of men’s fragrances.

Patchouli is an important ingredient in East Asian incense. It is also used as a scent in products like paper towels, laundry detergents and air fresheners.

It blends well with many essential oils, with almost all common oils being mentioned across a variety of sources – these include Vetiver, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Frankincense, Bergamot, Cedarwood, Myrrh, Jasmine, Rose, Citrus oils, Clary Sage, Lemongrass, Geranium and Ginger.

The chemical composition [ in %] of major components is as follows;

Patchouli alcohol-30-38

Nor-patchoulenol-1-2

Alpha-patchoulene-20-25

Beta-patchoulene-12-15

Beta-elemene-5-8

Alpha-copaene-1-2

Beta-caryophyllene-20-22

Alpha-bulnesene-2-3

The minor components in the oil are Pogostol, Bulnesene oxide, Guaiene oxide,Patchouli oxide,etc.

Patchouli oil components have not been synthesized sofar on commercial scale.But, there are some synthetic formulations available which will resemble the odour pattern of Patchouli oil.

These formulations use some of the essential oils like Vetiver,Jasmin,Rose,Geranium oil, and aroma chemicals like Musk Ambrette, Cyclopentadecanolide, Coumarin, Eugenol, Cinnamic alcohol, Heliotropin, AldehydeC-14, Methyl ionone gamma and other synthetic woody chemicals.