Guaiac wood oil

Latin name :

The Gaiac used in perfumery is a tree of the family Zygophyllacées and the genus Bulnesia.

Botanical profile :

Gonopterodendron sarmientoi (Lorentz ex Griseb.) Godoy-Bürki
Synonyms : Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb. // Bulnesia sarmienti Lorentz

Geographic origin :

Data not available.

Chemotypes :

The Gaiac wood used in perfumery is actually a ''false Gaiac ''.
The true genus associated with the Gaiac woods is the genus Guaiacum, including the Guaiacum officinale (or Palo Balsamo) and the Guaiacum sanctum (or Gaiac of the Bahamas), native to Central America.

Extraction process :

The gaiac or palo santo (the ''sacred wood '' in Spanish) can be up to 15 meters tall and grows in tropical forests of South America. The propagation of this tree is done by cuttings and it grows quite fast. In Paraguay, 170 tons of gaiac wood are collected each year for perfumery.
In perfumery, the Gaiac wood EO is extracted by hydro-distilling the bark, the branches and the chips, lasting up to 30 hours with a yield of up to 6%. A viscous, yellowish essential oil, which recrystallizes because it mainly consist of Guaiol (precursor of Gaiyl Acetate) and Bulnesol, is obtained.
The essential oil of Gaiac wood is sometimes acetylated. During this process, the alcohols of the oil are reacted with acetic anhydride to be esterified. Therefore, Gaiyl Acetate becomes the main compound of the acetylated essential oil.

Major Components :

Bulnesol (40-45%)
Gaiacol (20-30%)
Guaiol (25-30%)
Gamma-Eudesmol (≈2%)
Elemol (≈1%)
Plotters (compounds exclusively found in this raw material, abling its identification in analysis) : Bulnesol et Guaiol