Santalum album

Nature’s Wonder.

East Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album) oil has been utilized for centuries in both Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. The revered oil is distilled from the heartwood of the Santalum album tree and contains over 125 structurally related compounds, with fewer than a dozen components present in concentrations greater than 1% by weight, consisting predominantly of sesquiterpenes.

Historically, the oil was produced from wild-grown trees in India, but over-harvesting and poaching has led to Santalum album trees being pushed to the brink of extinction in their native habitats. Since 1998, the trees have been listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the harvesting and export of wild-grown Indian trees is highly restricted.

Australia is now growing and harvesting sustainable Santalum album plantations in order to preserve this invaluable gem of nature.

There are more than a dozen species of Sandalwood, most of which have served as sources of essential oil. However, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has issued standards for only two species: Santalum album (East Indian Sandalwood) and Santalum spicatum (West Australian Sandalwood).

Of the two species, S. album is being recognized as ‘the golden child’ of the two for use in skin care preparations. Research is proving this to be due to higher concentrations of the active constituents alpha- and beta-santalol.

Studies have shown the oil provides the skin with significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and potential anti-aging activity. Rendering Santalum album as an exceptional ingredient for inclusion into professional skin formulations for the face, neck + décolletage.

Research results + constituents responsible for anti-oxidant + anti-inflammatory activity from Santalum album oil formulations on the skin:

In co-cultures of dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes, the oil suppressed the production of numerous proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines produced in response to stimulation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Research showed the production of PGE2 was also suppressed, suggesting that Santalum album oil might be acting, at least in part, through inhibition of cyclooxygenase.

Alpha-santalol was found to be an inhibitor of tyrosinase, a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for the skin pigment melanin which is responsible for uneven skin tone, dark spots, and pigmentation. This intriguing finding suggests that Santalum album oil may potentially act as an inhibitor of abnormal pigmentation associated with accelerated ageing due to exposure to environmental stressors + ultraviolet light.

Indian sandalwood oil is found to be a potent antioxidant that works on the skins keratinocytes to protect it from reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by exposure to environmental stressors such as blue light and pollution. ROS are free radicals that cause damage to cell structure, breaking down collagen, reducing elasticity and causing an uneven skin tone.

Reference:

NIH National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information. The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology 2017 Oct; 10(10): 34–39. Sandalwood Album Oil as a Botanical Therapeutic in Dermatology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5749697/ Ronald L. Moy, MD and Cory Levenson PHD Oct 1 2017. Accessed 24 April, 2022.