Guaiacwood Oil

#### Guaiacwood Oil. Erroneously called guaiacwood concrète, this oil is steam distilled, occasionally steam-and-water distilled from the wood of **Bulnesia**** ****Sarmienti**, a wild-growing tree from the jungles of Paraguay and Argentina. It should not be confused with the **Guaiac**** **of the drug store where a resinous substance, produced from another tree, **Guaiacum**** ****Officinale**** **(the "lignum vitae" of the Bahama islands) is occasionally used. "Guaiac resin" is an entirely different product and only very rarely used in perfumery. A tincture is prepared from the resin. This tincture has a pleasant balsamic vanilla-like odor with a somewhat smoky undertone. It was this tincture which was used by Sherlock Holmes when he identified bloodstains on a murder scene. **Guaiacwood**** ****Oil**** **is now distilled locally, although some quantities of wood (known as "Palo Santo") are exported for distillation in Europe or the U.S.A. The wood is hard and its combination before distillation presents quite a problem. It is a much-used wood for ornamental work (hand carved bowls, ashtrays, etc.). **Guaiacwood Oil **is a soft or semi-solid mass, yellowish to greenish yellow or pale amber in color. When melted, it may stay supercooled and liquid for a long time. Once again, we meet a product which quite frequently presents odor types not reported in literature: apart from its delicately sweet, rosy-woody odor which is often referred to as "tearose-like", the oil may have a "smoked ham" odor which is definitely unwanted, but not uncommon. It is conceivable that this odor, which was never reported prior to World War II, occurs in oils which have been "forced" during the distillation through the addition of mineral acid (sulfuric, etc.) to the chopped, wet wood in the still. This increases the yield of oil, but it also creates a hazard of spot-burning of the woodchips. Similar to amyris, the age of the wood prior to distillation also has some influence upon the odor of the oil. The main constituent of guaiac wood oil is called **Guaiol **("gaiol") This sesquiterpene alcohol can be acetylated to the so-called **Guaiyl Acetate. **"Guaiac wood acetate" is the acetylated oil, often merely neutralized, not redistilled. Unfortunately, the "smoked ham" odor is carried over in the latter product which is frequently offered under the label **Guaiyl Acetate **(incorrect). **Guaiacyl**** ****Acetate**** **(1-acetyl-2-methoxy-benzene) is the acetate of a phenol which is present in guaiac resin (see above). It has nothing to do with guaiac wood oil or its constituents. **Guaiacwood Oil **is produced in large quantities and is readily available, the annual output being close to 100 metric tons. The oil is a low-cost fixative and modifier, an excellent blender in woody-floral perfumes, in soap compounds as well as high-class perfumes. It blends well with linalool, nerol, geraniol, terpineol, oakmoss, ionones, orris products, spice oils, etc. It is occasionally adulterated with copaiba balsam. Guaiac wood oil is, in turn, sometimes found as an adulterant in rose de mai absolute, amyris oil, sandalwood oil, costus oil, oakmoss concrète, etc.