Labdanum

#### Labdanum (crude). **Labdanum**, often called **Labdanum **"gum" is the resinous matter, which is derived from the plant **Cistus**** ****Ladaniferus**** **and other species of cistus by boiling the leaves and twigs of this plant in water. According to our definitions (see Part One of this book) labdanum is a natural oleo-resin. It differs slightly from other oleoresins in the fact, that labdanum contains more waxes and less volatile oil than most of the other natural oleoresins. The plant grows wild in most countries around the Mediterranean Sea, but the production of labdanum is concentrated in Spain. The "gum" is skimmed off the surface of the water and mixed with other resinous matter, which sinks to the bottom of the boiling water. Smaller quantities of the "gum" are produced in Portugal, Morocco, Yugoslavia, and Greece. The plant is also known under the name of "rock rose". It is a small shrub, the white flowers of which have only a very faint odor. The flowers as such are not exploited in perfumery **Labdanum **(crude) is a dark brown, more or less solid mass. It may contain up to 20% water, but this should be either squeezed off or cautiously dried off the gum. When fresh, **Labdanum**** **is plastic but not pourable. It becomes harder on ageing and may even become brittle. If it is brittle at room temperature, labdanum should be rejected as a starting material for the processing of labdanum derivatives (perfume materials). **Labdanum should **contain a minimum of dirt, sand, water, leaves, stalks, wood-splinters, insects, etc. A strained (i.e. melted and cleaned) labdanum is preferable. The odor of **Labdanum **is sweet, herbaceous balsamic, somewhat ambra-like and slightly animalic, rich and tenacious. For proper evaluation of this material, an alcoholic extract should be made up from the sample. This test will tell about yield and about the odor and color of the wax-free, resin-free material. A so-called **Cistus Oil **(see this monograph) is prepared by steam distillation of the crude "gum". There is thus a possibility of adulteration of crude labdanum with exhausted "gum" from such distillations or with insoluble residues from the extraction of labdanum absolutes (see this).