Economic Value of Agarwood and Its Prospects of Cultivation

Abstract

Aquilaria are genera of tropical trees that produces a valuable resinous wood called agarwood. Agarwood plant have been widely used as traditional medicines and Ayurvedic medicine. They are used for the treatment of arthritis, asthma, diarrhoea etc effects. It contains bioactive phytochemical sesquiterpenoids, 2 (-2-phenylethyl)-4H-chromen-4-one derivatives, genkwanins, mangiferins, cucurbitacins, other terpenoids and phenolic acids. Many pharmacological studies have been performed on anti-allergic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, etc. The aromatic properties of agarwood when burned or distilled are extraordinary and there is high demand for the resinous wood to make incense, perfume and as traditional medicine. Aquilaria are native to northern India but over harvesting of this tree as well as other forest trees in the past has ravaged the hill country. With new technology that has been developed to induce agarwood in trees, it is now possible to produce a sustainable high valued agarwood in young plantation trees. The growing of Aquilaria in the hill agro-ecosystems of Nepal and cultivation of agarwood as a crop using new technology could provide a new economy for the region.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 9(1): 23-31

Assessment of the early growth of agarwood (Aquilaria crassna) seedlings under different sources of nutrients

“…The optimal soil pH for Aquilaria plants is about 5.6 to 8 (Prastyaningsih, Azwin 2017). This might be due to the fact that mycorrhiza and other beneficial fungi require acid soil for their population build-up (Adhikari et al 2021).…”

Agarwood—The Fragrant Molecules of a Wounded Tree

“…Aquilaria trees and the agarwood obtained from them are very popular for the wide variety of economically important products obtained from them [ 182 ]. Their products, such as wood, wood chips, oil, powder, and flakes, have been used in various applications such as medicinal, religious, cosmetics, and cultural purposes [ 183 , 184 ].…”

“…Therefore, the market value of agarwood and the demand for its products have increased tremendously. Globally, agarwood products, such as wood pieces, wood chips, powder, oil, dust, incense, and perfumes, have been reported to have a market value of USD several thousand billion [ 1 , 182 , 191 ]. Agarwood is graded into different categories based on the resin quality; the first grade has a high global demand increasing the market value to about USD 10,000 per kg of wood, and the least grade with USD 30 per kg [ 192 ].…”

Identification of O-Methyltransferases Potentially Contributing to the Structural Diversity of 2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromones in Agarwood

“…However, this has led to indiscriminate and excessive exploitation of wild agarwoodproducing trees. 9,10 As a result, related species such as Aquilaria and Gyrinopsare now included in Appendix II of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In recent years, there has been an increasing market demand for agarwood due to the production of essential oils and diverse products containing agarwood ingredients, such as cigarettes, tea, liquors, and various daily chemicals.…”