Agar is a limb of the Thymelaeaceae plant family and the most popular among the 15 species of this plant variety are Aquilaria agallocha, Aquilaria sinensis, Aquillaria crassna and Aquilaria malaccensis. The resinous fragrance is created when a parasite fungus, phialophora parasitica, infects the Agarwood tree.

It is after the attack that the tree begins to naturally produce an aromatic resin deep within the heartwood. Until infection, the heartwood in the tree has no medicinal properties but once a fungal infection (phialophora parasitica) takes hold of the tree, the tree responds by producing a protective resin which saturates the heartwood and the roots. This resin is informally known as liquid gold. After many years the amount of resin that the tree has produced increases the density of the wood so much that when it is floated on water it sinks. The Japanese call Agarwood, jinkoh, ‘the wood that sinks.

Agarwood has been used in Chinese medicine for abdominal pain and smallpox: Agarwood has been noted for its use as a complex ointment for smallpox and for various abdominal complaints. It has also been used as a liniment for the treatment of various skin diseases, and in the treatment of lung and stomach tumors. When used in aromatherapy, agarwood oil may help to treat anxiety, stress, depression and other nervous system disorders.

Agarwood is said to exhibit the following properties:Â

• Stimulant – quickens physiological function
• Tonic – strengthens the body
• Anti-inflammatory – reduces inflammation
• Aphrodisiac – increases sexual desire
• Analgesic – relieves pain
• Diuretic – stimulates the production of urine
• Anti-arthritic – combats arthritis
• Antimicrobial – kills or resists pathogenic microorganisms
• Carminative – settles the digestive system and relieves gas
• Febrifuge – combats fever
• Digestive – aids digestion of food
• Expectorant – loosens mucus in the respiratory tract and aids expulsion
• Muscle relaxant – eases tension in muscles
• Demulcent – protects mucous membranes and calms irritation
• Emmenagogue – stimulates menstrual flow
• Antipruritic – relieves or prevents itching
• Stomachic – digestive aid and tonic, improves appetite