Sandalwood aphrodisiac history
Sandalwood entices through scent, taste, and touch. Due to its strong aroma and its ability to soothe, sandalwood is used in cosmetics, perfumes, incense, alternative medicines and food. In fact, sandalwood’s power has always been embraced by Buddhist and Hindu religious practices. However, the popularity of the heartwood of the sandal tree has brought devastation to the forests of Asia and Australia.
Asian religions use sandalwood’s scent and touch to promote clarity and susceptibility to enlightenment. When applied as a ‘third eye’ or bhindi, sandalwood paste is meant to bring the practitioner closer to the divine. The temples’ wafting smell of sandalwood incense is believed to relieve anxiety and increase receptivity to goodness.
What makes it one of the most aphrodisiac scents?
The coveted aroma of sandalwood is a sensual, masculine scent. It has always been a popular purchase in modern, American culture. The cosmetic industry embraces its soothing powers. But it has also been discovered that the scent and chemical effects of sandalwood are similar to those of androsterone (which is a human pheromones).
Androsterone is produced by male and female metabolic hormones, however, women are more commonly attracted to the woody scent. The androsterone-like effect promote sensuality by relieving tension and mental blocks which can cause impotence and stiltedness.
Use as medicine
Sandalwood’s power is not limited to spirituality and sex. It is also prevalent in alternative medicine because of its ability to relieve internal and external maladies. The Sandal tree’s semi-parasitic property makes it nutrient-rich by absorbing the minerals of the vegetation in its surroundings.
A healing tree, products of the sandal tree can treat skin conditions, digestive problems, metabolic afflictions and anxiety or tension. The potent nutritional value of sandalwood boosts the immune system so that it may cleanse itself.
Historically, sandalwood has been used to dye foods a scarlet red. The color flaunted prestige and made the food distinctive.
Today, Vietnamese Pho cuisine is the only cuisine noted for embracing the smoky and pungent attributes the tree provides. A small amount of sandalwood is necessary for preparing the strong broth of Pho soup but steeping too much into the broth could cause digestive problems and illness.
Nonetheless, used with proper proportion it will add a robust flavor and can heal deficient immune systems. These days it is rare to find recipes that use sandalwood with the exception of those cooking Pho in the ancestral methods.
Despite the fact that their culinary use is out of fashion, sandal trees are being depleted from Asia and Australia, the only continents on which they exist.
The problem with this scent’s popularity
Trees of more than thirty years of age are poached for their stems and roots- from where all sandalwood products come. Although the best products come from trees upwards of seventy years of age, the high demand for the softwood and oil means trees won’t reach maturity.
The loss of a plentiful supply of sandal trees has led to lessened usage of sandalwood in various applications; however, its importance to the world of spirituality will never cease.
Research by Delahna Flagg.
Discover more of the world’s greatest aphrodisiacs
This article was written in 2010 and most recently updated in 2020.
Amy is considered a leading authority on aphrodisiacs. Her work in aphrodisiacs is quoted in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Health and Playboy magazines. She speaks internationally on aphrodisiac foods and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac history and science to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. She is a frequent guest on relationship and lifestyle radio and podcast shows and has been interviewed by BBC and NPR radio, Cosmopolitan radio and popular podcasts including My Dad Wrote a Porno.
Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health researcher and writer as well as a wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is an MSN content provider. And she is also a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine.
Fun fact: Amy was the creator of the first ever comprehensive food and wine apps, Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet and Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard for Palm.
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