- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Southern India (Karnataka) and the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Santalum album
- Sanskrit
- Chandanam
Asia · Herb · № 140
Santalum album
Herb · Asia
Sandalwood
Santalum album
Used in Ayurveda as a 'cooling' remedy for skin irritation and urinary complaints; the oil is used in aromatherapy. Clinical evidence is limited.
Safety notes
May cause skin allergy. Do not take the oil internally. Choose sustainably grown wood; wild Indian sandalwood is considered vulnerable.
Cautions by tradition (4)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Oil not internally.
- Ayurvedic materia medica: Do not take the oil internally yourself. Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
- Natural skin and hair care: Always dilute essential oil.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with heart yin deficiency. Always have chest pain assessed medically at once.
Preparation
Wood as a paste on the skin; oil diluted in skin care and perfume; as incense. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Sandalwood paste is applied to the forehead in Hindu rituals, and sandalwood is burned in temples and at cremations. Ody describes it as India's sacred wood. The tree is severely threatened by illegal logging.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Cooling, calming, strongly antiseptic and antibacterial, stimulates circulation and digestion.
Preparation and amount
As a wash or paste on ulcers; oil in massage for cystitis and abdominal complaints; in a warm compress for dry, itchy skin; with rose water as a lotion for acne; a few drops on the forehead for concentration and cooling in fever; decoction of the wood for fever and inflammation.
Caution: Oil not internally.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Cooling, induces sweating, aphrodisiac; paste for inflamed and itchy rashes (erysipelas, prickly heat); for excessive thirst, stomach irritation, dysentery, gonorrhoea, cystitis, urethral bleeding, bronchial catarrh; oil for scabies.
Preparation and amount
Wood powder 3–6 g (in coconut water or with sugar, honey and rice water); paste or emulsion externally.
Caution: Do not take the oil internally yourself. Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
Everyday Ayurveda
Attributed effects
Cooling and calming (in bleeding and burning sensations), purifies the blood, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, promotes intellect and happiness; popular beauty herb.
Preparation and amount
1 tsp powder in an anti-acne and anti-ageing mask.
Natural skin and hair care
Attributed effects
Soft, warm, woody scent. Always dilute the essential oil; choose sustainably grown sandalwood, because the wild Indian tree is endangered.
Preparation and amount
External: a few drops of essential oil as a scent in lotion and powder (see the recipes).
Caution: Always dilute essential oil.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, aromatic, warm
- Meridians
- spleen, stomach, lung, heart
Attributed effects
Tan xiang moves stagnant qi in chest and abdomen in chest and abdominal pain.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 1–6 g a day, usually in a decoction.
Combinations
- With dan shen and corydalis for tightness in the chest
- With cardamom and lindera for abdominal pain
Caution: Not with heart yin deficiency. Always have chest pain assessed medically at once.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Concentration, attracts love, clairvoyance, summons spirit helpers, making wishes come true, meditation, spirituality, harmony, protection, wisdom, purification.
Herbal magic and rituals
Attributed effects
In herbal magic associated with prayer, meditation, focus and love.
Preparation and amount
In India sandalwood paste (chandan) is applied to the forehead and offered to the gods at puja; in Buddhist and Hindu temples it is burned as incense. For its fragrant wood the wild trees of southern India have been heavily overharvested.
Home, kitchen and folk use
Preparation and amount
Peace and protection oil; autumn bath.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionHerbal oil (oil infusion)Compress, poultice and pasteSyrup, honey and oxymelSteam and bathPowder and kitchen
- Recipes
- Basic lotionBody powder
Tags
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- Michael & Lesley Tierra, Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine, vol. II: Materia Medica and Herbal Resource (1998)
- Penelope Ody, The Complete Medicinal Herbal (1993; 2017)
- L. D. Kapoor, CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants (1990)
- Stacey Dugliss-Wesselman & Susan Gregg, Herbal Remedies Made Simple (2018)