Mysore Sandalwood oil, steam distilled from luscious heartwoods from Mysore, a fine balance between buttery woody alpha santalol notes and the creamy beta santalol tones. No Sappy notes at all, which is a testament to the fine aged materials used in distillation. This is a full bodied oil that develops on skin very nicely, and is excellent on its own, or to be used in a myriad of attars as a central note. A dab of this transports you deep into the ancient shrines of Karnataka over a century ago, where the gods were regularly bathed and consecrated with copious amounts of the best sandalwood pastes or oils ever.
Sandalwood essential oil is extracted from the heartwood part of mature sandalwood and is known for its pleasant fragrance and exceptional medicinal activities, including antimicrobial, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. The (Z)-α-santalol and (Z)-β-santalol are the most vital ingredients contributing to sandalwood oil’s bioactivities and unique woody odor characteristics. Metabolic engineering strategies have shown promise in transforming microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria into effective cell factories for enhancing the production of vital sesquiterpenes (santalene and santalol) found in sandalwood oil. This review aims to summarize sources of sandalwood oil, its components/ingredients, and its applications. It also highlights the biosynthesis of santalene and santalol and the various metabolic engineering strategies employed to reconstruct and enhance santalene and santalol biosynthesis pathways in heterologous hosts.
Keywords: sandalwood oil, sesquiterpenes, santalene, santalol, biosynthesis, metabolic engineering