Use
Patchouli oil is produced by steam distillation of the dried leaves of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (Lamiaceae). It is a reddish-brown to greenish-brown, more or less viscous liquid with a characteristic, slightly camphoraceous, woody balsamic odor.
d2020 0.952–0.975; n20D 1.5050–1.5150; α20D ?60 ° to ?40 °; solubility: 1 vol in not more than 10 vol of 90% ethanol at 20 °C; acid number:max. 4; ester number:max. 10.
The patchouli shrub is cultivated primarily in Indonesia. It grows to 1m, but during harvesting, it is cut back to 10–15 cm. The oil yield from preferably sundried leaves is about 2%. Although the sesquiterpene alcohol (?)-patchoulol is the main component of patchouli oil (27–35%), this compound contributes less to the characteristic odor of the oil than (+)-norpatchoulenol present only at a concentration of 0.35–1%. Other typical constituents are (+)-α-bulnesene (13–21%), (?)-α-guaiene (11–16%), (?)-β-patchoulene (1.8–3.5%), and (?)-seychellene(1–3%).