A Comparative Analysis of the Volatile Components of Agarwood from Vietnam and other Regions

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of five different types of agarwood from Vietnam and 4 other areas and analyze the volatile chemical components by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We attempted to identify the ingredients that have previously been reported to have skin health benefits, and reviewed their potential future use as raw materials for natural cosmetics.Methods: The five sources of Aquilaria crassna (A. crassna) were from Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Myanmar, and Cambodian agarwoods. The volatile chemical components of each agarwood were analyzed by GC-MS. The Vietnamese agarwood was selected as a standard by identifying A. crassna through DNA analysis.Results: GC-MS analysis revealed that ‘sesquiterpene’ was contained in all the agarwood samples. The four sesquiterpene components, italicene ether, epi-γ-eudesmol, δ-guaiene, and α-agarofuran were commonly detected in all agarwood samples. Eight simple volatile aromatic compound components (1-octanol, 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone, 4-phenyl-2-butanone, benzaldehyde, ethylbenzene, nonanal, octanal, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol) were commonly detected. The sesquiterpene components, α-agarofuran, β-selinene, α-curcumene, and α-santalol have been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-skin cancer properties, respectively.Conclusion: This study demonstrated a substantial difference in the quality of the volatile component composition in each of the four source areas other than A. crassna from Vietnam. Agarwood contains sesquiterpene, which has a unique fragrance and is beneficial for skin health, and it is expected to be utilized as a raw material for natural cosmetics and developed in the future as a functional cosmetic with high added value.