Family : Santalaceae

English : Sandal Wood

Hindi : Chandan, Safed Chandan

Gujarati : Sukhad

Sanskrit : Shrikhanda, svetacandana

Part used : Bark

Botanical Description: A medium sized evergreen, semi root parasitic, glabrous tree with slender drooping branches, reaching upto 18m in height; bark dark grey or brownish black, rough with short vertical cracks; leaves simple, opposite, elliptic-lanceolate, glabroud, entire, flowers brownish purple, reddish purple or violet in terminal and axillary paniculate cymes; fruits globose drupes, purple black with ribbed endocarp seeds hard, globose or obovoid. The heartwood is ligh yellwish brown when fresh, turning dark brown on exposure. The wood is highly scented.

It is mainly found in South India.

Modern Pharmacological Action: Sandalwood is mainly used as coolant, and also sedative effect and astringent activity, making it useful as disinfectant in genitourinary and bronchial tracts, diuretic, expectorant and stimulant. The same is also used as tonic for heart, stomach liver, anti-poison, fever, memory improvement and as a blood purifier.Various uses mentioned in Ayurveda system about sandalwood are in treatment of various other ailments like diarrhea with bleeding intrinsic hemorrhage bleeding piles, vomiting, poisoning, hiccoughs initial phase of pox, urticaria, eye infections and inflammation of umbilicus.. Sandalwood oil was found to be effective against Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes & T. rubrum but ineffective against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, A.fumigatus in comparison to Tolnaphtate and clotrimoxazole. Investigations also reveals that antibacterial efficacy of some Indian essential oils including Sandalwood oil against Bacillus anthracis (+), Bacillus mycoides (+), Bacillus pumilis (+), E.coli (-), Micrococcus glutamicus (+), Sarcina lutea (+), Salmonella paratyphi (-), Staphyllococcus albus (+), Xanthomonas campestris (-) and Xanthomonas malvacearum (-) at different concentrations of- 100 %, 75%, 50%, 25%, 10%. They also have antioxidant principles.