Karnataka's Sandalwood: A Fragrant Legacy of India
The "Sandalwood Oil" produced at Mysuru is synonymous with the special quality of Sandalwood oil because of which it has been recognized as a G.I. product. The Sandalwood oil produced at Mysuru is considered as "Liquid Gold", for its consistent quality & fragrance characteristics. It is also known as the "Fragrant Ambassador of India” due to its hallmark for purity and consistent quality.
The botanical name of East Indian sandalwood is "Santalum album” which produces the best quality Sandalwood oil and is one of the most desired perfumery materials for the last 10 decades.
The Sandalwood oil has a pleasant, woody, sweet odour: and long-lasting quality. It is widely used as an excellent fixative in oriental types of perfumes for its persistent, sweet, woody aroma. It is largely used in medicine, beauty aids & cosmetic preparation. It acts as an antiseptic, analgesic, antibiotic, and property. The characteristic strong woody pleasant odour & medicinal properties are mainly due to α & β-Santalols. Indian Sandalwood oil contains the highest amounts of α & β- Santalol compared to any other Sandalwood oil produced in the world. The α -Santalol possesses anti-bacterial properties & β - Santalol possesses sedative properties, whereas synthetic Sandalwood boosters don't contain these active ingredients Sandalwood essential oil is used in aromatherapy and found to be effective in treating skin irritation & acne besides acting as a mood enhancer. It's said Sandalwood is used in human life particularly in Indian culture and civilizations from Cradle to Cremations.
The Government Sandalwood Oil factory was established by the Maharaja of Mysore, His Highness Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, and Dewan Sir. M. Visvesvaraya, during the year 1916 at Mysore, to extract Sandalwood Oil from Sandalwood. The technology for the distillation of sandalwood was perfected with the help of scientists at the Indian Institute of Science. The foresight and enthusiasm of the Maharaja of Mysore, to keep Mysore State on the Global Map, was possible by introducing the World's Best Natural Sandalwood Oil and making it a Fragrant Ambassador of India.
The next logical step was to utilize sandalwood oil in toilet soap production. Sri S. G. Sastry, a promising student of science was deputed to the United Kingdom for higher training in oil technology. On returning to India, he conducted several experiments and evolved a soap perfume blend using Sandalwood oil as a base to be used in toilet soaps. The relentless efforts of Sri. S. G Sastry the manufacturer of soap was crowned with success thus Mysore Sandal Soap was introduced to the world in the year 1918. Mysore Sandal Soap is the only soap in the World made from pure vegetable oils based on 100% pure Natural Sandalwood Oil. Karnataka Soaps & Detergents Limited owns the proprietary Geographical Indication (GI) tag for both Mysore Sandal Soap & Mysore Sandalwood Oil which gives it Intellectual Property Rights to use the brand name, to ensure quality and to prevent unauthorized use by other manufacturers.