Elemi EO

Latin name :

Canarium luzonicum var. (Blume) A. Gray

Botanical profile :

Elemi is a 30m high tree belonging to the Burseraceae family (such as incense or myrrh) and of the genus Canarium.

Geographic origin :

The Canarium luzonicum is a tree occuring exclusively wild (rarely in cultivation) in the Phillipines islands. Its an endemic species

Chemotypes :

Other elemis are known although they are much less commonly (or not) used in perfumery:
Canarium ovatum : also native to the Philippine archipelago.
Canarium muelleri or scrub turpentine of Queensland, native to Australia.
Canarium Bengalense or elemi of Bengal and China, whose essential oil contains a high dose of Beta-Caryophyllene.
Canarium schweinfurthii or elemi of Cameroon and Guinea.
Canarium madagascariensis : originally from Madagascar and also called ''ramy ''.

Extraction process :

Like incense or myrrh, the resin is obtained using the ''tapping '' technique, i.e. by making an incision through the tree's bark. This incision, which is generally made once a day during the week prior to the harvest, causes the exudation of a white resin. A single tree can yield up to 5kg of resin annually for a harvest carried out from July to March.

All the resin recovered is stored in a warehouse while waiting to be extracted.
Several types of extraction can be performed with this resin:
Steam extraction: Usually performed in Europe to obtain the Elemi EO. It takes in general 5.5kg of resin to obtain 1kg of essential oil - Yield of 18 %.
SFE extraction: Usually done in Europe, this process allows to obtain Elemi SFE. This low-temperature technique gives a smell very similar to the natural product.
Volatile solvent extraction: Usually carried out with Acetone, this process allows to obtain Elemi Resinoid.

Major Components :

D-Limonene (40 - 72%)
Alpha-phellandrene(10 - 24%)
Sabinene (3 - 8%)
Alpha-Terpineol (0,4 - 3%)
Elemol (1 - 25%)
Elemicine (0,5- 8%)