India

Indian sandalwood (Santalum album) is a hemiparasite whose roots attach to those of host plants for water and nutrients. The oil is distilled from heartwood and roots, which hold most santalol in older trees. In 1916 to 1917 the Mysore government set up a sandalwood oil distillery; today it belongs to the state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).

From 1792 sandalwood in this region was treated as a state tree. In 2001 an amendment to the Karnataka Forest Act allowed private cultivation; in 2009 the rules were simplified so growers could sell directly to state companies such as KSDL. Felling still requires Forest Department permission.

Overharvesting has sharply reduced wild populations; IUCN lists Santalum album as Vulnerable. ISO 3518 sets 41 to 55% alpha-santalol and 16 to 24% beta-santalol for Santalum album oil. Mysore Sandalwood Oil is India's geographical indication no. 29.

A 2021 study tested six products sold as sandalwood oil: none met ISO 3518. Three were amyris oil and two were synthetic blends.

Tamil Nadu has about 12,000 hectares of jasmine. The main species is Jasminum sambac, known as malli. Madurai Malli received a geographical indication in 2013, the first flower from Tamil Nadu to do so; the area covers Madurai, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Theni and Sivagangai. Most flowers are sold fresh for garlands, and a share goes into concrete and absolute.

Jasmine sambac absolute is rich in linalool, benzyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenyl benzoate, (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, indole and methyl anthranilate. A study of seven absolutes from different parts of Tamil Nadu found the main constituents varied widely with growing area. India also grows Jasminum grandiflorum for concrete.

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is grown in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and several other states. The flowers are solvent-extracted into concrete in India, and many lots are then processed into absolute in France. Concrete yield is about 0.08 to 0.14% of flower weight.

The main crop is cornmint, Mentha arvensis, known in the trade as menthol mint. Crude oil is mostly menthol; most is chilled to crystallise menthol, and the remaining oil is sold as dementholised mint oil (DMO).

Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 70% of national output, centred on Barabanki, Sambhal, Chandausi, Rampur, Badaun and Moradabad. The crop is planted around March, after potatoes, and cut in May to June, before rice. Each hectare needs about 10 million litres of water, more than wheat.

According to the World Resources Institute, India's mint oil output fell 60 to 65% between the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons because of heat and erratic rain. Barabanki fell from about 11,200 tonnes to 7,950 tonnes.

Natural menthol from Mentha arvensis competes directly with synthetic menthol, so Indian mint oil prices track synthetic menthol prices.

East Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) originated in Kerala and is now grown in many states. Its oil contains over 75% citral. According to the National Horticulture Board, India has about 3,000 hectares producing around 300 to 350 tonnes of oil a year; in the early 1950s India produced over 1,800 tonnes and nearly monopolised the market.

Indian vetiver falls into two groups. The northern type grows wild on the Gangetic plain (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar), flowers and sets seed freely, and yields a laevorotatory oil called ruh khus. The southern type is cultivated, sets little or no seed, and yields a dextrorotatory oil. India produces about 20 to 25 tonnes of vetiver oil a year, less than domestic demand.

Kannauj attars are made by the deg-bhapka method: flowers or other aromatics are heated with water in a copper still (deg), and the vapour passes through a bamboo pipe into a receiver (bhapka) holding sandalwood oil. The sandalwood oil absorbs the aromatic fraction; distillation is repeated many times onto the same base oil. The still lid is sealed with clay.

Kannauj Perfume received a geographical indication in 2014. Common attars include rose, jasmine, kewda, vetiver and mitti, distilled from baked dry clay to capture the smell of earth after rain. Because sandalwood oil is costly and scarce, the base oil of an attar should be checked; other bases such as liquid paraffin or DEP also occur.