The main component of Costus Oil is tertiary nerolidol (nerolidol), also known as nerolidol, which has the highest relative percentage content. Studies have shown that the main components of balsamic oil are alcohol compounds, of which nerolidol, nerolidol and nerolidol Isomers accounted for 93.64% of the total oil. In addition, 13 kinds of chemical components were identified from the volatile oil extracted by the method of steam distillation (SD method), the main component was tertiary nerolidol, and the relative percentage was 57.36%. The extract was analyzed by CO2 supercritical extraction method (SFE-CO2 method) and GC-MS combined analysis technology, and 52 kinds of chemical components were separated, of which nerolidol (38.24% ), 2,4-dimethyl-2,4-heptadienal (25.826%), 2,4-dimethyl-2,6-heptadienal (18.477%).
Studies have also shown that the main component of balsamic is 2,4-dimethyl-2,4-heptadienal (about 31.6%), followed by nerolidol (about 23.9%); research has shown that caryophyllene oxide (54.22 %) content is the highest, while nerolidol content is 10.22%. Due to different varieties, origins and extraction processes, the total amount of Costus Oil and the percentage of nerolidol vary greatly. The pharmacopoeia records that the source of the fragrance is the leguminous plant Dalbergia, but the folks also have the Rutaceae plant Shanyou, Hainan Dalbergia, Indian Dalbergia, and Indian Red Sandalwood for use as fragrances.
The content of different varieties of Costus Oil and the content of main components in the oil were compared by GC-MS. As a result, the volatile oil contained in the medicinal material of Dalbergia balata was 3.61%-3.79%, the volatile oil in the imported balsamic product was 0.81%-3.61%, the volatile oil in Indian red sandalwood was about 0.43%, the volatile oil in Gongjia was about 0.10%, and the volatile oil in mountain orange was about 0.07%. The volatile oil content of Indian Dalbergia is about 0.06%, and the volatile oil of Hainan Dalbergia is very small. Nerolidol accounted for 45.23% to 69.13% of the volatile oil content, and no nerolidol was detected in the volatile oils of capers and gongjia. It can be seen that the quality of Dalbergia is the best; Indian Dalbergia, Hainan Dalbergia (low oil content), Gongjia and Shanyou are not suitable for Dalbergia. In addition, it was denied that the mountain oil mandarin orange was the source of balsamic fragrance from two aspects of the source research and the crude drug identification.
Agarwood often grows in middle-altitude areas, likes light, and has strong stress resistance. It is mostly distributed in semi-deciduous monsoon forests and sparse shrub forests. It is a unique plant in Hainan, and it was later introduced to Guangzhou, Guangxi, Fujian and other places for cultivation. Due to the different climate and environment in the regions where the medicinal materials are grown, the content of Costus Oil varies greatly.