East Indian Sandalwood

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• East Indian Sandalwood
• Indian Sandalwood
• sandalwood
• white sandalwood
• white saunders
• yellow sandalwood
• yellow saunders

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Santalum myrtifolium
• Sirium myrtifolium
• Santalum ovatum

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta, falling under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae. Within the order Santalales, it is classified under the family Santalaceae. Finally, its taxonomic identity is defined by the genus Santalum, specifically the species Santalum album.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a broad geographical distribution spanning across several distinct regions. Within the Western Indian Ocean, it can be found growing in Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues. Its presence extends into East Asia, specifically located in Taiwan. Additionally, it is documented to inhabit the area known as China Southeast. These diverse locations highlight the wide-ranging environmental adaptability of Santalum album.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Santalum album is characterized by its nature as a perennial species, allowing it to persist in the environment over many years. As it matures, the plant maintains an evergreen habit, retaining its foliage throughout the year rather than shedding it seasonally. This combination of a long-lived lifecycle and continuous leaf presence enables the plant to establish a stable presence within its ecological niche, contributing to its long-term development and physiological resilience.

Deciduousness :

evergreen

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Santalum album is characterized by its growth form as a woody tree that is strictly terrestrial in its habitat. As a self-supporting organism, it does not function as a climber or an epiphyte, maintaining an independent status rather than acting as a parasite. The plant exhibits a significant stature, with a height ranging from a minimum of 4 meters to a maximum of 9 meters, typically reaching a mean height of approximately 10 meters.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

tree

Parasite :

independent

Plant height max:

9 m

Plant height mean:

10 m

Plant height min:

4 m

Woodiness :

woody

Physiology

The physiology of Santalum album is characterized by a C3 photosynthetic pathway, which governs its carbon fixation and energy production processes. Its vegetative morphology is defined by specific leaf dimensions, where the leaf length typically maintains a mean of 6 cm, ranging from a minimum of 4 cm to a maximum of 8 cm. Concurrently, the leaf width exhibits a mean of 3 cm, with measurements spanning from a minimum of 2 cm to a maximum of 4 cm. Regarding its nutrient acquisition strategies, the plant does not function as a nitrogen fixer, relying instead on other mechanisms for nitrogen uptake within its ecosystem.

Leaf length max:

8 cm

Leaf length mean:

6 cm

Leaf length min:

4 cm

Leaf width max:

4 cm

Leaf width mean:

3 cm

Leaf width min:

2 cm

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

The reproduction of Santalum album is characterized by a specific sequence of flowering and fruiting morphological traits. The plant produces inflorescences that vary in length, ranging from a minimum of 0.025 m to a maximum of 0.04 m. Within these structures, the individual flowers are relatively small, with lengths measuring between 0.5 cm and 0.6 cm. Following pollination, the plant develops fleshy fruits that typically measure between 1 cm and 1.2 cm in length, with an average length of 1.1 cm. These fleshy fruits contain seeds that exhibit significant variation in mass, ranging from a minimum of 0.02 g to a maximum of 0.1355 g, with a mean seed mass of 0.09688 g. Interestingly, the seed volume remains highly consistent in the recorded data, with both the minimum, maximum, and mean values documented at 100 mm³.

Flower length max:

0.6 cm

Flower length min:

0.5 cm

Fruit dryness :

fleshy

Fruit length max:

1.2 cm

Fruit length mean:

1.1 cm

Fruit length min:

1 cm

Inflorescence length max:

0.04 m

Inflorescence length min:

0.025 m

Seed mass max:

0.1355 g

Seed mass mean:

0.09688 g

Seed mass min:

0.02 g

Seed volume max:

100 mm³

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Chemicals

Santalum album has 70 reported phytochemicals identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include ALPHA-SANTALOL, SANTALOL, Sandalwood oil, (E)-alpha-Santalal, (E)-beta-Santalal.

ALPHA-SANTALOL

1. Dr. Duke
2. Natural product research
3. Natural product communications

SANTALOL

1. Dr. Duke
2. Biomolecules
3. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials

Sandalwood oil

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
2. European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP)

(E)-alpha-Santalal

1. Dr. Duke

(E)-beta-Santalal

1. Dr. Duke

1-furfuryl-pyrrole

1. Dr. Duke

4-Methyl guaiacol

1. Dr. Duke

4-ethyl guaiacol

1. Dr. Duke

4-vinyl guaiacol

1. Dr. Duke

4-vinyl phenol

1. Dr. Duke

Activities

Santalum album has 232 reported activities identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antibacterial, Antioxidant, Anthelmintic, Antitumor, Cancer-Preventive.

Antibacterial

1. Dr. Duke
2. International journal of pharmaceutics
3. Natural product research

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
3. Natural product research

Anthelmintic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Parasitology research

Antitumor

1. Dr. Duke
2. Biomolecules

Cancer-Preventive

1. Dr. Duke
2. Natural product research

(-)-Chronotropic

1. Dr. Duke

(-)-Inotropic

1. Dr. Duke

5-Alpha-Reductase-Inhibitor

1. Dr. Duke

ACE-Inhibitor

1. Dr. Duke

Acaricide

1. Dr. Duke

Conditions

Santalum album has 11 reported investigations on conditions identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include wounds, Alzheimer's disease, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori.

Wounds

1. International journal of pharmaceutics
2. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Alzheimer's disease

1. Natural product communications

Bacillus subtilis

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Escherichia coli

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Helicobacter pylori

1. Journal of natural products

Proteus vulgaris

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Staphylococcus aureus

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Cancer

1. Natural product research

Inflammation

1. International journal of pharmaceutics

Preparations

Santalum album has 10 reported preparations identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include Santalum album oil, chloroform extract, crude extracts, essential oil (EO), essential oils.

Santalum album oil

1. International journal of pharmaceutics

Chloroform extract

1. Parasitology research

Crude extracts

1. Journal of natural products

Essential oil (eo)

1. Scientific data

Essential oils

1. Journal of natural products

Ethyl acetate

1. Parasitology research

Extracts prepared in cold and hot water

1. European journal of microbiology & immunology

Methanol

1. Parasitology research

Water

1. Parasitology research

Wood

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology