Herb library · Herb · Aquilaria malaccensis and other Aquilaria species
Agarwood (aloeswood)
A dark, fragrant resin that forms in the heartwood of Aquilaria trees of South and Southeast Asia, burned as incense and prized as one of the costliest perfumes in the world. It is the "aloes" of the Bible's perfume verses. It has not been studied in people.
Traditional use
Stuart's Chinese Materia Medica (1911) records that in China the resinous wood, chen xiang, was burned as incense and carved into ornaments, and that tonic, stimulant, digestive, aphrodisiac and diuretic properties were ascribed to it, besides a power to drive away evil spirits. It is also used in Ayurvedic, Arabic and Japanese incense traditions, and its oil, oud, is a prized perfume across the Middle East.
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Digestion and calm: no study of agarwood in people was found. Its research is chemistry, lab work and animal studies.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThere is no modern safety information for agarwood taken by mouth. Burning any incense indoors fills the air with smoke particles; ventilate the room.
- NoteWild Aquilaria trees have been cut heavily for their resin, and trade in agarwood is internationally regulated. Genuine agarwood is very expensive, so cheap "oud" is often synthetic or adulterated.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid taking it by mouth then.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Tonic, stimulant, carminative, aphrodisiac, and diuretic properties are ascribed to the drug, besides which it is supposed to possess certain occult virtues, making it useful in getting rid of evil spirits.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Tristram (1898) took the aloes of the perfume verses to be the fragrant wood of the Indian tree Aquilaria agallochum, agarwood, the plant on this page, brought by traders with other spices of the East; it has nothing to do with the medicinal aloe. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 333 (opens in a new tab)
spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
Dafni and Böck (2019) report that the old Jewish interpreters agree on agarwood (Aquilaria agallocha, today A. malaccensis), the plant on this page, as the aloes of this verse, an identification one authority rates highly probable but not certain. Medicinal plants of the Bible-revisited (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2019) — PubMed record · NIH (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Aquilaria spp. (agarwood) as source of health beneficial compounds: A review of traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacology (J Ethnopharmacol, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Agarwood in the Modern Era: Integrating Biotechnology and Pharmacology for Sustainable Use (2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.