What is ISO 3518 - Characteristics of sandalwood essential oil about?

Unlike other aromatic woods, sandalwood retains its fragrance for decades. The main oil chemical in sandalwood is santanol, and the value of sandalwood depends on the concentration of santanol present in the wood.

ISO 3518 provides for certain characteristics of the essential oil of sandalwood (Santalum album L.), in order to facilitate assessment of its quality.

Who is ISO 3518 - Characteristics of sandalwood essential oil for?

ISO 3518 on the Characteristics of sandalwood essential oil is useful for:

The essential oil industry
Manufacturers of products that use essential oils in their products
Procurement teams
Suppliers of sandalwood essential oil
Agencies involved in the inspection of sandalwood oil
The detox products market
Quality control / testing personnel

Why should you use ISO 3518 - Characteristics of sandalwood essential oil?

Sandalwood essential oil has calming properties. Smelling the essential oil can help to create a feeling of relaxation and peace, reducing problems linked to anxiety or depression. These calming effects can even help patients suffering from long-term hypertension, and work to reduce blood pressure levels.
ISO 3518 guidelines provide you with the requirements for essential oil of sandalwood in terms of its appearance, colour, odour; chromatographic profile; sampling which will aid testing agencies and quality assurance services.
Manufacturers can benefit as ISO 3518 gives details on sandalwood essential oil packaging, labelling, marking and storage.

What’s changed since the last update?

BS ISO 3518:2022 supersedes ISO 3518:2002, which has been withdrawn. BS ISO 3518:2022 includes some editorial and technical changes with respect to ISO 3518:2002. These include:

The title has been changed
The structure of the document has been revised
In Table 2, additional compounds and ranges have been added like Z-lanceol, E,E-farnesol.
In Annex A, chromatograms and run conditions for both polar and apolar columns have been modified.
In Annex A, a statement related to apolar column chromatogram recommending against using an apolar column has been added.

BS ISO 3518:2022

Essential oil of sandalwood (Santalum album L.)

Published:

28 Feb 2022

Withdrawn:

16 Jan 2025