Patchouli
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Patchouli
|image = Pogostemon_cablin_001.jpg
|genus = Pogostemon
|species = cablin
|authority = (Blanco) Benth.
|synonyms =
}}
Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; {{IPAc-en|p|ə|ˈ|tʃ|u:|l|i}}; Pogostemon cablin) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reaching up to {{convert|75|cm}} in height and bearing small, pale, pink-white flowers.
It is native to the island region of Southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula, New Guinea, and the Philippines. It is also found in many parts of Nepal and North East India.{{cite web| title=Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.| website=Plants Of the World Online| url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:454827-1}} Noted for its fragrant essential oil, it has many commercial uses and is now extensively cultivated in tropical climates around the world, especially in Asia, Madagascar, South America, and the Caribbean. {{as of|2023}}, global demand for patchouli oil is over {{convert|1,600|MT}} per year, of which over 90% is produced by Indonesia.
Etymology
The word derives from the Tamil patchai ({{langx|ta|பச்சை}}) or paccuḷi, meaning "green", and ellai ({{langx|ta|இலை}}), meaning "leaf".{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=patchouli+&searchmode=none |title=Patchouli |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=10 December 2011}}{{cite web |title=patchouli |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patchouli |website=Merriam Webster Dictionary |date=17 February 2024 }}
Cultivation
Patchouli grows well in warm to tropical climates. It thrives in hot, humid weather but not extended periods of direct sunlight. If the plant withers due to lack of water, it tends to recover quickly after rain or watering. Although rare, the seed-producing flowers are very fragrant and blossom in late autumn. The tiny seeds may be harvested for planting, but they are very delicate and easily crushed. Cuttings and grafts from the mother plant and subsequent rooting in loamy soil are the most common methods for propagation.
Essential oil
=Extraction=
Extraction of patchouli's essential oil is by steam distillation of the dried leaves{{Cite web |title=PATCHOULI OIL: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews |url=https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-213/patchouli-oil |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=www.webmd.com |language=en}} and twigs,{{cite web|title=Extraction of Patchouli Essential Oil by Steam Distillation Process|url=http://patchouli.co.id/distillation.html|website=Sumatrans Patchouli Essential Oil|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002195118/http://patchouli.co.id/distillation.html|archive-date=2 October 2016}} requiring rupture of its cell walls by steam scalding, light fermentation, or drying. The main chemical component of patchouli oil is patchoulol, a sesquiterpene alcohol.{{Cite web |title=22 Amazing Benefits of Patchouli Essential Oil : Uses, How to Use, Side Effects, DIY (2022) |url=https://gyalabs.com/pages/patchouli-essential-oil-benefits-its-remedial-uses |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=gyalabs.com |language=en-us}}
Leaves and twigs may be harvested several times a year. Some sources say the highest-quality oil is produced from fresh, share dried biomass distilled close to where they are harvested;Grieve, Maude (1995) A Modern Herbal [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/patcho15.html]. 2007 others say that boiling the dried leaves and fermenting them for a period of time is best.Leung A, Foster S Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs and cosmetics John Wiley and Sons 1996
=Components=
- Germacrene B{{cite journal|last1=Hasegawa|first1=Yoshihiro|last2=Tajima|first2=Katsuhiko|last3=Toi|first3=Nao|last4=Sugimura|first4=Yukio|title=An additional constituent occurring in the oil from a patchouli cultivar|journal=Flavour and Fragrance Journal|volume=7|issue=6|year=1992|pages=333–335|issn=0882-5734|doi=10.1002/ffj.2730070608}}
- Patchoulol{{cite journal|last1=Weyerstahl|first1=Peter|last2=Gansau|first2=Christian|last3=Marschall|first3=Helga|title=Structure–odour correlation. Part XVIII.1 Partial structures of patchoulol with bicyclo[2.2.2]octane skeleton|journal=Flavour and Fragrance Journal|volume=8|issue=6|year=1993|pages=297–306|issn=0882-5734|doi=10.1002/ffj.2730080603}}{{cite journal
| last = Hybertson
| first = Brooks M.
| title = Solubility of the sesquiterpene alcohol patchoulol in supercritical carbon dioxide
| journal = Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data
| volume = 52
| issue = 1
| pages = 235–238
| year = 2007
| doi = 10.1021/je060358w
| pmid = 19424449
| pmc = 2677825}}{{cite journal
| last1 = Nikiforov
| first1 = Alexej |display-authors=etal
| last2 = Jirovetz
| first2 = Leopold
| last3 = Buchbauer
| first3 = Gerhard
| last4 = Raverdino
| first4 = Vittorio| title = GC-FTIR and GC-MS in odour analysis of essential oils
| journal = Microchimica Acta
| volume = 95
| issue = 1–6
| pages = 193–198
| year = 1988
| doi = 10.1007/BF01349751
| bibcode = 1988AcMik...2..193N | s2cid = 94104732 }}
Uses
The heavy, strong, woody, and earthy scent of patchouli has been used for centuries in perfumes, and more recently in incense, insect repellents, chewing tobacco, and many alternative medicines.
Pogostemon cablin, P. heyneanus and P. plectranthoides are all cultivated for their essential oil, known as patchouli oil. Although there are some sub-varieties, the most common commercial varieties are native to the islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi in Indonesia.
=Perfume=
Patchouli oil is used widely in modern perfumery{{cite web|last=Ballentine |first=Sandra |url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/vain-glorious-sex-in-a-bottle/ |title=Vain Glorious | Sex in a Bottle |website=T |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=10 December 2011}} by individuals who create their own scents,{{cite web | url = http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-patchouli.htm | title = What is Patchouli? | date = 18 February 2024 |website =WiseGeek}} as well as in modern scented personal products, such as bay rum, and industrial products, too, such as paper towels, laundry detergents, and air fresheners. Two important components of its essential oil are patchoulol and norpatchoulenol.
=Insect repellent=
One study suggests that patchouli oil may serve as an all-purpose insect repellent.{{cite journal |last1=Trongtokit |first1=Yuwadee |last2=Rongsriyam |first2=Yupha |last3=Komalamisra |first3=Narumon |last4=Apiwathnasorn |first4=Chamnarn |title=Comparative repellency of 38 essential oils against mosquito bites |journal=Phytotherapy Research |year=2005 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=303–309 |doi=10.1002/ptr.1637 |pmid=16041723|s2cid=23425671 }} More specifically, the patchouli plant has been found to be a potent repellent against the Formosan subterranean termite.{{cite journal|last1=Zhu|first1=Betty C.-R.|last2=Henderson|first2=Gregg|last3=Yu|first3=Ying|last4=Laine|first4=Roger A.|title=Toxicity and Repellency of Patchouli Oil and Patchouli Alcohol against Formosan Subterranean TermitesCoptotermes formosanusShiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|volume=51|issue=16|year=2003|pages=4585–4588|issn=0021-8561|doi=10.1021/jf0301495| pmid = 14705881|bibcode=2003JAFC...51.4585Z }}
=Incense=
Patchouli is an important ingredient in East Asian incense. Both patchouli oil and incense underwent a surge in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s in the US and Europe, mainly as a result of the hippie movement of those decades.{{cite book|last=Foster|first=Steven|title=Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine|year=2006|publisher=National Geographic Society|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-7922-3666-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ex229rf-bEC&q=patchouli%20oil%201960's&pg=PA282|author2=Johnson, Rebecca L.|page=282}}
Particularly in popular music, the 1976 hit by Al Stewart, Year of the Cat, contributed to the increased awareness with a reference to it in the bridge, "She comes in incense and patchouli".
=Culinary=
Patchouli leaves have been used to make a herbal tea. In some cultures, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable or used as a seasoning. There are also several herbal medicines, both in Indonesia and in China (TCM), that include dry, ground patchouli leaves as one of the key ingredients.
=Toys=
In 1985, American toy manufacturer Mattel used patchouli oil in the plastic used to produce the action figure Stinkor in the Masters of the Universe line of toys.[http://www.oafe.net/yo/motustink.php Stinkor: Masters of the Universe]
= Medicine =
The plant has historically been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat ailments such as the common cold, nausea, diarrhea, headache, and fever,{{Citation |title=Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Vol. 3 |date=2010 |volume=1 |pages=42–373 |access-date= |others=Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission |edition=[9. ed.], English version 2010 |place=Beijing |publisher=China Medical Science Press |isbn=978-7-5067-5005-9}} and is also applied for its antifungal properties.{{Cite journal |last=Miyazawa |first=Mitsuo |last2=Okuno |first2=Yoshiharu |last3=Nakamura |first3=Sei-ichi |last4=Kosaka |first4=Hiroshi |date=2000-03-01 |title=Antimutagenic Activity of Flavonoids from Pogostemon cablin |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf990160y |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |language=en |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=642–647 |doi=10.1021/jf990160y |issn=0021-8561|url-access=subscription }} The naturally occurring organic compound found in the plant is pogostone.{{Cite journal |last=Yi |first=Yu-Yang |last2=He |first2=Jing-Jin |last3=Su |first3=Jun-Quan |last4=Kong |first4=Song-Zhi |last5=Su |first5=Ji-Yan |last6=Li |first6=Yu-Cui |last7=huang |first7=Si-Han |last8=Li |first8=Chu-Wen |last9=Lai |first9=Xiao-Ping |last10=Su |first10=Zi-Ren |date=2013-01-01 |title=Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of pogostone and its analogues |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0367326X12002985 |journal=Fitoterapia |volume=84 |pages=135–139 |doi=10.1016/j.fitote.2012.11.005 |issn=0367-326X|url-access=subscription }}