Llabdanum Oil
Labdanum Oil is sourced from Labdanum, which is a sticky brown resin that is obtained from shrubs Cistus ladanifer species of rockrose. Having a long history of use in herbal medicine and as perfume ingredient, the oil is steam distilled from the fragrant white flower part of the plants.
Medicinal, Pharmaceutical, and Cosmetic Labdanum absolute and oil are used as a fixative and/or fragrance component in soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, and perfumes, with maximum use levels of 0.4 and 0.8 reported for the absolute and oil, respectively, in perfumes.
Food:
The absolute, oil, and oleoresin are all used as flavor ingredients in major food products, including alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts, candy, baked goods, and gelatins and puddings. The oil is also used in meat and meat products, condiments and relishes, and sweet sauces. Average maximum use levels reported are mostly below 0.001, with the exception of the absolute at about 0.002 (20.3 ppm) used in candy.
Traditional Medicine
Used as an expectorant and in catarrh of the respiratory tract, and diarrhea; also as astringent, nervine, stimulant, and hemostatic; gum used as a fumigant in Turkey.
Extraction: Leaves and twigs are boiled and the resin skimmed off, then aged to produce resinoid and absolute with a warm, spicy, balsamic odor. A fixative.
Medicinal Action: Labdanum is a nervous-system sedative, used in the treatment of rheumatism, colds, coughs, menstrual problems, cystitis and hemorrhoids.
Cosmetic/Skin Use: Antiseptic to wounds, acne, dermatitis and boils.
Emotional Attribute: Labdanum is both emotionally elevating and grounding. It improves meditation and intuition, and raises consciousness. It calms the nerves and promotes sleep, yet is also an aphrodisiac.