Un des produits forestiers non ligneux occupant une place de choix parmi les populations rurales au Burkina Faso est le fruit du karité, Butyrospermum paradoxum. Le karité offre plusieurs avantages au niveau social, soit la fabrication de beurre de karité, et de savon local, des fruits comestibles mais aussi parce qu'il est un produit commercialisé et constitue un produit d'exportation depuis plus d'un quart de siècle sous forme d'amande et de beurre de karité.
Des analyses chimiques sur le fruit mûr ont montré que la pulpe est riche en substances glucidiques, constitue un aliment énergétique très apprécié des populations rurales et que l'amande contient 49 pour cent de lipide. L'amande de karité est la matière première utilisée par les ménagères en milieu rural pour la préparation du beurre de karité, largement utilisé en raison de sa valeur nutritive et de ses vertus thérapeutiques et également pour la fabrication du savon local.
Le karité est un arbre associé aux civilisations agraires traditionnelles de l'Afrique soudano-sahélienne. C'est une composante du système de production agricole, donc un outil agroforestier.
Le karité est aussi une source de devises. L'apport, en 1990, au produit national brut (PNB) était de 0,2 pour cent, soit une valeur de 1,5 milliard de F CFA pour une production exportée de 30000 tonnes. En 1986, cet apport était de 0,7 pour cent, du PNB, soit une valeur supérieure à 5 milliards de F CFA, pour une production de 26000 tonnes.
Le karité est aussi une source d'emploi et de revenus puisqu'il fait l'objet d'un commerce très actif au niveau des villages entre les femmes et les intermédiaires. Dans le circuit de commercialisation, on constate que tout le commerce du karité (amande) repose dans les mains des femmes qui se chargent du ramassage. L'organisation de la collecte des amandes ne permet pas aux ménages de réellement bénéficier de leur production étant donné que les prix officiels aux producteurs ne sont pas respectés par certains intermédiaires et fluctuent à l'image de la situation des cours internationaux. Ce constat entraîne donc une instabilité des prix aux producteurs et, par conséquent, l'irrégularité de la production. (Tiré de Yigo G., L'amande de karité, produit forestier non ligneux: utilisation et commercialisation au Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso. PNUD/FAO/BKF/89/011. Juin 1993.)
Annatto is a reddish-orange colourant (bixin) derived from the seeds of the annatto tree (Bixa orellana) and is widely used in food dyes, mainly in making cheese (about 50 percent), fish processing (20 percent), confectionery (10 percent), and for other uses including dairy products other than cheese, and polishes (20 percent). Annatto, a shrub 2-6 m tall, is native to tropical America and is now grown in most tropical countries such as Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and to a lesser extent in the Philippines, Turkey and Angola. The shrub grows wild but intensive cultures have been developed in exporting countries. The plant starts bearing fruit at three years old, and production continues for a period of ten to 12 years.
Average annual production of annatto seeds is in the range of 10000-11000 tonnes (1992), of which 60.2 percent comes from Latin America, 27.4 percent from Africa, and 12.4 percent from Asia. Peru is the largest producer, accounting for 32 percent of the world total, followed by Kenya and Brazil.
Although annatto is produced in developing countries, less than a third (about 27 percent) only is locally processed. Major processing plants are in Peru, Kenya, India and Brazil. The Peruvian production of annatto seeds is exported worldwide; Kenyan production is almost wholly exported to Japan, while the largest part of the Brazilian production is consumed locally.
Available statistics suggest that world import of annatto seeds during 1988 to 1992 varied between 6300 and 6690 tonnes, while between 2600 and 3960 tonnes of annatto seeds-equivalent were annually traded as annatto extracts. The United States is the largest single market for annatto in the world, accounting for about 40 percent of the world's total imports. The bulk of the United States' imports is in the form of annatto seeds (91-93 percent), and the rest is in extracts.
The EEC countries are estimated to have consumed about 2000 tonnes of annatto seeds and 600-650 tonnes of annatto extracts in 1992. Consumption in Japan has increased steadily from 1500 tonnes in 1988 to 1920 tonnes in 1992.
Unusually high prices during 1987 induced overplanting of annatto in Latin American countries such as Honduras, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala and Costa Rica, which in turn resulted in overproduction and resulted in very depressed current market prices. The misfortune of the annatto farmers was made worse by the fact that, in the absence of any research and extension support, they planted varieties with less than 2.7 percent bixin content, whereas market demand is for seeds with a bixin content of 2.7-3.5 percent. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993).
NWFPs DEFINED Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) can be defined as all goods derived from forests of both plant and animal origin other than timber and fuelwood. NWFPs can be sustainably extracted from a forest ecosystem in quantities and ways that do not downgrade the plant or animal community's basic reproductive functions. (If the reader has a better definition kindly share it with others through Non-Wood News). |
Leaves obtained from a number of trees in India are used for wrapping a cheap type of cigarette, vernacularly known as bidi. Among these species, the leaves from Diospyros melanoxylon, vernacularly known as tendu, kendu, abnus or bidi, are the most extensively collected both for local consumption and for export. Most bidi leaves in India are obtained from natural vegetation. These leaves collected from coppice shoots and root suckers are preferred for cigarette making, because they are generally larger, thinner and relatively more pliable with less prominent veins than those obtained from mature trees.
The leaves are plucked manually by the forest dwellers, and are sorted and tied in small bundles, each comprising 50 to 100 leaves. The leaf bundles are then spread on the ground, side by side, with their dorsal sides up; after a period of three to four days, they are turned upside down. The dried leaves are packed in gunny bags, weighing 25-80 kg. On average, a standard bag consists of 1000 bundles of 100 leaves each, weighing 75 kg.
Annual production of tendu leaves has been stable at around 300000 tonnes. Madhya Pradesh is the largest tendu-producing state with 41 percent followed by Orissa (17 percent), Maharashtra (15 percent), Andhra Pradesh (13 percent), Bihar (8 percent), and Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal collectively producing 6 percent of the total production.
India exported about 4700 tonnes of bidi leaves in 1991 -92, worth about Rs184 million, to Pakistan (74 percent) and Sri Lanka (23 percent). The average price (f.o.b.) has been estimated at Rs39 200 per tonne. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
The Brazil nut or catanheira tree (Bertholletia excelsa) is one of the most important economic plant species of Amazonia. Brazil nuts are mostly collected during five to six months of the rainy season and together with rubber, which is tapped during the dry season, provide year-round income to forest dwellers. These two products are often cited as the most important products of the extractive reserves in Amazonia.
Brazil nuts are consumed raw, roasted, salted, in ice creams or as prepared confectionery items. They are an important ingredient in shelled nut mixtures. Their oil contents range from 65 to 70 percent. Nuts that are rejected for export could be pressed for oil, if a market could be found.
It is estimated that the average annual production of Brazil nuts is around 45000 tonnes. Production, however, can easily increase, according to demand, because less than half of the potential area under Brazil nut trees is currently being harvested.
The raw nuts are cleaned in processing centres, where they are put into vacuum-sealed aluminium bags, and packed in cardboard boxes. Average processing yields are 63.4 percent for unshelled nuts and 30.9 percent for shelled nuts.
The market centres on two types of nuts, shelled and in-shell (raw). In-shell nuts are sold for Christmas and Thanksgiving in the United States and Europe, while shelled nuts are sold mainly to roasters to be packaged in mixed nut snack items. Traditionally about 60 percent of the value of exported Brazil nuts has been from shelled nuts. The United States is the world's largest importer of in-shell Brazil nuts, and is second only to the United Kingdom in import of shelled nuts. The differential between the price paid to the collectors and the export price is 1:21 while the price differential in the shelled and in-shell nuts is approximately 1:2.4. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
Chestnut trees grow over a wide range of geographic regions, including China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Mediterranean region and the United States. Chestnut (Castanea spp.) grows over an area of 300000 ha in China, with an annual production of 33000 tonnes, accounting for one-tenth of world total production. China exports 25000 tonnes of chestnut annually, mostly to Japan, with foreign-exchange earnings of about US$50 million.
In Spain, chestnut grows over an area of 160000 ha, yielding 12000-40000 tonnes. About 15-20 percent of the production is not picked and is consumed by livestock and game animals. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN CHESTNUTS During the 1950s an International Chestnut Commission was serviced by FAO, in which several countries interested in chestnuts Austria, Chile, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yugoslavia - participated as members or observers. The concerns of the Commission covered ecological studies, genetic improvement and propagation, disease surveys and control, management of chestnut high forests, and the preservation and utilization of chestnut and chestnut products. The Commission no longer exists. There has recently been a proposal to take up a joint project on chestnuts with the participation of China, Italy, Turkey and the United States with emphasis on genetic resource conservation and disease control. (Source: FOPN files.) |
The Government of the Solomon Islands, in cooperation with the British Government, has initiated an edible nut development project. This activity was established under the products' diversification strategy with the purpose of broadening the agricultural economic sector of the Solomon Islands.
The objective of the project was to identify indigenous edible nuts as cash crops for smallholders. The edible nuts being studied are ngali nut (Canarium spp.), elite nut (Terminalia spp.) and cut nut (Barringtonia spp.). The project has been particularly successful for ngali nuts, which are seen as a potential cash crop for smallholders.
The reasons for the immediate success of ngali nuts as cash crops were that ngali nuts have traditionally been used as a measure of wealth in most Solomon Islands' society; ngali nuts are more numerous than any other nut species because the trees have cultural values; there is a strong traditional exchange of cash for ngali nuts; and there is a high demand for ngali nuts for dietary purposes.
So far, two edible nut products, namely Solomon nuts (edible kernels) and Solomon nut oil, have been marketed successfully and show good possibilities for further improvement.
The development of market niches for ngali nuts will depend on overcoming the following constraints that are always associated with new products entering an established market:
- non-availability of agronomic and husbandry production information concerning Ngali nuts;
- lack of technological information and expertise in the area of food processing and product development;
- the introduction of a new (unknown) product into a competitive and conservative international market; and
- trading of small quantities in international markets.
(Source: Pelomo, P.M., Non-timber forest products in the Solomon Islands - experience with the ngali nut industry. Commodity Export Marketing Authority, Honiara. August 1993.)
Eucalyptus species are widely planted throughout the world; they yield oils as byproducts with considerable economic value.
Although about 300 species of Eucalyptus have been shown to contain volatile oils in their leaves, only a few are important as far as commercial production of essential oils is concerned. The oils of these species are classified for trade in three broad types according to their composition and main end-use: medicinal (cineole-rich), perfumery (citrinella) and industrial (rich in phellandrene and piperitone). The distinction is not hard and fast and all three types of oils, for example, could be used in perfumery.
The yearly world production of all types of eucalyptus oils is estimated to be 5000 tonnes, of which about 63 percent is medicinal oil, 33 percent perfumery oil, and 4 percent industrial oil. World production and trade are dominated by the People's Republic of China, where Eucalyptus spp. have been planted over an area of 670000 ha. China produces, on average, 3000 tonnes of eucalyptus oil per year, which is 65-75 percent of global production. Chinese exports, mainly to France and Germany, range between 1600-2000 tonnes annually and account for at least 70 percent of world trade. Portugal, India, South Africa, Australia, Swaziland, Chile and Spain are other eucalyptus oil producing and exporting countries.
The current market price for Chinese eucalyptus oil is around US$3 per kg (c.i.f.) as compared to $5.10 per kg during 1991 and $9.50 during 1988. The price depression is caused by oversupply and stock buildup. (Source: Coppen, J.J.W. & Hone, G.A., Eucalyptus oils: a review of production and markets. NRI Bulletin 56. ODA/UK. 1992.)
Gum arabic or gum acacia is the most widely used and traded of the true water-soluble gums. The Sudan, as the main gum-producing country, accounts for 70-80 percent of world production. Other producing countries are Chad, Senegal, Nigeria, the United Republic of Tanzania, Mali and Mauritania. Gum arabic is exported as a primary product to industrial countries, mainly to western Europe and the United States.
Gum arabic is used in food and non-food related applications. Its main food-related uses are in confectionery and soft and alcoholic beverages while its non-food applications include pharmaceutical, cosmetic, lithographic and offset productions.
True gum arabic is the exudate from Acacia senegal. A tree, on average, may yield 2509 of gum arabic per year, although production may range from a few grams to as high as 10 kg. The highest yields are observed on individual trees aged from seven to 12 years.
Export prices for gum Arabia are about US$3250 per tonne (f.o.b.) for Sudanese/kordofon, and $3500 and $750 per tonne (c.i.f.) respectively for Nigerian/No. 1 cleaned and No. 2 cleaned.
The United States of America is the largest single market for gum arable, accounting for 25 percent of the world market. The European Community, Switzerland and Scandinavia collectively account for 40 percent of world purchases of gum arable. About 10 percent is channelled into Japan. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
PRODUCTION AND EXPORT OF GUM ARABIC IN THE SUDAN
YEAR | PRODUCTION | EXPORT | ||
QUANTITY | YEAR | QUANTITY | VALUE | |
(Tonnes) | (Tonnes) | (Million US$) | ||
1987/88 | 26000 | 1988 | 18603 | 56 |
1988/89 | 28948 | 1989 | 19352 | 47 |
1989/90 | 25733 | 1990 | 26912 | 55 |
1990/91 | 12061 | 1991 | 24978 | 51 |
Source: Awouda, E.H.M. The gum arabic company, Khartoum. March 1993. (pers. comm.)
LAC
Lac is the resinous secretion obtained from the body of a hemipterous insect, Laccifer lacca. The principal host trees of lac insect are Butea monosperma, Ziziphus mauritiana, Schleichera oleosa, Samanea saman, Cajanus cajan, Albizia chinensis, A. odoratissima, Acacia mauritiana, Ficus drupica, Combretum quadrangulare, Acacia catechu, A. villosa, Dalbergia chinensis, D. nigerescens and Albinia lucidor.
Naturally occurring secretion is collected from branches of numerous deciduous natural forests in many Southeast Asian countries. A more common practice, however, is the deliberate inoculation of host trees, either wild or, more frequently, cultivated. Stick lac is the crude product obtained directly from the trees; it is known as "seed lac" once particulate matter has been removed from the sticks and as "shellac" when the resin has been extracted.
Lac finds a variety of uses in plastics, electrical goods, adhesives, leather, wood finishing, lacquer work, printing, polish and varnish, ink and a number of other industries. It is also the principal ingredient in sealing wax. Lac also yields an edible dye, which is used in colouring soft drinks and foods.
Lac is produced in a number of countries including India, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Viet Nam and Laos. Total annual production is estimated to be 20000 tonnes. India and Thailand are the major producers, producing on average 17000 tonnes of lac annually, 70 percent and 30 percent respectively. China produced 1482 and 833 tonnes in 1988 and 1989, respectively. Lac production can vary considerably from year to year, in relation to weather conditions.
India and Thailand dominate world trade exporting, on average, about 6000 tonnes each per annum. While Thailand exports the bulk of its production, India consumes almost half of it domestically. Viet Nam exports, on average, about 300 tonnes of lac and stick lac annually. Lac is exported to about 45 countries, but Germany, Italy, Egypt, Indonesia and the United States are the major markets.
Current international trade in shellac is almost half what it used to be in the 1950s, when gramophone record manufacturing, an industry which is now almost extinct, was its major consumer. Shellac is, however, still prized in certain applications such as the polishing of high-class furniture, and as an essential ingredient in the manufacturing of certain items such as confectionery. Newer products are also being developed with lac as the base. A more recent development is in the field of agriculture where urea is coated with shellac to make it a slow release fertilizer. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
Commercial nutmeg is the seed of Myristica fragrans and mace is the aril that surrounds the seed. Nutmeg is an evergreen tree belonging to the Myristicaceae family. It is indigenous to Moluccas in Indonesia, but is now found planted in other countries such as Grenada, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
WORLD TRADE IN RATTAN
YEAR | VALUE (1000 US$) | |
IMPORTS | EXPORTS | |
1988 | 62816 | 22635 |
1989 | 70542 | 75042 |
1990 | 57292 | 56077 |
1991 | 52471 | 49142 |
1992 | 88229 | 40894 |
Average | 66070 | 48558 |
Source: COMTRADE database.
WORLD TRADE IN MEDICINAL PLANTS
YEAR | VALUE (1000 US$) | |
IMPORTS | EXPORTS | |
1987 | 960.39 | 733.38 |
1988 | 1046.61 | 829.64 |
1989 | 1059.38 | 795.79 |
1990 | 1122.87 | 901.87 |
1991 | 1080.12 | 694.25 |
Average | 853.87 | 590.99 |
Source: COMTRADE database.
The commercial products of the tree are nutmeg seed, mace, their essential oils, extracted oleoresins, and nutmeg butter. However, nutmeg and mace account for the greater part of the trade.
Indonesia is the largest world producer of nutmeg and mace and accounts for about three-quarters of world production and exports. Grenada is the second largest producer and exporter. Indonesia produced 15800 tonnes of nutmeg during 1990, whereas in 1991 Grenada produced 2700 tonnes and 200 tonnes of nutmeg and mace, respectively.
Indonesia's exports of nutmeg and mace rose to 7335 tonnes and 1547 tonnes respectively in 1991, compared with 6391 tonnes and 1050 tonnes in 1990. Grenada's nutmeg exports declined from 1675 tonnes in 1990 to 1574 tonnes in 1991, but exports of mace rose to 249 tonnes from 204 tonnes in 1990. Grenada is facing a problem of overproduction and surplus stocks and is exploring the possibilities of extracting trimyristin from nutmeg.
The market for nutmeg is facing difficulties and prices are persistently falling, primarily because of oversupply. In August 1992, its price on the London market fell to its lowest point in two years at UK£1.115 per tonne. Mace prices are improving, attaining a peak of UK£3.645 per tonne in November 1992 compared with UK£2.915 per tonne in June 1992. (Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. 1993.)
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RAMIAL WOOD: A NEW WEALTH FOR SOIL
The twentieth century has shown the importance of chemical nutrients for plant growth and yield. Similarly, soil depletion has taken place wherever intensive agriculture and forestry have been practiced. Some thoughts given to this problem in the mid-1970s and a better understanding of biological soil features have brought some unexpected experiments in a Canadian university. Small twigs, less than 7 cm in diameter, were chipped and added to the soil surface. After a few weeks all the chips had disappeared and the soil water content was much improved. A first ramial wood analysis showed an abundance of nutrients and a more precious element, lignin. (Ramial wood refers to twigs and small branches and originates from the Latin word ramus, meaning "a branch".)
SPORES TO STORES A wide variety of mushrooms are collected from the natural forest. Morels, truffles and pine mushrooms are important from the point of view of international trade. The black mushrooms or morels belong to the genus Morchella and comprise about a dozen species. Morels grow naturally in temperate forests, and are prized for culinary use. World production is estimated to be approximately 150 tonnes of dried morels. Pakistan and India are the main producing countries; France, Switzerland and Germany are the main importers and some dried morels are re-exported to the United States after grading, cleaning and repacking according to US standards. Truffles, of the genus Tuber, are of three main types and are highly appreciated, especially in European countries and the United States. They are subterranean bodies of mycorrhizal fungi that grow attached to the roots of oak and hazel trees. France and Italy are the main producers. Truffles are exported fresh as well as in preserved form. Pine mushrooms (Boletus sp.) grow spontaneously under plantations of Pinus radiata in the United States, Europe and South America. They are highly nutritious. Exports in sliced, dehydrated or processed form have been rising. Imports are subject to phytosanitary regulations and are generally handled by specialized importers. Wholesalers purchase the product through importers and in turn sell to retailers (supermarkets, stores) and end-users (restaurants). (Source: FODP files.) |
Recent scientific papers describe the transformation of lignin into polyphenols and humic acids. These two chemical compounds are the basis for humus, especially when associated with clay which, in return, acts as the manager of life in the soil. This association of lignin/humus/microorganisms is broken by heavy chemical fertilization, while humus can be used by microorganisms as a source of food and energy to survive in an almost abiotic soil environment.
Consequently, small twigs that are rejected by most rural people and perceived, up to now, as having no value, could become a new forest commodity. Nevertheless, attention should be paid to some important points. First, twigs should be from deciduous trees or shrubs. Second, twigs have to be chipped or crushed in order to encourage overall action by soil microorganisms. Under tropical conditions, ramial chipped wood (RCW) has to be covered by a few centimetres of soil to prevent sterilization by ultra-violet (UV) rays. By doing this, fungi, arthropods, ants, termites and earthworms are nourished and in return for the kindness they manage water availability, nutrients and pH. By bringing a new equilibrium to the soil, parasites such as nematodes are kept away.
What is known about humus from lignin? It should be recalled that most agricultural soils all over the world have a forest origin. Ramial chipped wood is the answer to most of our soil problems by enhancing natural humic systems that have a forest origin. Under tropical conditions, RCW can be grown locally. An initial assessment shows that billions of tonnes are lost yearly around the world, without any notice being taken. We are dealing with humification enhancement, rather than with mineralization processes.
SOME OF THE INTERNATIONALLY TRADED NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS
S. NO. | CATEGORY | PRODUCTS |
I | Food products | Nuts. Brazil nuts, pine nuts, pignolia nuts, malva nuts, walnuts and chestnuts |
Fruits. Jujube and ginkgo | ||
Edible fungi. Morels, truffles and pine mushrooms | ||
Vegetables. Bamboo shoots, palm hearts | ||
Starches. Sago, birds' nests | ||
Oils. Shea nuts, babacu oil, sal or tengkawang or illipe oil | ||
Maple sugar | ||
II | Spices and condiments | Nutmeg and mace |
Cinnamon and cassia | ||
Cardamom, galanga, allspice, caraway | ||
III | Industrial plant oils | Tung oil, neem oil, jojoba oil, kemiri or candle or lumbang oil, akar wangi and kapok oils |
IV
| Plant gums
| Gums for food uses. Gum arable, tragacanth, karaya and carob gums |
Technological grade gums. Talha and combretum gums | ||
V | Natural pigments | Annatto seeds, indigo |
VI
| Oleoresins
| Pine oleoresin |
Copal and damar gamboge and gum benzoin or benjamin, dragon's blood (rattan resin), amber | ||
VII
| Fibres and flosses
| Fibres. Bamboo, rattan, xate attap, aren, oster, raffia, toquilla straw products, cork, esparto, Erica and other broom grasses |
Flosses. Kapok or silk cotton | ||
VIII | Vegetable tanning materials | Quebracho, mimosa, chestnut, catha/cutch and gambir |
IX | Latex | Natural rubber, gutta-percha, jelutong, sorva and chicle |
X | Insect products | Natural honey, beeswax lac, silk mulberry and non-mulberry silks, cochineal, aleppo galls |
Xl | Incense woods | Sandalwood, gharu or aloewood |
Xll | Essential oils | |
XIII | Plant insecticides | Pyrethrum, sassafras medang and peuak bong |
XIV | Medicinal plants | |
XV | Wild plants | |
XVI | Animals and | Ivory, trophies, bones, feathers, maleo eggs, live animals animal products and birds |
XVII | Miscellaneous products | Bidi leaves, soap berries, cola nut, chewing sticks, lacquer, dom nuts or ivory nuts |
Source: Iqbal, M., International trade in non-wood forest products: an overview. Working Paper No. 11. FAO. August 1993.
For further information on current activities or research projects on RCW, please contact Professeur Gilles Lemieux, Département des sciences forestières, Université Laval, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada.
Safrole is a phenylether which occurs as a component of the volatile oil in many plant species. In its pure form, it is mobile liquid with a camphoraceous aroma at ambient temperature.
The earliest extensive use of natural safrole was as a flavouring for root beer and sarsparilla beverages in the United States, but this was discontinued in 1958. Another application was as a fragrance in a range of products including floor waxes, soaps, glues and disinfectants.
Today, the two major outlets for natural safrole lie in its chemical conversion to heliotropine, a fragrance compound, and piperonyl butoxide (PBO). The latter plays a critical role as a synergist for natural pyrethrum-based insecticides which are much less effective alone. In several countries, natural pyrethrum/PBO mixtures are the only formulations permitted for use in food stores and food processing industries. Demand is growing also in the retail insecticide market owing to the "soft" (biodegradable) characteristics and "green" image of these mixtures.
Recent worldwide consumption of natural safrole is estimated at 2000 tonnes per year. The PBO and heliotropine outlets appear to be about equal and jointly account for 75 percent of total consumption. Heliotropine, from natural safrole, is manufactured principally in Japan and China while smaller-scale operations exist in Spain, the United States and Brazil. Italy is the largest PBO producer, followed in importance by Japan. The United States is the largest market for other uses of natural safrole.
Natural safrole is obtained by the destructive harvesting and steam distillation of the wood of the wild-growing species of Lauraceae. The product, containing in excess of 84 percent safrole, is traded as "sassafras oil". This name originates from the earliest source, the roots of Sassafras albidum, a tree that is indigenous to the Appalachian Mountains in the United States.
The sassafras oil industry in the United States steadily declined after the entry of Japan to the market in the early part of the twentieth century. The cessation of trade with the Far East during the Second World War stimulated production in Brazil, based on the trunk wood of wild-growing trees of Ocotea pretiosa, syn. O. cymbarum. Annual production 'peaked at 2500 tonnes in 1970. Thereafter, renewed competition from the Far East, together with fewer and more remote large trees, led to a reduction in output to between 1000 and 1500 tonnes of oil annually. Nevertheless, Brazil remained the main sassafras oil exporter until 1991.
Today, China is the major Far East producer of sassafras. The industry is based on destructive harvesting of Cinnamomum camphora varieties in Jiangxi and other southern provinces. The annual production was around 1000 tonnes in the late 1980s. A significant proportion of the output is consumed by the domestic chemical industry, while Japan has been the major export market.
In 1990, total world production of sassafras oil was perhaps 2000 tonnes and roughly in balance with demand. Prices (f.o.b.) had in fact remained fairly stable for a decade at around US$4/kg.
Alternative sources of natural safrole have been investigated over the years. Considerable screening work has been devoted to the genus Cinnamomum, especially with C. iners and C. parthenoxylon in Malaysia and C. rigidissum on China's Hainan Island. In Latin America, certain forest shrubs of the Piperaceae family offer better prospects as new sources of safrole. (Source: Maia, J.G., Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Green, C.L. & Milchard, M.J., New sources of natural safrole. Perfumer and Flavorist, Vol. 18, March/April 1993.)
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