How to Test Real Agarwood – Key Indicators You Need to Know

1. Why Testing Agarwood is Important

Real agarwood holds high value both economically and spiritually. However, the market is flooded with fake agarwood and artificially scented wood, making it hard to distinguish by appearance alone.
Testing agarwood helps to:

Identify its authenticity and purity.
Evaluate the essential oil content and age.
Avoid low-quality or harmful products.

2. Common Methods to Test Real Agarwood

2.1. Density Test – Sink or Float

Principle: The more natural oil agarwood contains, the higher its density, making it sink or float partially in water.
How to test: Place the sample in a glass of clean water.
- Fully sinks: Old, high-quality agarwood.
- Partially sinks/floats: Medium quality.
- Fully floats: Regular wood, low or no oil content.

Indicator to record: Percentage of wood volume submerged in water.

2.2. Specific Gravity Test

Principle: Real agarwood has higher density due to natural oil saturation.
How to test: Measure weight with a digital scale and volume, then calculate g/cm³.
- Premium agarwood: >1.0 g/cm³
- Medium-grade: 0.7–1.0 g/cm³
- Below 0.7 g/cm³: Likely fake or low-grade wood.

2.3. Scent Test

Principle: Natural agarwood scent comes from organic oils – sweet, warm, deep, and long-lasting.
How to test:
- Direct sniffing: Mild, pleasant aroma.
- Burn test: Thin smoke, sweet smell, no eye irritation.
Indicator to record: Duration of scent after burning (in minutes or hours).

2.4. GC-MS Essential Oil Analysis

Principle: Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) determines chemical composition, distinguishing natural agarwood from chemically treated wood.
Advantages: Extremely accurate, detects synthetic additives.
Key indicators:
- Agarospirol content (main fragrance compound): Above 10% = high quality.
- Sesquiterpene levels (α-agarofuran, β-agarofuran, agarol): Higher = better quality.

2.5. UV Light Test

Principle: Natural agarwood oil does not glow strongly under UV light, whereas chemically treated wood often appears shiny.
Indicator to record: Reflection level (%) under UV light.

To accurately verify real agarwood, you should combine multiple testing methods, with GC-MS analysis being the most reliable.
Basic tests like scent, density, and specific gravity can give you a quick idea, but for such a valuable material, professional lab testing is always the safest choice.