The chemical composition of gaharu sapwood provides its benefits, including perfume, cough medicine, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and insecticide. Gaharu wood is one of the black wood species that produces a distinctive fragrant resin derived from the agarwood tree species Aquilaria malaccensis, the most sought after throughout the world. Not surprisingly, agarwood is one of the most expensive types of wood globally.

The specialty of agarwood lies in its high resin content, so it is widely used for the perfume industry. Agarwood is sold per kilogram with the price depending on the quality of the resin it produces. Because of its uniqueness, this agarwood has been named the wood of the gods or wood from heaven.

The high price of agarwood is due to the scarcity of agarwood trees and the lack of public interest in cultivating these trees. Agarwood species Aquilaria malaccensis can grow up to 40 meters with a 40-60 cm trunk diameter. Leafy and tapered at the ends. Agarwood trees also produce flowers and fruit. The flowers are yellow, growing at the ends of the twigs on the top and bottom of the leaf axils. At the same time, the fruit is round with 3-5 cm reddish and hairy. The wood is hard, straight with whitish brown bark and fine texture, while the sapwood (the inner part of the wood before the core) is uniformly black and smells good when cut. This part of the sapwood then determines the quality of the agarwood.

The fragrant aroma of agarwood is caused by the fungus Fusarium sp, which attacks the sapwood. The sapwood itself is a young part of the wood that consists of living cells and functions to distribute or store food. Currently, agarwood species Aquilaria malaccensis is included in the Appendix II category based on the CITES convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in the United States in 1994. Agarwood is threatened with extinction because its population is decreasing very quickly due to high demand.

This particularity of the gaharu plant attracted Ridwanti Batubara, SHut, MP, a lecturer at the Faculty of Forestry, University of North Sumatra, to research and found other benefits of gaharu. He began conducting a series of research in 2012. The Wikstea Instant Prastartup Team was assisting it, consisting of Sri Megawati Lubis (CEO), Rizki Hambali Harahap, Adrian Anshori Hasibuan, Karina Aulia, and Ilfa Nindita Harahap, for research development and its products. Before turning to agarwood tea research, Ridwanti focused on medicinal plant research.

The process started in 2012-2014 with initial product development, chemical content and potential antioxidant research, consumer testing (hedonic test), and comparison tests with other herbal teas. They continued in 2015-2016 to test the safety of gaharu leaf tea non-clinically. Meanwhile, in 2017-2019, an exploration of raw materials for gaharu leaf tea and the shelf life was carried out. In 2020, the development of products made from gaharu leaf extract instant gaharu tea began, and in 2021 a shelf-life test and microbial contamination were carried out and pioneered the "Instant Wikstea" Pre Startup.

“The potential for forestry with a high selling value is agarwood. The production comes from natural forests and is hunted until it becomes a rare species. Then the knowledge developed for innovation to make cultivated agarwood. At this time of cultivation, so that the desired sapwood is formed on the stem, a pruning process is carried out, namely pruning the branches to grow to the stem. Branches, leaves, and twigs are not used," said Ridwanti.

From the foreign literature she reads, Ridwanti then discovered that gaharu leaves are very rich in benefits and antioxidants. He also knows that gaharu has begun to be widely planted and cultivated, but its leaves are not used. At the same time, gaharu leaves have the potential to be developed. From there, they then began to do research and make agarwood tea.

“When I was working on this product, people said it was not going to be liked. Through my research, I tested the chemical content and compared it with teas on the market. It tastes cheesy. This publication about gaharu tea is even referred to by international journals," he said.

Agarwood leaf powder

Many people complain about gaharu tea because it has a tart and unpleasant taste due to the presence of tannins. “I started testing whether this tea is harmful to the body. The following year the safety test was carried out for 3 years until 2016, tested on mice, tested for skin irritation and effects on the eyes. It turned out to be safe. When given microbes to control whether they are irritated or not, they are actually good for the skin," said Ridwanti.

The next challenge is the availability of raw materials. In 2018 he submitted a grant to the Directorate of Higher Education for raw material exploration. Later, this plant spread in Sumatra, from South to Langkat.

“The development of agarwood tea has actually been a lot. There are in West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Kalimantan and others. It's even a big company scale. My innovations have been researched. Both natural and cultivated agarwood are rich in benefits and anti-oxidants," he said.

Ridwanti revealed that she tried the agarwood tea processing technology with a simple drying method. The leaves are dried and made into simplicia, then brewed, dried in the sun, in the oven, and roasted. Fresh leaves can also be boiled and roasted.

“If you use the oven, the temperature is 30-40 degrees. After going through testing, it turns out that the one that can maintain its stability is in the oven. Storage is also tried to test how long the anti-oxidants last, 6 months. If it is more than 6 months, there has been a decrease in tannins and anti-oxidants. Only recommended for use up to 6 months, while the company dares to use warranty for 2 years. It is because it has been formulated with various additives in the industry. We don't provide any additional ingredients for this agarwood tea. From the research conducted, 3 months is still a safe time to consume liquid tea. But we should consume when the anti-oxidants are still high. For storage, it is better at a cooler temperature,” said Ridwanti.

Although the technology used in this product is very simple, Ridwanti also provides added flavor for those who don't like chelate. According to him, the natural flavor that consumers like is ginger and the original gaharu flavor. In addition, in the patent application he submitted, there was also gaharu tea which was added with lemongrass flavoring.

Ridwanti also intends to try the efficacy of gaharu tea for Covid-19 patients, considering that one of its benefits is to increase stamina and immunity.

"We've done a special test on rabbits, which resulted in the animal's high stamina. Gaharu extract is also a priority for antioxidant supplements and dietary supplements. For soup, dishes can also be mixed with agarwood leaves. Even if this agarwood is mixed in cooking rice, it can also function to slow down the staleness. Because industrialization hasn't developed yet, so few people know about it," explained Ridwanti.

He also explained that natural agarwood and cultivated agarwood were strongly influenced by soil quality. “Gaharu can grow in the lowlands to the highlands. Common on the banks of rivers and in the rubber forest. It's good to have a symbiosis with rubber plants," he said. (RJ)