Paper presented at the IFEAT Int. Conference in Cape Town

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extracts” in the South African harmonized tariff code system, however, does make the estimation ofthe total production an inaccurate exercise.)Estimated production of buchu oil2003 2006 2008(predicted)tonnes 3.5 5 7.5Currently, A. crenulata and hybrid / blended oils still account for ca. 35% of sales. However, thisproportion will progressively decrease along with selective new planting of A. betulina.With the decrease in popularity of A. crenulata oil, a surplus of cultivated A. crenulata plant materialis already experienced and it has caused the price of this oil to plummet in the past 3 years.Currently A. crenulata oil is viewed as a natural source for buchu’s unique cis/trans-8-mercapto-pmenthan-3-oneand cis/trans-8-acetylthio-p-menthan-3-one isomers. Production of a ‘buchu sulphurfraction’ in which the pulegone level is, relative to the levels of the flavour contributing sulphurcompounds, equally low as it is in A. betulina oil has been developed in South Africa and since 2004this speciality fraction of buchu oil has been commercially available.In order to limit poaching of wild buchu plant material from the wild, its cultivation, harvesting (fromthe wild especially), and processing is carefully monitored by the governmental Cape NatureConservation Group. In spite of measures to combat poaching and theft of buchu plant material, it wasa common occurrence, mainly as a result of unscrupulous distillers who purchased poached / stolenmaterial, thus effectively encouraging the depletion of the wild buchu stock. With the recent emphasison mass cultivation of buchu as opposed to harvesting from the wild the needs of the buchu market areincreasingly met by cultivated material, thereby decreasing the prevalence of poaching of wild plantmaterial and thereby preserving the surviving wild population.Feedstock sourcing: plantations versus wild harvesting (est.)2003 season sourcing 2006 season sourcingSpecies From the wild From plantations From the wild From plantationsA. betulina 30% 70% 15% 85%A. crenulata 10% 90% - 100%Hybrib - 100% - 100%Formal cultivation of buchu, however, brings another factor affecting buchu oil quality into play,namely agricultural residues. In areas where A. betulina buchu is found naturally (Piketberg/Citrusdal)agricultural residues are not a great concern. Buchu has few natural pests in these areas and performswell unaided by any pesticides / acaracides when cultivated from seedlings. However, when buchu ispropagated vegetatively, as has been recently developed, or is cultivated under hydroponic conditions,or even when it is cultivated in areas far outside of its natural range, it is far more sensitive to attacksfrom pests and diseases. As no pesticides / acaracides have been officially approved for use on buchuplant material, its spraying is technically illegal. However, there is no doubt that producers spray theirplants when under threat to protect their sizeable investment.Buchu oil distillers that are HACCP certified conduct, as part of their HACCP procedures, routineanalysis for pesticide / acaracide contamination in buchu oils. EU legislation outlawing the sourcing offlavour and fragrance ingredients from suppliers that are not HACCP accredited has thus far led to the107
HACCP certification of only two of the eight companies that are known to produce buchu oilregularly.The Future of the Industry – challenges and opportunitiesFrom a buchu oil production point of view, especially the observed and further expected growth inavailable plant material volumes – as well as the greatly improved degree of sophistication in oilproduction, analysis, processing – the future looks promising.There are, nevertheless, serious challenges facing the industry as a whole. The largest concern is theexplosive rate at which plant material / oil production is set to increase in the near future, juxtaposedagainst a sluggishly growing traditional oil market. To ensure ongoing stability and growth in thebuchu oil industry, marketing, pricing and raw materials must be managed with utmost care andresponsibility.As buchu oil has historically been treated as an expensive niche flavour and fragrance raw material, itsapplication in formulations has been very limited. With the increase in volumes of buchu plantmaterial, there is no doubt that demand / supply forces will cause the price for buchu oil to decreaseover the next few years. How quickly the flavour and fragrance market for buchu oil can respond interms of increased usage is unknown at this stage.The potential uses for buchu oil are legion, as again demonstrated by G. Mosciano’s panel evaluationof buchu oil in the most recent issue of Perfumer and Flavourist [11] . Should the supply of buchu oilsurpass the demand by quite a large margin, the oil price will be placed under such pressure that acrash in the buchu oil price may occur. In the long run such a situation will be in nobody’s bestinterest. Responding to sudden decreases in the plant material price, and fearing a crash in the plantmaterial price, buchu farmers have already threatened to hold back their plant material in order torealize higher prices. Although this is no solution to the problem for any of the affected parties, andcertainly adds to previous perceived instability in the buchu oil market, it will most probably be ashort-term effect re-alignment. As the raw material supply stabilizes it is up to the end-users of buchuoil, together with inputs from suppliers (who in turn require support from farmers) to find a healthysupply / demand price scenario for buchu oil on the long run. With the promise of still larger volumesof oil coming to the market in the near future, with a potential for huge further growth, and theplethora of applications buchu oil may be used for, the eventual outcome for buchu oil may be anextremely positive one indeed.Ever tightening restrictions viz. the pulegone contents in finished consumer products affects the use ofbuchu oils, all of which contain pulegone in varying (2 - 50%) amounts. The use of natural buchusulphur fractions, in which the ratio of the flavour-active sulphur compounds (cis/trans-8-mercapto-pmenthan-3-oneand cis/trans-8-acetylthio-p-menthan-3-one) to pulegone is greatly increased, is aneffective and proven measure to decrease the amount of pulegone in finished products that require orwill benefit from buchu oil’s unique flavour / fragrance contribution.Matthias Esterhuysen is Technical Director of Puris Natural Aroma Chemicals(Pty) Ltd, a company that specializes in the production of buchu oil and theisolation of its unique aroma constituents. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry atthe University of Stellenbosch in 2002 and then spent a year as a post-doctoralfellow at the Philipps University in Marburg, Germany. Matthias joined Puris in2003 and has focused on the commercial implementation of buchu oil chemistry.108
Page 1 and 2: Paper presented at the IFEAT Int. C
Page 3 and 4: much closer related to that of A. c
Page 5 and 6: • Other major components in buchu
Page 7 and 8: A. betulina x crenulata essential o
Page 9: It is interesting to note that to t

Paper presented at the IFEAT Int. Conference in Cape Town

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