Jakarta, Aug. 3 -- Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has developed high-grade essential oil from indigenous frankincense resin-locally known as kemenyan-to produce premium perfumes.

Aswandi, a researcher at BRIN's Applied Botany Research Center, said the extracted oil produces an elegant, bold amber fragrance that bears no resemblance to its traditional association with ceremonial incense burning.

"Even if you visit a frankincense forest, you won't find that 'frightening' smell. It simply isn't there," Aswandi said during a recent agency podcast.

To create luxury fragrances, BRIN uses purified frankincense oil as a base note, blending it with other native Indonesian essential oils-including patchouli, ylang-yla...