Gambier (extract)

Gambier is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia where it was an important trade item into the late nineteenth century.

By the middle of the seventeenth century, it was established in Sumatra and in the western parts of Java and the Malay peninsula.

Chinese first got involved in gambier production at Riau, using coolie labor and growing black pepper as a supplemental crop.

The peak of Singapore's gambier trade was in the 1830s through 1850s, driven by demand from the British dyeing and leather tanning industries.

[9] Trace components include quercetin, wax, oil, cattechu red, and gambier-flourescien.