Synopsis ~ to help the student of aromatic essences to understand the nature of particular plant exudates, resins and resinoids. Over 25 different resin, resinoids and gums are discussed.

  RESIN, IS IT EVEN SUSTAINABLE?

A Brief Overview

 By Jeanne Rose

Elemi resin (Canarium luzonicum)

 

What is Resin? Jean Langenheim, a true expert in the field, defines a resin as “primarily a lipid-soluble mixture of volatile and nonvolatile compounds that are secreted in specialized structures and of potential significance in ecological interactions.”. Her book, Plant Resins is simply all about resins, almost 600 pages in length and is absolutely a fantastic resource. Furthermore, she is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCSC (Santa Cruz), and is considered a pioneer for women in science.

“The hard-transparent resin, such as the copal, dammar, mastic, and sandarac, are principally used for varnishes and adhesives, while the softer odoriferous oleo-resins (frankincense, elemi, turpentine, copaiba), and gum resins containing essential oils (ammoniacum, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, and scammony) are more used for therapeutic purposes, food and incense.” — Wikipedia

 This short paper is to help the student of aromatic essences to understand the nature of these particular plant exudates. It also includes the various items that are usually discussed with the resin such as resinoids – compounds extracted from resins; gums – water-loving complex sugars; gum resins; oleoresins; oleo-gum-resins; balsams; and sometimes other items.

Oils courtesy of Eden Botanicals

> In Alphabetical order <

1. Gums can be natural or synthetic. Our discussion only allows for natural gums. Gums are polysaccharides that are water soluble and secreted by cavities in the plant. Strictly speaking, gums are always water-soluble.

      Example:  Gum Acacia, Gum Tragacanth.

Gum Arabic or Acacia gum (Acacia senegal) also called gum Arabic.  It is water soluble and when dissolved in boiling water, clarifies and makes a very good adhesive that is used, among other things, to make scented beads and pomanders.  The gum is edible, nutritive, and acts as a demulcent to soothe irritated mucous membranes.  It is also an ingredient in medicinal compounds for diarrhea, dysentery, coughs and catarrh.  The bark of the Acacia plant is very rich in tannin.  (Herbs & Things)

The word “gum” is truly an herbal term, as gums are used in herbalism to make sticky solutions in cosmetics, or to adhere dry ingredients together.

Resins are sometimes called gums.  However, gums form solutions or “sols” with water, resins do not.  Resins are insoluble in water.

The gums also include Chicle which is sometimes called a gum although it is a latex sap that comes from the Sapodilla tree.

 

2. Gum resin. Extruded naturally from plants or trees.  Consist of both a gum and a resin, sometimes with a small amount of EO.  Usually a solid – like a ‘tear’ and then liquefied with alcohol. —Langenheim describes gum resin as a “resin in which carbohydrates from the breakdown of the epithelial cell walls have mixed with the terpenoids … or following damage to the secretory structure such as pine gum resin; or some plants produce both gum and resin such as Commiphora”¹. 

     Example:  Benzoin

 

3. Oleo-gum-resin is a term to describe oleo (oily or fatty in nature or look) gum (partly soluble in water) resin (partly or wholly soluble in alcohol). Therefore, an oleo-gum-resin has a nature that is partly soluble in water and alcohol and partly soluble in oil and looks oily.  Consists mainly of oil, gum and resin. It is liquid as it exudes and solidifies on contact with air and can be liquefied with alcohol.

Example:  Myrrh, Frankincense, and Opopanax.

 

4. Oleo-resin. Prepared or natural material.  Exude from trees – trunks or barks.  Sometimes they are prepared and form as an evaporation residue.  “They are relatively fluid terpenoid resin with relatively high proportion of volatile to nonvolatile terpenes compared to other resins.¹” Oleoresin often contains “fixed” oils.  They can be described with color: clear, viscous, and light-colored. Solid from the tree and can be liquefied with alcohol.

Example:  Copaiba balsam SD to get Copaiba oil

 

5. Resins.   Resins are Natural or Prepared.  Resins exude from trees or plants. All Pines produce resin. And you can even say that all conifers produce resin. Resins are formed by nature and some resins are prepared in the laboratory as oleoresins.  Resins are solid to semi-solid, amorphous.  If they contain no water, they are translucent.  They are usually solid, odorless, not soluble in water.  They can be described generally as products that are used as incense, such as Copal from Mexico and Benzoin.  These only yield a fragrance upon burning, although they can often be dissolved in alcohol and then can be used in perfumery or as a tincture for healing.

Langenheim defines “plant resins as primarily a lipid-soluble mixture of volatile and nonvolatile terpenoids and/or phenolic secondary compounds that are 1) secreted from specialized structures and 2) of potential significance in ecological interactions.”^1.

Example: Copal, Sandarac.

 

6. Resinoid.  Obtained from resins.  Resins are solvent extracted, yielding an alcohol-soluble substance, that is less dense, stickier and liquid-like, called a resinoid.  These are viscous liquids and semi-solid.  In a perfectly prepared resinoid, the odiferous material or essential oil is left intact.  Olibanum resinoid is typical.  The Olibanum or natural oleo-gum-resin has been made soluble for perfume use by the removal of the water-soluble gum. Resinoids are “compounds extracted from a resin, usually volatile compounds used for fragrance.¹”—Langenheim

      Example:  Resinoid of Frankincense.

Rosin – Prepared from resins. It is the solid amber-colored residue obtained after the distillation of crude turpentine (gum rosin), or of naphtha extract from Pine stumps (wood rosin) used in adhesives, varnishes, inks, etc. and for treating the bows of stringed instruments. “Rosin is the nonvolatile diterpene fraction in pine resin.¹”

            Example: a solid form of resin after the distillation of crude turpentine oleoresin, or naphtha extract from Pinus spp. stumps.

alchemical symbol for rosin

 

7. Balsams. Balsams are less fluid than oleoresins, they are soft, they are fragrant. They are “relatively soft and initially malleable resin, generally fragrant; sometimes restricted to phenolic resins of this kind.¹”

Example: Peru Balsam or Canada balsam.

 

CONCLUSION.

Often the terms gum, resin, resinoid, essential oil is used to describe the steps in the processing of natural exudates from plants, such as from Myrrh and Frankincense.  There is confusion in the terminology and it is sometimes difficult to really know one from another. In some commercial productions a plasticizer is added in extremely small amounts (1/10th of 1%) to the essential oil to keep it in a liquid form, and because of this the resins like Frankincense, Myrrh, Labdanum, and Galbanum, thus do not yield true essential oils according to aromatherapy terms.⁴  .  If you leave one of these essential oil of Frankincense or Myrrh out in the air,  it will soon solidify as the alcohol and/or plasticizer will soon evaporate or the oleo-gum-resin will revert to its solid form. There are small artisan distillers that are using hydro-distillation to obtain very high quality essential oils ~ I hope that you will support them.

 

I will proceed further and discuss in detail some of these items in my collections.

            spirit of wine

 

Burning the 1975 Benzoin on charcoal as incense

 

 

Resins, Resinoids, Gums

A COLLECTION OF THE ANCIENT RESINS/RESINOIDS/GUMS (2018)

A variety of aromatic substances are mentioned throughout the Bible and ancient texts.  These substances are mostly resins from aromatic plants that have been used throughout history in a variety of ways to increase spiritual awareness, center the psyche, and to aid meditation practice.  The essential oils of these plants can be used for benefits to mind, body, and spirit…Looking at and comparing samples from my collection dating from 1970 to present shows that many of these plant exudates are less in quality than they once were. This may be because of over-harvesting, improper harvesting, or is the result of excessive use from the public. ~ Examine!

 

ACACIA: Gum Acacia or Gum Arabic.  Acacia spp. “This gum is slowly soluble in water and provides a gelatinous acid base for non-oily cosmetics. It makes a demulcent and emollient base, very soothing to all skin surfaces.”³   “In its natural state gum Arabic comes in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. The color of the gum may vary from colorless through different shades of yellow, amber, orange, red and dark brown. The best grades from A. senegal are in the form of whole, round ‘tears’, orange-brown in color and with a matt surface texture. Gum from A. seyal is more friable than that produced by A. senegal and is rarely found as whole lumps. Use of gum Arabic falls into three main sectors: the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry and industries such as printing, ceramics and textiles (Chikamai and Odera, 2002). Locally, it is eaten as food and has some medicinal uses²”.

 

 

 

AMBER: Amber Oil Fossilized, probably Pinus succinifera, L, Family – Pinaceae. The origin of amber is somewhat uncertain; it is believed to be a fossil resin, produced by the hardening of the resinous exudates of largely extinct trees of the Coniferae family.  The excellent author, Jean Langenheim in her fantastic book, Plant Resins, has much to say on this resin as it has been known and through a lengthy geologic time. Sources of Amber include the Dominican Republic in the Newe Worlde and the “Baltic area of the Olde Worlde. It exists all over the world in many countries, although the Baltic amber constitutes the largest and most widespread deposition of amber in the world¹.”^.

            “It is not strictly true that there are no pure amber oils. There is an amber oil that is destructively distilled from Baltic amber (fossilized tree resin) – although it is rare and hard to get – and very hard to find a real one that was distilled properly. It is not an essential oil (in my book) and so I will still maintain that there is no true amber essential oil. How can you distill an essential oil from a 50,000-year-old piece of fossilized pine resin? Destructive distillation may yield oil but not an essential oil as we are used to using the term.” — Will Lapaz in 2010.

Prayer or paternoster beads made from Amber have a long history.

 https://jeanne-blog.com/?s=Amber

 

Arabic or gum arabic. See Gum Acacia.

 

ASAFOETIDA. I have to say that even though I have had this resin in my arsenal since 1970, I have never used it for anything.  Everything I know about it is from smelling and tasting from my original samples and researching. It is commonly called ‘devil’s-dung’ because of the extremely pungent odor. The scent repels dogs and cats but is used as bait for catfish and pike.

Asafoetida is the dried latex or gum oleoresin from the root of a perennial species, Ferula spp., often Ferula asafoetida of the Family Apiaceae (like Galbanum) . It comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots and is used as a spice. This is one of the rare resins extracted from roots. The resin is greyish-white when fresh but dries to a dark amber color. It is native to Afghanistan and Iran but is mostly grown and obtained from India. It is used in cooking for a flavor somewhat like Leeks  and therapeutically as a digestive aid to reduce gas, as a condiment and in pickling foods.

Its use has been traced to 700 B.C. It is sold as a resin where pieces are scraped off  or a 30% compound with gum arabic (see the picture) to dilute the strong odor as the smell is pungent and strong and will contaminate other items that are nearby. In experimental models, asafoetida causes hypotension and thinning of blood through vasodilatation and increased fibrinolytic activity. As a result, asafoetida enhances the anticoagulation effect of warfarin. See https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/asafoetida

 

BALSAM OF PERU & BALSAM OF TOLU. Myroxylon balsamum. These large trees can be found from Guatemala to Nicaragua, but the conditions needed for producing Peru Balsam exist only in a small region of El Salvador, in the highlands an hour’s drive west of the capital San Salvador. Peru balsam is harvested in successive phases. The bark is burned, and these specific spots are covered with pieces of cloth that absorb the exudate. The cloth is then pressed, and the balsam is purified by boiling.

      Balsam Peru 1972 –EO Myroxylon balsamum or M. balsamum var. pereirae is the same as Balsam of Tolu but a different physiological forma (and from a different area). Native to Central (El Salvador) and South America. See the Botany section from your textbook, 375 Essential Oils & Hydrosols. This is a balsamic oleoresin, containing both resin and essential oil. It has a warm, woody, vanilla-type odor and has many therapeutic uses for skin care as well as a wonderful addition as a fixative in perfumery.

I love my Balsam of Peru
It goes well in scrub with bamboo
It is sticky and sweet
And can’t be used neat
But with heat it is no longer like glue—jeannerose2012

 

       Balsam Tolu EO – EO Myroxylon balsamum or M. balsamum var. toluiferum is the same as Balsam of Peru but different physiological forma (and from a different area). It is native to South America (Columbia) and only slightly different than Balsam of Peru in that the branches begin at 45 feet above ground. The scent is the same, balsamic, vanilla-type, warm, and smoky. The balsam is steam-distilled, with a high ester count, used as anticatarrhal, expectorant, indicated for chronic respiratory conditions and used commercially as an expectorant in cough formulas or in soap. See page 110 of Herbs & Things or page 69 The Aromatherapy Book.

 

            Note: In botanical nomenclature, a form (forma, plural formae) is one of the “secondary” taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, and describes the physiologic look of a species that is different from the same species elsewhere. Some plants, although identical taxonomically may have slightly different forms or ‘looks’. If nature is responsible for the different look it is a ‘forma’, if man breeds the difference or for that look it is a ‘cv or variety’.

 

BENZOIN & STYRAX.

         Benzoin. (See also Styrax) BENZOIN is an Asian gum resin, Styrax benzoin. In its natural state it is a ‘tear’ that is solid, has no scent, can be handled and rubbed and fondled like a small irregular rock.  It is a called a resin and is extruded naturally from The Styrax Benzoin tree, Styrax tonkinensis, and other species of Styrax.  In its raw state it consists of both a gum and a resin, sometimes with a small amount of EO. It is not water-soluble, as you would think a gum is. It can be burned on charcoal and will smoke like any incense. It is a preservative in skin care products or an addition to essential oil blends. Diluted with blends or alcohol. The scent is sweet, balsamic, woody, fruity and floral – it acts as either a base note or a fixative in perfumery. Resin from Styrax is also called gum Benjamin and the most common Asian species is the Benzoin.

This is the very confusing worlds of words as the words. Benzoin, Storax, Styrax are used interchangeably but are actually  different resins (Styrax benzoin and other species) is  Benzoin, while (Liquidamber of several species) is Storax,or Styrax and are used interchangeably but are actually two different resins from several different trees.  Styrax is the genus for Benzoin while Liquidamber is the genus for Storax/Styrax . This is where thousands of years of using common names will totally confuse the resin user and likely make you want to tear your hair out by the roots.

         Storax is a sweet-smelling exudate and in fact that is what the root word from the Arabic means. But Storax comes from several species of Liquidambar spp.; Turkish Storax is Liquidamber orientalis while American Storax from the southeastern USA, Mexico and Guatemala, although similar to L. orientalis is called Liquidambar styraciflua. (See also Styrax)

 

Resin oils compliments of Eden Botanicals

 

Chicle: is a latex sap that comes from the Sapodilla tree. Chicle or Naseberry (Manilkara zapota), a native tree of Central America and the West Indies. The fruit is also known as the Sapodilla. The fleshy pulp is used to make sapodilla custard and ice cream. Chicle gum is extracted from the sap of the trunk and is used in some natural chewing gums to this day. It was once a major component of chewing gums, often mixed with latex from the jelutong tree (Dyera costulata), a Malaysian rain forest tree in the Apocynaceae. Large Chicle trees were originally tapped by tree-climbing workers called chicleros. Although the rubbery latex is a polyterpene, it does not vulcanize into durable rubber. [Vulcanization is the addition of sulfur to rubber to form cross-linking of the isoprene subunits with disulfide bonds, thus improving the elasticity of the latex and making it impervious to weather.] Chicle can be mixed with incense to make it burn and smolder longer.

 

CISTUS AND LABDANUM: See Labdanum

 

COLOPHONY – PINE RESIN: Wild-harvested Colophony, Colophonium spp., from Portugal, an oleo-resin from a type of Pine, has multiple uses. In some sources it is considered a type of Copal and this is also a common name for Rosin. (see Rosin). Prepared from resins. It is the solid amber-colored residue obtained after the distillation of crude turpentine (gum rosin), or of naphtha extract from Pine stumps (wood rosin) used in adhesives, varnishes, inks, etc. and for treating the bows of stringed instruments. “Rosin is the nonvolatile diterpene fraction in pine resin.¹

 

 

Copaiba Balsam: Copaifera spp. From the family Fabaceae. A canopy tree of the rainforests, usually found in well-drained sandy loams. It is quite aromatic and very pungent and used in medicine and cosmetics. It is very interesting in that Copaiba balsam resin is tapped from standing trees and used as a source of biodiesel. It is anti-inflammatory and used in skin products.

Copaiba balsam – 2008

 

Copal: Agathis spp. The civilizations of Central America, the Incas, the Aztecs and the Mayas, with only remnants of the Maya, survive today in Guatemala, existed for three millennia from 1500 BC.  These peoples burned large quantities of incense, made from Copal Resin and Copal Wood, as offerings, and used tobacco leaves for their aromatic properties. The practice of burning incense remains today a part of the way of life for the remaining Maya, who have used this device for millenia in support of their prayers for rain and for their safety.

Copal from 2006

 

Dragon’s Blood: Dracaena draco, a phenolic resin that is very dark ruby red from two different plants of different origin. One species, D. cinnabari, is alluded to by Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder and other ancient writers. The resin was considered magical and medicinal. Some species a source of varnish and used to stain marble. There is a full-grown Dragon’s Blood tree in the garden at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA and one in the San Francisco Botanical Gardens as well. In my collection of Dragon’s Blood from 1972, I have a tube of Dragon’s Blood resin wrapped in a palm leaf as this is the way it was originally packaged.

Elemi: Canarium luzonicum, CO₂ wild resin and steam-distilled  (from Prima Fleur). Elemi is extracted using steam distillation or super critical carbon dioxide extraction from the resin of a tropical tree native to the Philippines.  It is a  member of the Burseraceae plant family, and is closely related, and thus produces a resin that resembles Frankincense and Myrrh. In Arabic, a translation of Elemi is similar to the saying “as above, so below. Marguerite Maury believed that Elemi with Galbanum would rejuvenate the complexion and eventually the body. It is used in products and perfumery. Try it in your skin-nurturing ritual; protect and nourish the skin with a 2% combination of these two ingredients in your night cream and daytime protection cream.

Biolandes Elemi resin on the cut tree

For more information see the Elemi blog post ~

https://jeanne-blog.com/elemi-resin-herb-eo/

 

 

End PART I OF resins … more to come

Start PART ii OF resins …

 

Beautiful Frankincense 1972 – present
I have a collection of Frankincense resin tears from 1972 to the present, resinoid and essential oil from 1975
and Frankincense CO² from 2008 to the present.

 

FRANKINCENSE: (Boswellia sacra and syn. Boswellia carteri are two forms of the same species) The two wild trees of Frankincense as well as Myrrh, which to this day are still left in their wild state, organically grown, not cultivated, or farm-grown, are harvested by tribes such as the Bedouins in Somali.

The trees are excised.  The globs of gum exude from the excision.  The globs (or tears) are collected, brought to market, graded according to size and color.  In the case of Frankincense, the smaller, lighter-colored tears are used in ritual and as church incense.  The tears are graded in the marketplace, purchased by large companies and sent to their home countries for processing.

“The tears are processed by heat and extraction to produce the purified resin.  The resin is then further processed via the application of alcohol in a vacuum extraction chamber to produce the liquid resinoid.  The resinoid is then further processed by distillation to produce the essential oil.  As each of these steps progress, less and less substance is  reduced, and the price goes higher and higher.

In some larger commercial companies a plasticizer is added in extremely small amounts (1/10th of 1%) to the essential oil to keep it in liquid form.^4.”  Leave an essential oil of Frankincense or Myrrh out in the air, and it will soon solidify as the alcohol and plasticizer evaporate.  Therefore in this case, Frankincense and Myrrh, Labdanum, Galbanum, do not yield true essential oils according to aromatherapy terms.

Artisan distillers are producing the essential oils of these resins by slow careful hydro-distillation. And I hope people are supporting these efforts.

Courtesy of EdenBotanicals.com 

Frankincense is a much-favored incense for churches and other places of spiritual ritual.  The essential oil calms and awakens higher consciousness.  It is also helpful in coping with grief, to soothe the mind and emotions.  It is useful as an inhalant for respiratory conditions, in body care products for aging skin and to warm the skin.

                  Please see the blog post for more information.

https://jeanne-blog.com/frankincense-fabulous-ancient-remedy/

 

 

GALBANUM:  This deep green aroma represents the element of air.  It is grounding, uplifting and balancing.  It rejuvenates aging skin and is used as a fixative in perfumery and aromatherapy. (Ferula galbaniflua) gum extract. This is a natural fatty gummy resin and the essential oil is steam-distilled from the resin. It has a strong green odor and is used as a fixative in perfume and incense. See p. 95 The Aromatherapy Book for more background. The essential oil especially when used with Elemi is used in skin products for revitalizing aging skin and in body care products to warm. It has soothing properties, especially on aching hands, feet or joints. The gum has anti-inflammatory qualities that make it a wonderful aid for poor circulation and it can be used in hot compresses for most pain relief. Galbanum seems to work well on aging skin, wrinkles, acne and scar tissue; it is antiseptic and antimicrobial, wounds are more quickly healed.

Galbanum through the years 1975-2010

The scent of Galbanum seems to have diminished over the years and now (2018) seems less intense than it once was. Why this should be may be the result of incorrect harvesting or over-harvesting or overuse.

I have shown my collection of Galbanum oil from 1975 to the present, the color is slowly changing and not necessarily from age.

 

GAMBOGE: Garcinia spp. A gum resin collected from the bark of trees from tropical Asia and southern Africa and used as pigmented varnish. It is classified as a type of Dammar. Gamboge was at one time used an antibacterial medicine. The species G. hanburyi is the best known and also called gutta Cambodia. Spiral incisions are made in the tree bark, the resin flows, is collected and pressed into cakes. I have had my box of Gamboge since 1980, maybe earlier.

 

LABDANUM AND CISTUS: Cistus ladanifer is the essential oil distilled from the leaves and twigs of the same plant that produces Labdanum from its resin.

See also Cistus above.

Cistus essential oil distilled from the leaves and twigs is considered a wound healer and as with most essential oils it has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Inhale the oil for a possible boost to the immune system and to reduce colds and infections resulting from the flu.
Labdanum is the sticky brown resin obtained from the shrubs Cistus ladanifer (western Mediterranean) and Cistus creticus (eastern Mediterranean), species of rockrose. It has a long history of use in herbal medicine and as a perfume ingredient.

The Ladanesterion is the tool made of leather leads used to comb out the Labdanum from the Cistus plant.  It was described Pedanios Dioscorides in the 1^st century AC. It was also described by the French botanist, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, in his travel in Crete in 1700. The tool today has been replaced with plastic.

Modern uses of Labdanum. Labdanum is produced today mainly for the perfume industry. The raw resin is usually extracted by boiling the leaves and twigs. An absolute is also obtained by solvent extraction. An essential oil is produced by steam distillation. The raw gum is a dark brown, fragrant glob containing up to 20% or more of water. It is moveable but not pourable and becomes brittle with age. The absolute is dark amber-green and very thick at room temperature. The fragrance is more refined and delicate than the raw resin. The odor is very rich, fine leather, complex and tenacious. Labdanum is much valued in perfumery because of its resemblance to ambergris. Labdanum is a favorite of mine and when I teach Perfumery classes I encourage the students to use my absolute that dates back to 1975. We make an old perfume called Chypre. See formulas at the end and read my Natural Perfumery booklet.

To use the thick gum or the absolute in perfumery, it is most useful to dilute it 50•50 by volume with 95% neutral spirits (I prefer 95% neutral grape spirits). It will slowly dissolve in the alcohol, especially if kept warm or over a warm water bath. Always watch what you are doing and do not leave or abandon any warming resin in alcohol — that will surely be the time that something negative will happen.

Labdanum clear from Eden Botanicals

 

MASTIC: Mastic Pistacia lentiscus L. This resin is produced primarily from the male tree (an evergreen dioecious shrub) growing in the southeastern part of the Greek Island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, or more correctly mastic is an oleoresin containing little oil. This small bushy tree occurs throughout much of the Mediterranean region and is also found in North Africa. It has a strong resinous odor, grows about meters high and is only fully grown in 40-50 years. In 2016, 40% of the Mastic trees were destroyed by fire. Because of the fires, please limit your use of Mastic for at least the next 25 years until the trees can be regrown.

The Mastic tree produces the natural oleoresin from the trunk, which is obtained by wounding the trunk and larger branches with a gouge like instrument which makes an incision about 2 cm. long and 3 mm. deep.  Mastic occurs in yellow or greenish-yellow rounded or pear-shaped tears about 3 mm. in diameter. The tears are brittle but become plastic when chewed.  An essential oil is produced by steam distillation from the oleoresin or occasionally directly from the leaves and branches. It was once used primarily as a masticatory and is  mixed with sugar and eaten as a dessert or sweetmeat/spoon-sweet with bitter coffee.

Mastic has been in use, grown, harvested and used for over 2500 years. It was chewed as a remedy for digestion, may prevent tooth decay and when it was consumed often would decrease total cholesterol. Mastic is the original Olde Worlde chewing gum while Spruce gum or Chicle is used in like manner in the Newe Worlde.

Mastic is tasteless in a tasty way and a small tear can be chewed for hours without seeming to melt away. Since it does not have a strong taste, it doesn’t get tiring to chew like American chewing gum. I put a small tear in my mouth when writing this part of the article, slowly let it soften and then chewed it a bit  and still had it in my mouth three hours later. It was pleasant to chew. I also love Chicle but think I like Mastic more.

My collection of Mastic dating to 1973

Mastic Tree

http://www.codif-tn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/LAKESIS-FICHE-BOTANIQUE-GB.pdf

 

MYRRH:  Commiphora myrrha (molmol). obtained from “tears” of resin exuding from incisions made in the bark of this small tree of the Burseraceae family that is native to Yemen, Somalia and eastern parts of Ethiopia.  It is extracted by distillation or supercritical fluid extraction with natural carbon dioxide. By inhalation it can calm fears about the future and cools the air and emotions, while being antiseptic to the lungs and good for problems of the throat. Read the blog-post already posted about Myrrh for a lengthy discussion of uses.

For a profile of Myrrh please see https://jeanne-blog.com/myrrh-eo-co2/

 

OAKMOSS: Evernia prunastri (Usneaceae). Oakmoss is solvent extracted, light Brown in color, opaque, with a medium viscous nature, and often used in Perfumery as a Base Note with an aromatic strength of medium (6-7 on a 10- point scale. It is a rich, earthy, woody scent, and adds to the smell of the forest with its dry fungoid earthy-woody odor. In spite of its name, Oakmoss is not a moss but lichen, rather resinous, growing on the bark of deciduous and coniferous trees. It was used in perfumery as early as the 16th century. Baskets filled with it have been found in the ancient royal tombs of Egypt, but whether it was intended for perfume is not known. A mixture of phenolic acids extracted from Oakmoss has been used in drugs for treating external wounds and infections. In modern time Oakmoss has been collected in France, Morocco and Yugoslavia and extracted for perfumery purposes (‘Mousse de Chêne’), but today some of the most important active-active ingredients are made synthetically.

 

OPOPANAX: A resin, Commiphora erythraea var. glabrescens (C. opobalsamum) family (Burseraceae) Bisabol Myrrh, Balm of Mecca. This is another of the famous resins of the Orient; see also Myrrh and Olibanum (frankincense). Etymology: The term “Opopanax”, meaning “all healing juice”, (is a source of confusion, since this word is also used for the gum latex from several Umbellifer, e.g. from Opopanax chironium (Pastinaca opopanax) (Umbelliferae), indigenous to the Mediterranean area.) All members of this family are resinous. The genus Commiphora are thorny bushes and small trees. They are important elements of the African dry-land vegetation.

Opopanax grows in Somalia (Africa’s Horn). It is a viscous exudate obtained by breaking the twigs. It solidifies to brown lumps of a warm-balsamic and sweet, honey-like fragrance. A resinoid is prepared by solvent extraction, and steam distillation of the resin gives an essential oil. They are both used in perfumes of the Oriental type. The main constituents of Opopanax oil are sesquiterpene hydrocarbons like alpha-santalene, alpha-bergamotene, and (Z)-alpha-bisabolene. According to Arctander, the olfactory difference between Myrrh oil and Opopanax oil is the vegetable-soup-like, slightly animalic-sweet odor of Opopanax oil compared with the medicinal-sharp freshness of myrrh oil.

In Kenya, “Hagar is oily resin exudate from the stems of Commiphora holtziana. It oozes out and hardens to form lumps of various sizes and shapes with variable color from yellow to dark brown or black. Locally, Hagar is used as acaricide against ticks, snakebites, scorpions, foot rot, mange, and

other livestock ailments. Commercially, it is a well-established herbal medicine, and used in essential oils and cosmetics.²”

OUD, ALOE WOOD Agarwood, Gharu wood:  Aquilaria spp., also Aquilaria agollocha, family Thymelaeaceae is a rare, costly oil. These trees are not so rare, but the oil can only be made from wood that has been infected by a fungus which produces an oleoresin in defense that then saturates the wood. This saturated wood is then processed for the Oud. Some Oud is produced on plantations and cultivated in tea rich Assam in India, but this is considered to be of inferior quality to the wild-produced Oud.  Oud is incense, oud is used in medicine to soothe the nervous system, for aching muscles and joints, to treat the birthing mother to ‘open’ the flow of energy in the body.

This is a rare substance and should be used only rarely and only in moderation.

 

PINE PINYON RESIN 2002. Pinus spp. A native (to the USA) tree that produces a fine resin that is sacred and has been used in ceremony and traditionally as incense to heal the spirit. It golden in color with a fine coniferous scent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROSIN: See Colophony

 

 

SAL TREE RESIN (Shorea robusta) from Myanmar, India and is a type of Dammar (like Gamboge) that is soluble in turpentine but occurs as pale creamy colored aromatic stalactites, sometimes dug from beneath trees. The wood of the tree is used as  hardwood timber that is resinous and durable. The lumber and the tree resin known as sal dammar is used as an astringent in Ayurvedic medicine, or burned as incense in Hindu ceremonies, and used as well to caulk boats and ships.

 

SANDARAC: Sandarac is the resin exudate from the tree Callitris quadrivalvis Vent.  It is a conifer native to northern Africa, Morocco. Gum Sandarac resin from Tetraclinis articulata has a warm, light, fruity, balsamic, frankincense-like fragrance. It is used as pounce, and originally used to prevent ink from spreading on unsized paper or powdered and rubbed on paper to treat the paper to hold ink or sprinkled over wet ink to dry the ink after writing. This is something that I have done for over 30 years after learning about Sandarac from Ward Dunham, Special Forces warrior, calligrapher and Enrico bartender.

alchemical symbol for Sandarac

and Sandarac gum     

The health properties are cleansing, strengthening and clarifying.  Sandarac is probably not toxic, because resins in tear form are not, however precautions should be taken, and it should be kept from children’s reach.  For an extensive study of Sandarac, please read my study about ‘pounce’.

http://www.aromaticplantproject.com/articles_archive/Sandarac_Pounce.html .

 

STYRAX & STORAX: (See also Benzoin)  Storax Liquidambar orientalis from Asia & Styrax is Liquidambar styraciflua Central America and Benzoin is a balsamic resin from Styrax tonkinensis from Siam and Sumatra. This is an example of 3 ancient trees producing a resin but from different terroir and having similar genus names but specific species names. The name’s the same but the plants are not. Always know your plants by their correct Latin binomial and even terroir.

“Styrax – which I prefer to call Liquidambar to keep it from being confused with Benzoin (even though it is still mostly known as Styrax in the industry) – is not very common and actually hard to find. Styrax we have is from L. styraciflua from Honduras and not the Levant Styrax (L. orientalis). This is one possible difference, it is worth noting that the two species do have significantly different chemical compositions. … It is a very viscous gum resin with an aroma that nearly matches airplane glue.” —Will Lapaz.

I take my resin and dissolve it in neutral grape spirits before I use it in perfumery. It is a powerful fixative odor when used in perfumery.

Styrax was introduced as a mounting medium in 1883. Originally Styrax was used in the laboratory to mount microscopic animals on slides. They were fixed with alcohol or acetic acid and mounted in Styrax. Styrax has been used to mount all  microscopic creatures onto glass slides and fix them so that they do not deteriorate. “Mount in Styrax. Unlike Euparal, this has a refractive index which is markedly different from that of siliceous diatom frustules and makes them stand out very clearly. At stage (4) single specimens can be selected and mounted individually if required.” — Techniques for the rapid preparation of permanent slides of microscopic algae by P.E. Brandham

Styrax resin diluted 50•50 … Styrax (Liquidamber styraciflua or orientalis) is an aromatic balsam formed and exuded by the Storax tree when the sapwood is injured. The American Storax is preferred over the Asian or Levant type. See p. 108 of Herbs & Things.

Some of Jeanne Rose personal 50-year collection of Storax/Styrax

 

STYRAX ~ A TOMATO TALE

In the late ‘50s when I was at University, I used to mount my own collections on slides – it was a special project and so this scent will always remind me of my days in a science lab.  “The small creatures are fixed in 1:3 acetic alcohol, the coverslip immersed rapidly. Care should be taken not to overcrowd the cells and then they are mounted in Styrax. Owing to its content of high boiling constituents, Styrax acts as a most efficient odor fixative.” The oil is used in all kinds of perfume compounds, particularly those of oriental character.

This is one of my most favorite evocative odors, when I smell the strong spicy, herbaceous and oily, aldehydic odor I am wafted directly back to the science lab at San Jose State University in 1957. It is a relaxing luscious scent when used in modest amounts in a perfume, especially those of the Chypre sort.  Here is one of my favorite early potpourri scents and bases.

Styrax ~ courtesy of Eden Botanicals

Early Chypre Potpourri/Sachet ~ An Herbal Preparation

8 oz Orange flowers – WH	2 oz Benzoin – PO	1 oz Storax – PO
4 oz Oakmoss = CS	2 oz Bitter Almonds – CS	1 oz Clove – PO
2 oz Rose buds = WH	2 oz Cardamom  – CS	1 oz Sandalwood – CS

Add 1 drop of each odor to each of the like named Plant.  Let each age for 1-2 weeks.  Mix the flowers together.  Cut or mash the Almonds and mix with the flowers.  Add the Oakmoss.  Mix the powdered Benzoin, Storax, Cardamom and Clove together and add to the Sandalwood.  Now mix it all together and let it all age for 2 weeks.  Put the Sachet into beautiful bags and give away as gifts.

Potpourri ingredients are generally left in whole form so that the form of the plants is still identifiable (with fixative ingredients in powder form) while Sachet ingredients are all comminuted and/or powdered form.

 

Cistus ladanifer and Ferula spp.

Labdanum (Storax/Styrax) & Galbanum Base

1. Dilute each of your Galbanum and Labdanum 50•50 with neutral grape spirits.
2. Let the above age and meld for a week.
3. Take 12 drops of Galbanum (50•50) and 12 drops of (50•50) Labdanum and mix together. Age it for 1-week. Smell and experience. Give it the name that it evokes.
4. After it ages, you can add equal amount of grape spirits to make a 25% pure scent base.

 

FIXATIVES ~ See also Gourmet Perfumery

https://jeanne-blog.com/gourmet-perfumery/

Fixative is an old term for any natural substance that will hold and ‘fix’ the scent in a perfume and that helps a fragrance last longer on the skin.  Alcohol-based scents are the most fleeting, so you want to add something to help “anchor” the scent.  This is usually done by lowering the evaporation rate of the alcohol. Benzoin and Frankincense, other resins and Tolu and Peru balsam are some of the more common additions to a blend that will help to ‘fix’ it. . Orris root is also an excellent fixative, but it is a sensitizer (as is Benzoin), so perhaps reserving these for your potpourri mixtures might be a good idea. Fixatives are generally in the base notes and kept at about 3-5%. Fixative can be a powerful part of the scent. Some think that any fragrance fixatives might impart is kept to a minimum.  The resins can be mixed with alcohol and added, or they can be part of the original blend. If the resins are mixed in the alcohol, they should be allowed to steep for about a month then any debris filtered out. Certain base notes also have fixative properties due to their slow evaporation rate: Labdanum, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Patchouli, etc.  Since these also tend to be strong scents, they are kept to a minimum in a perfume formula, usually around 10-20% of the total base note scent.

However, some of these odors with powerful fixative qualities can be integrated into the scent as a base and form a powerful base; the formula of which can be used over and over again in other perfumes to make a fragrant accord.

Alcohol Perfumes.  Perfumes using fine alcohol as a diluent will keep longer, hold a better odor and will not go rancid as do the carrier oil-based perfumes.

The resins can be mixed with alcohol and added to the perfume, or they can be part of the original blend or perfume. If the resins are mixed in the alcohol, they should be allowed to steep for about a month, as they dissolve slowly, then filtered carefully to remove any particles. Certain base notes also have fixative properties due to their slow evaporation rate: Labdanum, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Spikenard, Patchouli, etc.  Since these also tend to be strong scents, they are kept to a minimum in a perfume formula, usually around 10-20% of the total scent.

Thank you to Eden Botanicals for the many samples of resins to look at, and work with

 

USE THESE RESINS/OILS FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING. <
Use them for physical health ~
Use them moderately and occasionally to balance and heal emotional trauma ~
Use them less frequently to ground yourself and to find awareness of your spiritual center ~
Use the whole plant resin first as an incense ~
and the essential oil/resinoid as a second choice ~
~ be a Conscious Consumer, ecologically thoughtful ~

 Alchemical Symbol for Healing

 

Sustainability: These items may not be sustainable in the amounts that are being used. My suggestion is to use only the actual resin as it was once meant to be, as incense, in small moderate amounts as needed and not use the essential oil at all.  

Endangered or not: Some of these plants are considered to be threatened and/or endangered due to heavy usage, people moving into the areas where they live and by over-tapping. Dutch and Ethiopian researchers studying populations of the Frankincense trees in northern Ethiopia found that as many as 7% of the trees are dying each year and that it could be gone within 50 years.

Use the essential oils in moderation. Use the herb tea or resin when it is more appropriate.

 

Do not Ingest essential oils: Although some oils are important flavoring oils in the flavor industry and thus ingested in very small amounts in many foods, especially meats and sausages, it is not a good idea to use them yourself either in capsules or honey to take internally.

Safety Precautions: Do not apply the essential oil neat, especially to the underarms or delicate parts of the body. Most resinous oils are probably not to be used on babies, children or pregnant women. Many aromatherapists suggest that there are some oils not be used at all. However, as with many plants, essential oil chemistry is subject to change depending on species and terroir.

Irritants: Some of the gums and resins can be quite irritating or sensitizing. Use the Patch Test before applying.

Patch Test:  If applying a new essential oil to your skin always perform a patch test to the inner arm (after you have diluted the EO in a vegetable carrier oil). —Wash an area of your forearm about the size of a quarter and dry carefully. Apply a diluted drop (1 drop EO + 1 drop carrier) to the area. Then apply a loose Band-Aid and wait 24 hours. If there is no reaction, then go ahead and use the oil in your formulas. —The Aromatherapy Book, Applications & Inhalations, p. 64

DISCLAIMER:  This work is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for accurate diagnosis and treatment by a qualified health care professional. Dosages are often not given, as that is a matter between you and your health care provider. The author is neither a chemist nor a medical doctor.  The content herein is the product of research and personal and practical experience. Institute of Aromatic & Herbal Studies – Jeanne Rose©

 

Bibliography
^1.Langenheim, Jean H. PLANT RESINS, Chemistry, Evolution, Ecology, Ethnobotany. Timber Press. 2003
^2.Francis N. Gachathi, and Siri Eriksen. Gums and resins: The potential for supporting sustainable adaptation in Kenya’s drylands.
^3.Rose, Jeanne. Herbal Body Book
^4.Industry private communication, 1985
Alchemy Works. E-mail (not printable)
Arctander, Steffen.  Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin
Book Arts e-mail
Chart Corporation, Inc., (was Pennick) 787 E. 27th St., Paterson, NJ 07504, 201/345-5554 or 973/345-2139
Etherington & Roberts.  Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology. E-mail. Is gum Sandarac poisonous? RUPS@wmich.edu
Guenther’s The Essential Oils. Volume 2,
http://herbnature.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html
http://www.bojensen.net/EssentialOilsEng/EssentialOils.htm
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3763/cdev.2010.0066
https://www.the-dermatologist.com/content/review-colophonium
La Paz, Will. Eden Botanicals. Private correspondence
Menninger, Edwin A. Fantastic Trees
Ravines, Patrick.  E-mail. >Ravines@BWC.org<
Rose, Jeanne. Herbs & Things
Scents of Earth website
The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Ed. Lesley Brown.  Clarendon Press, Oxford 1993.
US Department of Labor, Material Safety Data Sheet, 1995.

 

 

“The pursuit of money interferes with a fulfilling life! “— Peter Coyote (1966)

 

Moderation in All Things.

Be moderate in your use of essential oils as they are just not sustainable for the environment.
Be selective and more moderate in your usage.
Use the herb first as tea or the infusion. —JeanneRose 2004

A plethora of Resins