Peru gum

Peru gum

(medicinal botany)

Another name: Balsamo, Bailu Balsamo.

[source] it is the resin of the leguminous plant Coriolus peruviana.

[plant morphology] Acacia peruviana

Trees, up to 30 m high. The bark of young branches has resin canals, but they fall off early, and the trunk has no resin canals at all. Leaflets 9-13, elliptic, apex acuminate, entire. Racemes axillary; flowers white. The pods are yellow.

It is distributed in the forests of El Salvador and Honduras along the Pacific coast of Central America.

[collection] usually in winter. After the resin layer is removed, it is usually about 30 cm in length. After about seven days, a large amount of aromatic resin can be exuded by fumigating it with fire. Finally, the bark was removed and the xylem was exposed. After harvesting with the same method, the aromatic resin was completely exuded within one and a half months. After that, treat the upper part of the wound as before. After boiling and wringing the cloth which absorbs the fragrant resin in water, the fragrant resin will sink into the bottom of the water to remove the water and impurities.

The thin layer is transparent and reddish brown, without adhesiveness and dragline. The aroma is like vanilla. There is no taste at first, then bitter and pungent. The reaction is acidic. The specific gravity is 1.135-1.160.

[chemical composition] it contains benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate 56-70%, resin about 28% and free cinnamic acid 10%. The resin is ester of benzoic acid and cinnamic acid. The volatile oil contains a lot of nerolidol.

[pharmacological action] the oil contained in this product has disinfection effect. The oleoresin part can promote tissue repair, and the resin also has the effect of local protection to reduce inflammation. Therefore, it can be used for chronic inflammation of skin and mucous membrane (such as chronic bronchitis), and can promote the healing of ulcer and wound (mixed with castor oil for wound dressing). It can also be used to treat some skin fungal infections, and it can also be used locally or orally (emulsion) to treat tuberculosis (skin or throat tuberculosis). The effect of oral administration is suspicious, and local application is sometimes irritating. In vitro, it has some effects on Trichomonas vaginalis. The single quaternary ammonium salt of cinnamic acid and its derivatives has curare like effect.

[function and indications] 1. According to the theory of Kun Yu Tu: "apply to all kinds of injuries, and don't get acne. "

② According to Xu Zhao's pharmacognosy, oral administration (0.2-1 ml) is a bactericide and expectorant, and external use is a skin insecticide, especially for scabies and tinea Qian. "

Chinese PinYin : Mi Lu Xiang Jiao