Myrrh

MYRRH (Gummi-resina Myrrha) (Vol. VII), a dried sap that exudes spontaneously from cracks in the bark of the tree Commiphora abyssinica Engler (family Burseraceae), which grows in Eritrea, Abyssinia, and southern and southwestern Arabia. It consists of irregular lumps of varying size, yellow, reddish, or brown in color, with a conchoidal fracture, a peculiar balsamic odor, and a bitter, pungent, scratching taste. Myrrh powder, when triturated with water, forms a yellow emulsion. Myrrh consists of essential oil (2–6%), which easily becomes resinous; gum (50–55%) C₆H₁₀O₅, which dissolves in water; resin (30%); and insignificant amounts of a water-soluble bitter substance and an enzyme. The essential oil of myrrh acts as an irritant on the tissues of animal organisms and, in addition, possesses antiseptic properties.

Commiphora abyssinica: 1—branch with fruit; 2—branch with resin exudations.

In medicine, myrrh is used internally in doses of 0.3–1.5 g in powders and pills as a tonic for chronic bronchitis with abundant mucus secretion but difficult expectoration; myrrh limits the secretion of mucus. Myrrh was renowned in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. In small doses, myrrh is given to stimulate the appetite (stomachic). Together with iron preparations, myrrh is given for chlorosis, and with Aloe as a "blood purifier" (emmenagogue). Externally, myrrh is used in the form of tooth powders, as well as for gargles and for swabbing wounds and ulcers on the gums and the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, for which the preparation Tinctura Myrrhae is used. As an aromatic, myrrh serves for fumigation; for this purpose, it is burned on glowing coals. Myrrh was a component of the complex remedy "Kyphi," which was used by the ancient Egyptians as an aromatic incense and from which fragrant balls were prepared.