bola :

Substitute:

Lindera benzoin

Adultrants:

Adulterations are not easily detected in the powder, so that it is better purchased in mass, when small stones, senegal gum, chestnuts, pieces of bdellium, or of a brownish resin called false myrrh, may be sorted out with little difficulty.

The resin from opopanax and other Commiphora species are blended with myrrh resin to extract the essential oil.

Controversy:

In Egypt, myrrh is used for the treatment of schistosomiasis and several Egyptian investigations have demonstrated antischistosomal activity of oral preparations of myrrh. However, this activity could not be confirmed by other investigators. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) report for myrrh suggests that the potential antischistosomal activity of myrrh remains controversial

Commercial value:

To obtain the myrrh, the bark is cut after the rainy season from June to August and the hardened myrrh is collected. The commercially available drugcomes from collections in the Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea and Somalia.

Gum or resin: The oleo-gum resin from the stem has an aromatic taste and odour, may be acrid and bitter. It is inflammable, but burns feebly. Its products are highly prized in Asia. Essential oil: Myrrh oil is deep amber in colour with a warm, spicy, bitter and smoky aroma. Today myrrh oil is still considered helpful for meditation, and aromatherapists recommend the naturally antiseptic essential oil for skin and mouth problems.

Several species are recognized in commerce. It is usually imported in chests weighing 1 or 2 cwts., and wherever produced comes chiefly from the East Indies.

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