Storax balsam
None
Storax ( Latin : storax ; Greek : στύραξ , stúrax ), [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] often commercially sold as styrax , is a natural resin isolated from the wounded bark of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. (Asia Minor) and Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Central America) ( Hamamelidaceae ). [6] It is distinct from benzoin (also called "storax"), a similar resin obtained from the Styracaceae plant family.
Composition
Purified storax contains circa 33 to 50% storesin, an alcoholic resin , both free and as cinnamic esters. Contains 5 to 15% cinnamic acid , 5 to 15% cinnamyl cinnamate , circa 10% phenylpropyl cinnamate ; small amounts of ethyl cinnamate , benzyl cinnamate , and styrene , Some may contain traces of vanillin . Some sources report a resin containing triterpenic acids ( oleanolic and 3-epioleanolic acids). [7]
Uses
Storax has a pleasant, floral/lilac, leathery, balsamic smell. Storax and its derivatives ( resinoid , essential oil , absolute ) are used as flavors, fragrances, and in pharmaceuticals ( Friar's Balsam ). [6] [8] [9]
American storax resin ( Liquidambar styraciflua ) is chewed like gum to freshen breath and clean teeth. [10]
History
Mnesimachus , Aristotle , Theophrastus ( Historia Plantarum ), Herodotus , and Strabo are the first ones to mention the storax tree and its balsam. In ancient Greece , storax also denoted the spike at the lower end of a spearshaft. [11]
Pliny ( Historia Naturalis 12.98, 15.26; 24.24) notes the use of storax as a perfume, while Scribonius Largus drank wine flavored with storax. [12] Ciris mentions storax as a fragrant hair dye. [13] Dioscorides ( De materia medica 1.79) reports its use as incense, similar to frankincense , having expectorant and soothing properties. [14]
The 10th century Arab historian al-Masudi listed storax gum ( mayʿa ) as a spice in his book Murūdj al-dhahab ( Meadows of Gold ). [15]
Chao Ju-Kuan , a 13th century trade commissioner in Fukien province, described liquid storax gum as a product of Ta-shï (the Arabs ). [16]
Linnaeus , who determined the scientific names of plants, thought that storax was extracted from the tree called in modern Hebrew livneh refu'i which he termed Styrax officinalis . However in the light of tests made in Israel it is very doubtful if a sap with medicinal or aromatic qualities can be extracted from this tree. The storax of the ancients was probably extracted from a different tree, seemingly from the Liquidambar orientalis which grows wild in northern Syria, and may even have been grown in Israel; from it is extracted an aromatic sap with healing qualities called storax liquidis . This may possibly be the biblical balm, though other sources conclude that the biblical balm is Balsam ( opobalsamum ). [17]
This species originated in the Southern regions of Mesopotamia, present day Iraq and in particular Babylon. Babylonians used it for respiratory related diseases. 8
In the nineteenth century, styrene was isolated by distillation of storax balsam. [18]
In North Africa, for mystical purposes, women burn benzoin and storax in potsherds. [19]
Safety
Storax resin is "generally regarded as safe" ( GRAS ), but at low levels, for example, circa 15 ppm in candy and 25 ppm in baked goods. [7]
References
- ↑ Company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: storax" . www.ahdictionary.com . Retrieved 2018-09-20 .
- ↑ "Definition of STORAX" . www.merriam-webster.com . Retrieved 2018-09-20 .
- ↑ "storax | Definition of storax in English by Oxford Dictionaries" . Oxford Dictionaries | English . Archived from the original on September 25, 2016 . Retrieved 2018-09-20 .
- ↑ "Storax dictionary definition | storax defined" . www.yourdictionary.com . Retrieved 2018-09-20 .
- ↑ "Storax definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary" . www.collinsdictionary.com . Retrieved 2018-09-20 .
- 1 2 Karl-Georg Fahlbusch; et al. (2007), "Flavors and Fragrances", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), Wiley, p. 115
- 1 2 James A. Duke (2008), "Storax (Liquidambar orientalis Mill. and L., Styraciflua L.)", Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible , Taylor & Francis, pp. 258–259
- ↑ George A. Burdock (2010), "Styrax", Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients (6th ed.), Taylor & Francis, pp. 1853–1854
- ↑ "Compound Benzoin Tincture", British Pharmacopoeia , vol. 3, 2009
- ↑ James A. Duke (2008), "Benzoin (Styrax benzoin Dryander.)", Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible , Taylor & Francis, p. 445
- ↑ Henry George Liddell; Robert Scott, eds. (1897), "στύραξ" , Greek-English Lexicon (8th ed.), Harper & Brothers, p. 1442
- ↑ "styrax", Oxford Latin Dictionary , Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 1832
- ↑ "storax", Oxford Latin Dictionary , Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 1825
- ↑ Dioscorides (1902), "Styrax", in Julius Berendes (ed.), De materia medica (PDF) , PharmaWiki.ch, p. 89, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24 , retrieved 2014-10-10
- ↑ A. Dietrich (2004), "AFĀWĪH", The Encyclopaedia of Islam , vol. 12 (supplement) (2nd ed.), Brill, pp. 42–43
- ↑ Hirth, F.; Rockhill, W. W. (1911). Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, entitled Chu Fan Chï . Saint Petersburg: Printing Office of Imperial Academy of Sciences. p. 200.
- ↑ Jehuda Feliks (2007), "Storax", Encyclopaedia Judaica , vol. 19 (2nd ed.), Thomson Gale, p. 238
- ↑ Denis H. James; William M. Castor (2007), "Styrene", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), Wiley, p. 1
- ↑ D. S. Margoliouth (1997), "ḲĀDIRIYYA", The Encyclopaedia of Islam , vol. 4 (2nd ed.), Brill, pp. 380–383