Myrrh

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Myrrh

Myrrh is a reddish-brown resin

Resin

Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly Pinophyta. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume....
ous material, the dried sap

Plant sap

Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. Fluid found in the vacuoles of other cells is sometimes referred to as "cell sap"....
of a number of trees, but primarily from Commiphora myrrha
Commiphora myrrha

Commiphora myrrha is a tree in the Burseraceae family. It is one of the primary trees used in the production of myrrh, a resin made from dried tree sap....
, native to Yemen

Yemen

Yemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. Yemen has an estimated population of more than 23 million people and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east....
, Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
, the eastern parts of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
and Commiphora gileadensis, native to Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
. The sap of a number of other Commiphora
Commiphora

Commiphora is a genus of flowering plants. It includes about 185 species of trees and shrubs, often armed or thorny, native to Africa, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent....
and Balsamodendron species is also known as myrrh, including that from Commiphora erythraea (sometimes called East Indian myrrh), Commiphora opobalsamum and Balsamodendron kua.

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Encyclopedia

Myrrh is a reddish-brown resin

Resin

Plant sap

Yemen

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
, the eastern parts of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Jordan

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
via the Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
, µ???a, which is probably of Semitic

Semitic

In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages....
origin. Myrrh is also applied to the potherb Myrrhis odorata otherwise known as "Cicely

Cicely

Cicely or Sweet Cicely is a plant belonging to the family Apiaceae, native to central Europe; it is the sole species in the genus Myrrhis....
" or "Sweet Cicely

Sweet cicely

Sweet cicely may refer to:* Cicely, a European herb also called "sweet cicely"* Osmorhiza, a genus of two American plants called "sweet cicely"...
".

High quality myrrh can be identified through the darkness and clarity of the resin. However, the best method of judging the resin's quality is by feeling the stickiness of freshly broken fragments directly to determine the fragrant-oil content of the myrrh resin. The scent of raw myrrh resin and its essential oil is sharp, pleasant, somewhat bitter and can be roughly described as being "stereotypically resinous". When burned, it produces a smoke that is heavy, bitter and somewhat phenol

Phenol

Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is a toxic, white crystalline solid with a sweet tarry odor, commonly referred to as a "hospital smell"....
ic in scent, which may be tinged with a slight vanillic sweetness. Unlike most other resins, myrrh expands and "blooms" when burned instead of melting or liquefying.

The scent can also be used in mixtures of incense, to provide an earthy element to the overall smell, and as an additive to wine, a practice alluded to by ancient authorities such as Fabius Dorsennus

Fabius Dorsennus

Fabius Dorsennus was a thespian and author of Atellan Farce in Ancient Rome, known for his careless performances....
. It is also used in various perfumes, toothpastes, lotions, and other modern toiletries.

Myrrh was used as an embalming

Embalming

File:Embalming fluid.jpgEmbalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral....
ointment

Ointment

An ointment is a viscous semisolid preparation used topically on a variety of body surfaces. These include the skin and the mucus membranes of the eye , vagina, anus, and nose....
and was used, up until about the 15th century, as a penitential incense in funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
s and cremation

Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic Chemical element in the form of bone fragments through flame, heat, and vaporization....
s. The "holy oil" traditionally used by the Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
for performing the sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace." Examples of sacram...
s of chrismation and unction is traditionally scented with myrrh

Chrism

Chrism , also called "Myrrh" , Holy anointing oil or "Consecrated Oil," is a consecrated oil used in the Roman Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Old Catholic Church, and some Anglicanism and Lutheranism churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesi...
, and receiving either of these sacraments is commonly referred to as "receiving the Myrrh

Holy anointing oil

The Holy anointing oil described in Exodus was created from:* 500 shekels of myrrh, according to the Ra'avad. Maimonides translates this substance as musk....
".

History

The Ancient Egyptians imported large amounts of Myrrh as far back as 3000 B.C. They used it to embalm the dead, as an antiseptic, and burned it for religious sacrifice.

In ancient history myrrh was used as a constituent of perfume

Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
s and incense

Incense

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome....
, and was often worth more than its weight in gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
. The Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
word for myrrh, µ????, came to be synonymous with the word for "perfume".

In Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
myrrh was priced at five times as much as frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an Aroma compound resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra ....
, though the latter was far more popular. Myrrh was burned in ancient Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
funerals to mask the smell emanating from charring corpses. It was said that the Roman Emperor Nero

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
burned a year's worth of myrrh at the funeral of his wife, Poppaea. Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author, naturalist or natural philosopher and naval and military commander of some importance who wrote Natural History ....
refers to myrrh as being one of the ingredients of perfume

Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
s, and specifically the "Royal Perfume" of the Parthians. He also says myrrh was used to fumigate wine jars before bottling.

Religious context

In the Old Testament

Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
of the Bible

Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
(and the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
), myrrh is mentioned as a primary ingredient in the holy anointing oil

Holy anointing oil

The Holy anointing oil described in Exodus was created from:* 500 shekels of myrrh, according to the Ra'avad. Maimonides translates this substance as musk....
God commanded Moses

Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
to make:

Psalm 45 mentions myrrh as a kingly fragrance in a passage interpreted by some as referring to the future Messiah:

In the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, myrrh was one of the gifts of the Magi

Biblical Magi

In Christianity tradition the Magi , Three Wise Men, Three Kings or Kings from the East are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts....
to the infant Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
according to Matthew

Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a synoptic gospel. It narrates an account of the New Testament view on Jesus' life and Ministry of Jesus of Jesus of Nazareth....
, is cited in Mark

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and was probably the first of the three synoptic gospels to be written....
as an intoxicant that was offered to Jesus during the crucifixion

Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Within the body of Christianity beliefs, the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend. According to the New Testament, Jesus was Crucifixion, died, buried in a tomb, and resurrected three days later....
, and in John

Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the Biblical canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. Like the three synoptic gospels, it contains an account of some of the actions and sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, but differs from them in ethos and theological emphases....
was one of the spices used to prepare Jesus' body for burial:

Because of its scriptural roles as an anointing oil

Holy anointing oil

The Holy anointing oil described in Exodus was created from:* 500 shekels of myrrh, according to the Ra'avad. Maimonides translates this substance as musk....
, myrrh is used in the preparation of chrism

Chrism

Chrism , also called "Myrrh" , Holy anointing oil or "Consecrated Oil," is a consecrated oil used in the Roman Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Old Catholic Church, and some Anglicanism and Lutheranism churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesi...
which is used by many churches, both Eastern and Western, and is a common ingredient in incense

Incense

Christian liturgy

A liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship. Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or Christian denomination on a regular basis....
(see Thurible

Thurible

A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism/Episcopal_Church_, Old Catholic, and some Lutheran churches, as well as in Christian and non-Christian Gnostic Churches and in the practice of magick....
). In Roman Catholic liturgical tradition, pellets of myrrh are traditionally placed in the Paschal candle

Paschal candle

The Paschal candle is a large, white candle used liturgy in the Latin liturgical rites of Christianity . A new Paschal candle is blessed and lit every year at Easter, and is used throughout the Paschal season and then throughout the year on special occasions, such as baptisms and funerals....
during the Easter Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus....
.

The use of incense in Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
is much more frequent than in Western versions. In some traditions, special emphasis is placed on the offering of incense at Vespers

Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
and Matins

Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
, because of the Old Testament

Old Testament

Traditional medicine

In Chinese medicine, myrrh is classified as bitter, spicy, neutral in temperature and affecting the heart, liver, and spleen meridians. Its uses are similar to those of frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an Aroma compound resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra ....
, with which it is often combined in decoction

Decoction

A decoction is a method of solvent extraction of herbal or plant material, which includes, but is not limited to:*Stems*Roots*Barkand*Rhizomes....
s, liniment

Liniment

File:Herb Knudson's Surgical 11.jpgLiniment, from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin....
s and incense

Incense

Incense is composed of aromatic Biotic material materials. It releases fragrant smoke when burned. The term incense refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces....
. When used in concert, myrrh is "blood-moving" while frankincense moves the Qi
Qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qi is an active principle forming part of any living thing.It is frequently translated as "energy flow," and is often compared to Western notions of energeia or ?lan vital as well as the Yoga Pranayama of prana....
, making it more useful for arthritic

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease inflammation that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing a inflammatory synovitis that often progresses to destruction of the articular cartilage and ankylosis of the joints....
conditions. Myrrh also has been used in the treatment of amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea is a medical condition characterized by severe uterine pain during menstruation. While most women experience minor pain during menstruation, dysmenorrhea is diagnosed when the pain is so severe as to limit normal activities, or require medication....
, menopause

Menopause

The Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation which occurs a considerable length of time before the end of the lifespan.The word was first applied to humans, and because of this it literally means the cessation of monthly cycles or menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots meno and pausis ....
and uterine tumors, as its "blood-moving" properties can purge stagnant blood out of the uterus

Uterus

The uterus is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals, including humans. It is within the uterus that the fetus develops during gestation....
.

Myrrh has also been recommended to help toothache pain, and can be used in liniment for bruises, aches and sprains.

Myrrh is most commonly used in Chinese medicine for rheumatic

Rheumatism

Rheumatism or Rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the heart, bones, joints, kidney, skin and lung. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology....
, arthritic

Arthritis

Arthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people older than fifty-five years....
and circulatory problems. It is combined with such herbs as notoginseng, safflower

Safflower

Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual, usually with many long sharp spines on the leaves. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads and commonly, brilliant yellow, orange or red flowers which bloom in July....
stamens, Angelica sinensis
Angelica sinensis

Angelica sinensis, commonly known as "dong quai" or "female ginseng" is a herb from the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China....
, cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree 10?15 metres tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, and is native to Sri Lanka.The leaf are ovate-oblong in shape, 7?18 cm long....
and Salvia miltiorrhiza
Salvia miltiorrhiza

Salvia miltiorrhiza , also known as Red sage, Chinese sage, tan shen, or dan shen, is a Perennial plant flowering plant in the genus Salvia, highly valued for its roots in traditional Chinese medicine ....
, usually in alcohol, and used both internally and externally.

Myrrh is used more frequently in Ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine native to India, and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda comprises the words , meaning 'life' and , meaning 'science'....
, Unani

Unani

Unani IPA: means "Greek ". It derives from the Greek word Ionia, the Greek name of the Anatolia coastline, from the Arabic word for Greece: "al-Yunaan"....
medicine and Western herbalism, which ascribe to it tonic and rejuvenative properties. A related species, known as guggul

Commiphora wightii

Commiphora wightii is a flowering plant in the family Burseraceae. The guggul plant may be found from northern Africa to central Asia, but is most common in northern India....
in Ayurvedic medicine is considered one of the best substances for the treatment of circulatory problems, nervous system disorders and rheumatic complaints. Myrrh (Daindhava) is used in many rasayana

Rasayana

Rasayana, a Sanskrit word , is used to describe chemistry and alchemy, and chemistry is generally called Rasayan Shastra in Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and several other Indian languages....
formulas in Ayurveda.

However rasayana herbs have special processing. Outside of this form myrrh is said to be contraindicated for pregnant women or women with excessive uterine bleeding, and not be used with evidence of kidney dysfunction or stomach pain.

As of 2008, 35% of Saudi Arabians use myrrh as medicine.

Modern usage

In pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemistrys, and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of medication....
, myrrh is used as an antiseptic and is most often used in mouthwashes, gargles and toothpastes for prevention and treatment of gum disease. Myrrh is currently used in some liniments and healing salves that may be applied to abrasions and other minor skin ailments. It is also used in the production of Fernet.

Research

In an attempt to determine the cause of its effectiveness, researchers examined the individual ingredients of an herbal formula used traditionally by Kuwaiti diabetics to lower blood glucose. Myrrh and aloe
Aloe

Aloe, also written Alo?, is a genus containing about four hundred species of flowering plants succulent plant plants. The most common and well known of these is aloe vera barbadensis miller, or "true aloe"....
gums effectively improved glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
tolerance in both normal and diabetic rats.

External links

(www.itmonline.org)
(www.herbcompanion.com)

Myrrh

History

Religious context

Traditional medicine

Modern usage

Research

Further reading

See also

External links