Storax balsam

Short description: Resin from the genus liquidambar

For the storax tree, see Biology:Styrax.

Dry storax

Storax (Latin: storax; Greek: στύραξ, stúrax),[1][2][3][4][5] often commercially sold as styrax, is a natural fragrant resin isolated from the wounded bark of Liquidambar orientalis Mill. (Asia Minor) and Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Eastern US, Mexico, Central America) (Altingiaceae).[6] It is distinct from benzoin (also called "storax"), a similar resin obtained from the Styracaceae plant family.

## Contents

* 1 Composition
* 2 Uses
* 3 History
* 4 Safety
* 5 References

## Composition

Purified storax contains about 33–50% storesin, an alcoholic resin, 5–15% cinnamic acid, 5–15% cinnamyl cinnamate, about 10% phenylpropyl cinnamate, as well small amounts of ethyl cinnamate, benzyl cinnamate, and styrene. Some may contain traces of vanillin or triterpenic acids (oleanolic and 3-epioleanolic acids).[7]

## Uses

Storax has a balsamic, floral/lilac, and leathery smell. It and its derivatives (resinoid, essential oil, absolute) are used as flavors and fragrances, as well as in pharmaceuticals (Friar's Balsam).[6][8][9] American storax resin (Liquidambar styraciflua), when used as a gum, is meant to work as a breath freshener and clean teeth.[10]

## History

Mnesimachus, Aristotle, Theophrastus (Historia Plantarum), Herodotus, and Strabo mention the storax tree and its balsam. In ancient Greece, storax also denoted the spike at the lower end of a spearshaft.[11]

Multiple rites call for storax in the Graeco-Egyptian Greek Magical Papyri. [12]

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.[13] Ciris mentions storax as a fragrant hair dye.[14] Dioscorides (De materia medica 1.79) reports its use as incense, similar to frankincense, having expectorant and soothing properties.[15] Al-Masudi listed storax gum (mayʿa) as a spice in his book Murūdj al-dhahab (Meadows of Gold), published in the 10th century[16] and Chao Ju-Kuan, a trade commissioner in Fukien province, said in the 13th century that liquid storax gum had come from the Arabs.[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 by distilling storax balm.[18]

In North Africa, for mystical purposes, women burn benzoin and storax in potsherds.[19]

## Safety

Storax resin is "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS) at low levels.[7]

## References

1. ↑ Company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: storax". https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=storax.
2. ↑ "Definition of STORAX" (in en). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/storax.
3. ↑ "storax | Definition of storax in English by Oxford Dictionaries". https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/storax.
4. ↑ "Storax dictionary definition | storax defined" (in en). http://www.yourdictionary.com/storax.
5. ↑ "Storax definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary" (in en). https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/storax.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Karl-Georg Fahlbusch (2007), "Flavors and Fragrances", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), Wiley, p. 115
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 James A. Duke (2008), Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible, Taylor & Francis, pp. 258–259
8. ↑ George A. Burdock (2010), Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients (6th ed.), Taylor & Francis, pp. 1853–1854
9. ↑ "Compound Benzoin Tincture", British Pharmacopoeia, 3, 2009
10. ↑ James A. Duke (2008), Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible, Taylor & Francis, p. 445
11. ↑ Henry George Liddell; Robert Scott, eds. (1897), "στύραξ", Greek-English Lexicon (8th ed.), Harper & Brothers, p. 1442, https://archive.org/details/greekenglishlex00lidduoft
12. ↑ The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. University of Chicago Press. 1985. https://archive.org/details/TheGreekMagicalPapyriInTranslation.
13. ↑ Oxford Latin Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 1832
14. ↑ Oxford Latin Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 1825
15. ↑ Dioscorides (1902), Julius Berendes, ed., De materia medica, PharmaWiki.ch, p. 89, http://www.pharmawiki.ch/materiamedica/images/Dioskurides.pdf, retrieved 2014-10-10
16. ↑ A. Dietrich (2004), "AFĀWĪH", The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 12 (supplement) (2nd ed.), Brill, pp. 42–43
17. ↑ 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. pp. 200. https://archive.org/details/chaujukuahiswork00chao/page/200/mode/2up.
18. ↑ Denis H. James; William M. Castor (2007), "Styrene", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), Wiley, p. 1
19. ↑ D. S. Margoliouth (1997), "ḲĀDIRIYYA", The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 4 (2nd ed.), Brill, pp. 380–383

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