Monographs

By David Crow, L.Ac.

Introduction

Frankincense and myrrh are without a doubt the worlds two most important resins. Although other resins, such as pine resin, copal, styrax, and dragon blood have played important roles in ethnobotanical medicine, none have been as widely distributed and universally utilized, as economically important, or so highly regarded. This paper presents an overview of these valuable trees and the history, culture, and some of the medical uses of their resins.

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By David Crow, L.Ac.

History
Essential oil-containing aromatic plants have been used for anti-infectious purposes for millennia. Sewage, rotting garbage, sick people, environmental pollution, and other sources of unpleasant smells reveal the presence of proliferating microbial toxins. Without knowing the details of what pathogenic agents were present, people understood that where there were bad vapors, diseases lurked. Aromatic plants have been the primary antidote for these evil spirits. Traditional medical systems, such as Ayurveda, had a general concept of microscopic pathogens and knew that substances such as essential oils counteracted those toxins.

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