Tolu balm
Tolubalsam (Balsamum tolutanum) is the balm of Balsam tree ( var Myroxylon balsamum. Balsamum ). Its name comes from a pre-Columbian people who were once the inhabitants of what is now Santiago de Tolú, a community in the Sucre department , in northern Colombia (South America) on the Caribbean Sea . This can also be found in the old name of the balsam tree Toluifera balsamum . It comes from the north of South America, especially in the river basin of the Río Magdalena , near the city of Tolú in Colombia . It is also obtained in Venezuela and the Antilles .
In 1841, Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville isolated toluene by dry distillation from tolu balsam. The name of the well-known solvent was then derived from it.
Extraction
To obtain tolu balsam, the tree bark is cut at an acute angle. The fresh wound juice (balsam) is a yellowish-brown to red-brown, viscous to solid, resinous mass with an aromatic, vanilla-like odor and sour taste, it hardens in the air to a brittle, easily friable mass.
composition
Tolu balsam consists of about 12% to 15% cinnamon and benzoic acid , about 40% benzyl and other esters of these acids, as well as resins , vanillin and about 1.5% to 3% essential oils . Another ingredient in tolu balsam is the terpene guajadiene .
properties
Tolu balsam is insoluble in water and petroleum ether , mostly soluble in alcohol , benzene , chloroform , ether , glacial acetic acid , carbon disulfide and alkali.
use
The indigenous peoples such as the Aztecs and Maya used the resin for medicinal purposes, among others. a. for various skin diseases, against headaches and to heal wounds. In medicine it was used as an expectorant for coughs. Today it is used in perfumery as a fixing component to convey warm sweetness. Tolu balsam is used in microscopy as an embedding medium . Sometimes it is used as an incense , especially when real frankincense is difficult to obtain or too expensive. The resulting fragrance is vaguely reminiscent of chocolate. However, the smoke of the balm strongly irritates the airways and quickly triggers violent coughing.
See also
literature
- K. Keller, G. Schneider (Ed.): Hager's handbook of pharmaceutical practice. Drugs E-O , 5th edition, Springer, 1993, ISBN 978-3-642-63427-7 , pp. 897 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Hermann Ammon (Ed.): Hunnius Pharmaceutical Dictionary . 8th edition, de Gruyter, Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-11-015792-6 .
- ↑ a b c Entry on tolu balsam. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on December 28, 2014.
- ↑ Felix Bachmair: Antimicrobial effect of selected resins on airborne germs. Diploma thesis, University of Vienna 2013, p. 60 ff, online (PDF; 2.93 MB), at othes.univie.ac.at, accessed on January 3, 2017.