Essential NoseMyrrh
Myrrh is a wound resin. Cut the bark of a Commiphora tree and it bleeds a gum that hardens into lumps, and those lumps are distilled. The oil is heavy and bitter-sweet, built on furanoeudesma-1,3-diene at about a third of the oil.[1] That family of compounds is behind its long record on wounds and inflamed gums.[2] Sweet myrrh, or opoponax, is a different Commiphora species with a softer, more balsamic smell.
Somali Myrrh
Commiphora myrrha
- Also Known As
- Myrrh, Myrrh Gum
- Family
- Resinous
- Perfumery Note
- Base
- Intensity
- Medium
- Extraction
- Steam Distillation
- Plant Parts
- Resin
- Origins
- Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen
- Effect
- Sleep & Relaxation, Grounding & Centering
- Aroma
- Resinous, Earthy, Balsamic
- Applications
- Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
- Price
- $$$$Hand-harvested resin from wild trees in arid regions; the oil yield is moderate but the labor is high
Somali myrrh is the classic myrrh of the incense trade, tapped from Commiphora trees in the Horn of Africa. It smells bitter and medicinal under the sweetness, more like a pharmacy than a church. About a third of the oil is furanoeudesma-1,3-diene, an unusual compound family found in few other plants.[1] Reviews credit that fraction with calming inflammation, holding back bacteria and helping wounds close.[2] It is one of the oldest traded aromatics, named in Egyptian and biblical records.
Opoponax
Commiphora erythraea
- Also Known As
- Sweet Myrrh, Bisabol Myrrh
- Family
- Resinous
- Perfumery Note
- Base
- Intensity
- Medium
- Extraction
- Steam Distillation
- Plant Parts
- Resin
- Origins
- Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya
- Effect
- Grounding & Centering
- Aroma
- Resinous, Sweet, Balsamic
- Applications
- Diffusing & Inhalation, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
- Price
- $$$$Known as "Sweet Myrrh," it is a wild-harvested resin with a lower yield than standard Myrrh
Opoponax is sweet myrrh, from a different Commiphora species and sold under two botanical names. Where common myrrh is bitter and medicinal, this is warm, sweet and balsamic, closer to incense. Perfumers use it for that reason, as a soft resinous base rather than a medicinal note. Beta-bisabolene and beta-caryophyllene lead, with some of the same furan compounds found in true myrrh. Testing found the oil helped wounds close, in line with the wider Commiphora family.[3]
References
- [1]Chemical composition of the essential oil and supercritical CO2 extract of Commiphora myrrha - Marongiu B et al. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2005
- [2]Commiphora myrrh: a phytochemical and pharmacological update - Batiha GE et al. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 2023
- [3]Evaluation of the wound healing property of Commiphora guidottii - Gebrehiwot M et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015