Volume 22, Issue 6, 2012, Pages 1372-1383
Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Brazil
Abstract
Balsams
have been used since ancient times, due to their therapeutic and
healing properties; in the perfume industry, they are used as fixatives,
and in the cosmetics industry and in cookery, they are used as
preservatives and aromatizers. They are generally defined as vegetable
material with highly aromatic properties that supposedly have the
ability to heal diseases, not only of the body, but also of the soul.
When viewed according to this concept, many substances can be considered
balsams. A more modern concept
is based on its chemical composition and origin: a secretion or exudate
of plants that contain cinnamic and benzoic acids, and their
derivatives, in their composition. The most common naturally-occurring balsams (i.e. true balsams) are the Benzoins, Liquid Storaque and the Balsams of Tolu and Peru. Many other aromatic exudates, such as Copaiba Oil and Canada Balsam, are wrongly called balsam.
These usually belong to other classes of natural products, such as
essential oils, resins and oleoresins. Despite the understanding of some
plants, many plants are still called balsams. This article presents a chemical and pharmacological review of the most common balsams.
Author keywords
Balsams; Benzoic acid; Cinnamic acid
Indexed keywords
EMTREE drug terms: balsam; balsam Peru; benzoic acid; benzoin; benzyl alcohol; benzyl benzoate; cabreuva balsam; canada balsam; cinnamic acid; copaiba balsam; gurjun balsam; liquid storaque; nerolidol; tolu balsam; unclassified drug
EMTREE medical terms: bronchitis; chemical composition; Commiphora; diarrhea; human; laryngitis; leukorrhea; Myroxylon; nonhuman; review
