Myrrh

#### Myrrh **Myrrh**** **is a natural oleo-gum-resin, and is indeed a typical one. It contains a significant amount of essential oil, the balance being made up of about two-thirds of water-soluble gum, and one-third of alcohol-soluble (or hydrocarbon-soluble) resins. As a perfumery material, the crude Myrrh is one of the oldest known, and it is mentioned as far back as 3700 years ago in ancient history. **Myrrh **is formed as a physiological, viscous oleo-gum-resin, and thus occurs naturally in the trunks of the small trees of various **Commiphora**** **species. The trees, often mere shrubs, grow in various parts of eastern Africa, north of the Equator, and in southern Arabia opposite the East African coast. It is collected in Arabia, Ethiopia (now including Erithrea), Somaliland and parts of Sudan. The main shipping ports are Djibouti, Aden, Massaua and Port Sudan. To increase yield and production, the native collectors make incisions in the bark. Some lumps of resinified oleo-gum-resin fall to the ground and become contaminated with sand, gravel, etc. Other lumps are peeled off the trunk, and these usually make a better grade of myrrh. However, myrrh cannot be evaluated justly by its appearance only. Lumps of high odor value may have a poor appearance because they have fallen to the ground; they will give a poorer yield, quantitatively. **Myrrh**** **consists of rounded or irregular tears, or agglutinated masses of smaller and larger tears of a moderate yellow to dark or reddish brown color. The lumps are usually covered with a lighter-colored or yellowish dust. The odor is warm-balsamic, sweet and somewhat spicy-aromatic; it is also somewhat sharp or pungent when fresh, but it is never terebinthinate. From crude myrrh, **Myrrh**** ****Absolute,**** ****Myrrh**** ****Tincture,**** ****Myrrh**** ****Oil**** **and **Myrrh**** ****Resinoid**** **are prepared, see the following monographs.