Myrrh (Commiphora molmol) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Myrrh (Commiphora molmol) - Essay Example and 60 essential oils are normally used by the professional aromatherapist, and most suppliers offer in the region of 70-80; these oils generally belong to just a few of the many plant families, and the families dealt with below include the majority of plants utilized in the production of essential oils’. Current paper refers specifically to the plant commiphora molmol (or myrrh as most commonly known) and its use in the area of medicine and aromatherapy. A series of clinical data is also presented in order to support the theoretical views that are related with the use of myrrh as a basis of several remedies applied in modern medicine. The word myrrh origins from the Arabic word ‘murr’ that means ‘bitter’. In Encyclopedia Britannica (2007) myrrh is referred as a ‘bitter-tasting, agreeably aromatic, yellow to reddish brown oleoresinous gum obtained from various small, thorny, flowering trees of the genus Commiphora, of the incense-tree family (Burseraceae); the two main varieties of myrrh are herabol and bisabol’. The study of Hanrahan (2007, 1) also refers to myrrh and its origin. In the specific study it is mentioned that ‘myrrh (also known as Commiphora molmol, abyssinica, or myrrha) is a close relative and member of the Burseraceae family, native to the eastern Mediterranean, Ethiopia, the Arabian peninsula, and Somalia; myrrh is a shrubby desert tree known variously as gum, myrrh tree, guggal gum, guggal resin, didin, and didthin’ (Hanrahan, 2007, 1). The most significant characteristic of myrrh is its distinctive colour. More specifically, as it is stated in a report published by the Tillotson Institute of Natural Health (2005), ‘myrrh gum has an intense dark color, reflecting its medicinal potency; it exerts a strong and certain action against specific types of pain and swelling, such as that of rheumatoid arthritis while it is strong enough to soften hard swellings and carbuncles;Â  like all plant resins, myrrh can also lower blood