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The Scent of Civilizations
The Medicinal Herb & Oil
The Neuroendocrine Essential Oil
Frankincense's Energetic & Spiritual Functions
The Source of Frankincense Resin & Essential Oil
The Source of Frankincense Resin and Essential Oil
The main sources of Frankincense
resin today are the wild-growing trees seen in the montane regions of
Somalia, Ethiopia, Oman and Yemen. The final distillation or solvent
extraction is mostly carried out in Europe and the US, and small amounts
in India.
The resin itself is produced by making shallow scrapes into the tree
trunk, from which a milky gum-resin soon exudes and slowly solidifies.
About two or three weeks later, when the resin has sufficiently
hardened, the clear resin tears are collected first, as they are
considered superior quality; the portion that ran down the trunk or fell
to the ground is considered inferior. The dry tears are usually
brittle, and pear or club shaped, and transparent whiteish-yellow in
colour; through friction they also acquire a thin white patina. This
resin generally consists of 56-65% acid resin, 20-36% gum and 4-8%
essential oil. The Roman writer Plinius (Historiae Naturalis) noted that
mammose (breast-shaped) pieces are "most esteemed of all," a widespread
belief that was also found in the resin's Tang name, ju xiang, "teat aromatic."
Frankincense oil is a clear amber-yellow liquid produced by steam
distillation of the resin tears. 1 kg of the oil is obtained from about
15 kgs of the resin. Small amounts of CO2 extraction are also made. The
steam-distilled oil is today the preferred type of Frankincense extract
for use in aromatherapy.
A resinoid absolute of Frankincense is also produced for the
perfumery industry by solvent extraction. 1 kg of the resinoid absolute
is obtained from only about 2 kgs of the resin. Because of this much
higher yield, alcohol-dissolved resinoids are sometimes passed off as
distilled oils in the trade.
Because of its complex fragrance, Frankincense oil combines well with various other oils. With citrusy oils such as Bergamot, Orange and Mandarin; sweet-wood oils such as Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Amyris, Juniper, Cinnamon and Cistus; and with pungent oils such as Ginger, Black pepper, Ravintsara, Niaouli and Eucalyptus.
Frankincense resinoid (and to a lesser extent the oil) is used in
the flavoring industry for both its fixative base note and its fragrance
in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps and incense sticks, in some pharmacy
items such as throat lozenges, as well as in certain food products, soft
drinks and alcoholic beverages.
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