Uses of resin Benzoin resin, a dried exudation from pierced
bark, is currently produced from various
Styrax species native to
Sumatra,
Java, and
Thailand. Commonly traded are the resins of
S. tonkinensis (Siam benzoin),
S. benzoin (Sumatra benzoin), and
S. benzoides. The name
benzoin is probably derived from
Arabic lubān jāwī (لبان جاوي, "Javan
frankincense); compare the obsolete terms
gum benjamin and
benjoin. This incidentally shows that the Arabs were aware of the origin of these resins, and that by the late
Middle Ages at latest international trade in them was probably of major importance. The chemical
benzoin (2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone), despite the apparent similarity of the name, is not contained in benzoin resin in measurable quantities. However, benzoin resin does contain small amounts of the
hydrocarbon styrene, named however for Levant storax (from
Liquidambar orientalis), from which it was first isolated, and not for the genus
Styrax itself; industrially produced styrene is now used to produce
polystyrene plastics, including
Styrofoam.
History of sources '' resin was mainly used in antiquity Since
Antiquity, storax resin has been used in
perfumes (the most famous example is the Guerlain Shalimar perfume (1925), certain types of
incense, and
medicines. There is some degree of uncertainty as to exactly what resin old sources refer to.
Turkish sweetgum (
Liquidambar orientalis) is a quite unrelated tree in the family
Altingiaceae that produces a similar resin traded in modern times as
storax or as
Levant storax, like the resins of other
sweetgums, and a number of confusing variations thereupon. Turkish sweetgum is a
relict species that occurs only in a small area in SW
Turkey (and not in the
Levant at all); presumably, quite some of the "storax resin" of the
Ancient Greek and the
Ancient Roman sources was from this sweetgum, rather than a
Styrax, although at least during the former era genuine
Styrax resin, probably from
S. officinalis, was imported in quantity from the
Near East by
Phoenician merchants, and
Herodotus of Halicarnassus in the 5th century BC indicates that different kinds of storax were traded. The
nataf (נטף) of the incense sacred to
Yahweh, mentioned in the
Book of Exodus, is loosely translated by the
Greek term
staktē (στακτή,
AMP: ), or an unspecific "gum resin" or similar term (
NIV: ).
Nataf may have meant the resin of
Styrax officinalis or of some other plant, perhaps Turkish sweetgum, which is unlikely to have been imported in quantity into the
Near East. Since the
Middle Ages, Southeast Asian benzoin resins became increasingly available; today there is little international trade in
S. officinalis resin and little production of Turkish sweetgum resin due to that species' decline in numbers.
Use as incense Storax incense is used in the
Middle East and adjacent regions as an
air freshener. This was adopted in the European ''
Papier d'Arménie. Storax incense is used in Buddhist and Hindu rituals. Storax resin from southern Arabian species was burned during frankincense (Boswellia'' resin) harvesting; it was said to drive away snakes: "[The Arabians] gather frankincense by burning that
storax which Phoenicians carry to Hellas; they burn this and so get the frankincense; for the spice-bearing trees are guarded by small winged snakes of varied color, many around each tree; these are the snakes that attack Egypt. Nothing except the smoke of
storax will drive them away from the trees."
) parts drawing.Franz Eugen Köhler: Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen, etc.'' (1887)
Medical uses There has been little dedicated research into the medical properties of storax resin, but it has been used for long, and apparently with favorable results. It was important in
Islamic medicine;
Avicenna (Ibn Sina, ابن سینا) discusses
S. officinalis it in his
Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (القانون في الطب,
The Law of Medicine). He indicates that storax resin mixed with other antibiotic substances and hardening material gives a good
dental restorative material. Benzoin resin is a component of the "Theriaca Andromachi Senioris", a
Venice treacle recipe in the 1686 ''d'Amsterdammer Apotheek''.
Tincture of benzoin is benzoin resin dissolved in
alcohol. This and its numerous derived versions like
lait virginal and friar's balsam were highly esteemed in 19th-century European
cosmetics and other household purposes; they apparently had
antibacterial properties. Today tincture of benzoin is most often used in
first aid for small injuries, as it acts as a
disinfectant and local
anesthetic and seems to promote healing. Benzoin resin and its derivatives are also used as
additives in cigarettes. The antibiotic activity of benzoin resin seems mostly due to its abundant
benzoic acid and benzoic acid
esters, which were named after the resin; other less well known
secondary compounds such as lignans like
pinoresinol are likely significant too.
Horticultural uses '' Several species of storax are popular
ornamental trees in parks and gardens, especially
S. japonicus and its cultivars such as 'Emerald Pagoda', and
Styrax obassia.
Uses of wood The wood of larger species is suitable for fine handicrafts. That of
egonoki (エゴノキ,
S. japonicus) is used to build
kokyū (胡弓), the
Japanese
bowed instrument. ==Ecology and conservation==