• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Herbal Resource

Information on Medicinal Herbs & Functional Medicine

  • Home
  • Herbs List
  • Herbs by Health Condition
  • Latest Posts
  • Phytochemicals
  • Our Authors

Styrax Benzoin Herb – Side Effects and Health Benefits

Pin121
Share8
Share
Reddit
Flip
Tweet
Share
129 Shares

Botanical Name: Styrax benzoin.

Other Common Names: Gum benzoin, gum benjamin, Benjamin tree, benzointree, Sumatra benzoin, styrax, benzoin (Swedish), benzoebaum (German), bálsamo de Benjuí (Spanish), arbre à benjoin (French), an xi xiang (Chinese).

Habitat: The plant grows wild in the tropical rain forests of Indonesia. Different styrax species grow in Java, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China.

Description: Styrax benzoin is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 10 meters tall.

The bark is gray or brown and the leaves are pointed, oval, around 14 cm long and 5 cm wide with fine gray hairs on the lower surface. The flowers form small clusters and are white, bell-shaped and fragrant.

Plant Parts Used: It is the resin that is used in herbal medicine. The resin is obtained from incisions that are made on 8 to 10-year-old trees.

The resin has a cinnamon/camphor-like aroma.

Styrax benzoin herb
Styrax benzoin Flowers

Therapeutic Uses, Benefits and Claims of Styrax Benzoin

Styrax benzoin
Styrax benzoin – Illustration

The resin of the styrax benzoin tree contains cinnamon acid ester, benzoic acid ester, free acids (such as benzoic acid), styrol, styracin, phenyl-prophyl cinnamate, benzaldehyde, vanillin, and an oily fragrant liquid.

The styrax resin is a widely used ingredient in incense, and it was believed it could help to drive out evil spirits.

The resin is also used as a fixative (a preservative) and a fragrance component in perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, and toiletries. It is otherwise used as a flavor ingredient in food, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages.

Benzoin resin is a powerful antioxidant that can prevent fat from becoming rancid.

The use of the resin in herbal medicine is usually in the form of a tincture. It is made by dissolving the resin in alcohol. The tincture tends to have a viscous, sticky and oily consistency.

The styrax benzoin tincture is used internally as expectorant and disinfectant and can be a good herbal remedy for respiratory ailments and throat infections such as colds, flu, cough, asthma, chronic bronchitis and sore throat.

The resin is used as an ingredient in several types of cough and cold medications.

A mouthwash made from the tincture can be used to treat cold sores, thrush (oral candida infection), and other wounds or inflammation of the mucous membranes.

Dentists also use tinctures of benzoin resin as an anti-inflammatory agent after tooth extraction. Used internally, the resin also works as a disinfecting agent for the urinary tract.

The resin is a popular ingredient in skin care products and used to treat wounds, boils, dry skin, inflamed or irritated skin and eczema. The resin seems to cause constriction of the blood vessels and stimulate the formation of new cells.

In addition, the resin has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.

The resin also has a reputation for working well as an herbal remedy for poor circulation, muscle pain, rheumatism, arthritis and gout.

Dosage and Administration

The herb comes in various forms and is used in numerous products.

For best results, the manufacturer’s instructions should be followed or a trained herbalist should be consulted for the correct dose for the ailment in question.

Possible Side Effects and Interactions

Styrax benzoin resin should be used sparingly. A certain risk of hypersensitivity to the resin may occur.

The scent of the benzoin resin can be soporific in high concentrations.

To date, there have been no reports of known interactions with other medications, but further studies are needed.

As with all herbs intended as an herbal medicine a professional health care provider should be consulted prior to use.

Supporting References

Skidmore-Roth, Linda: Mosby’s Handbook of Herbs & Natural Supplements. St. Louis, Mosby 2001.
Lawless, Julia: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils. Shaftesbury, England. Element Books 1995.
Bown, Deni: Herbal. The Essential Guide to Herbs for Living. London. Pavilion Books Limited 2003.
Bown, Deni: The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. London, Dorling Kindersley 2002.
Bensky, Dan & Andrew Gamble: Chinese Herbal Medicine. Materia Medica. Seattle, Washington, Eastland Press Inc. 1993.
Bartram, Thomas: Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. London. Robinson 1998.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Facebook profileMy Google+ profile

Thordur Sturluson

Thor Sturluson has a BS in Biology, majoring in Botany, from the University of Maine and a masters degree in Zoology from the Open University in London. He's an experienced Biologist with a history of working in the environmental services industry. A trained scuba diver and researcher, Thor's has a keen interest in nature conservation and animal/plant protection. His work and botany passion has made The Herbal Resource what it is.
My Facebook profileMy Google+ profile

Latest posts by Thordur Sturluson (see all)

  • What is the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana? - June 3, 2019
Pin121
Share8
Share
Reddit
Flip
Tweet
Share
129 Shares

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Newsletter Sign-up

Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your inbox weekly.

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously

Footer

  • Newsletters
  • Deals
  • Ethical Foraging – Do’s and Don’ts
  • Write for Us
  • Partner, Advertising & Commercial Relationships
  • Affiliate Agreement
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Categories

  • Functional Medicine
  • Grow Your Own Herbs
  • Herbs – General
  • Herbs – Scientific Evidence
  • Herbs for Specific Ailments
  • Medicinal Herb Profiles
  • Phytochemicals
  • Poisonous Plants
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Uncategorized

Follow

Subscribe to notifications

Contact Information

Email: herb@herbal-supplement-resource.com

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

The Herbal Resource is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program as well as with other affiliate partners.

An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to their products and services.

Looking for Something?

© Copyright 2018 The Herbal Resource · All Rights Reserved!

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
SettingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT