Myrrh shrub

Our ancestors were, of course, ignorant of the neurobiology of opiates or prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors. In the distant past, when a person felt pain—particularly in the absence of evidence of injury—spiritual healers or medicine men developed fanciful myths to explain the cause of the pain, treated it with a decoction from the willow tree or myrrh shrub, and were often rewarded with elevated positions in their communities when their treatments seemed to magically make the pain go away and produced such an intense feeling of joy at the same time. With the advance of modern science, we know more about the mechanisms of pain and about the reasons why some drugs are better at treating it than others. 

Myrrh (Commiphora moimoi) is a shrub that grows in eastern Mediterranean regions and Somalia (Gruenwald, 1998). It grows irregular, knotted branches, trifoliate leaves, and yellow-red flowers (figure 8.5). The part used is a resin that exudes from the bark. It was made into an oint-... 

Myrrh oil and myrrh resinoids are produced from the air-dried gum of Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl. var. molmol Engl., C. abyssinica Engl, and C. schimperi Engl. (Burseraceae), shrubs that grow in Northeast Africa and Arabia. 

Myrrh A fragrant, bttter-tastlng gum resin exuded from several shrubs of Arabia and East Africa, used In making Incense, perfumes, etc. 

Myrtle (Myrtus communis) is an evergreen shrub, the essential oil of which is much prized in perfumery. On the other hand, myrrh (Hebrew murr = bitter) refers to the resin of the tree Commiphora myrrha, from the balscim family, which is used in embalming. 

Many plants produce defence secretions that form protective barriers when the structure of the plant is damaged and exposed to air. Examples include pine rosin and rubber. In some cases, the exudates contain antibacterial or antifungal components as is the case, e.g., with myrrh. This is the resin of the shrub Commiphora abyssinica that contains a number of such compounds including the eudesmane derivative (15). 

Commiphora species yielding myrrh are shrubs to small trees up to about 10 m high native to northeastern Africa and... 

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