- Region
- South America
- Origin
- Tropical forests from southern Mexico to the Amazon of Peru and Brazil
South America · Herb · № 898
Myroxylon balsamum (var. pereirae)
Herb · South America
Balsam of Peru
Myroxylon balsamum (var. pereirae)
A large tree whose resin, the balsam, smells of vanilla and cinnamon. The balsam contains cinnamic acid, benzyl benzoate and vanillin, among other compounds, and is used in perfume, food and ointments for skin and wounds.
Safety notes
Balsam of Peru is among the five substances that most often cause contact allergy: redness, itching, blisters and eczema. Do not put it in the ear or use it on a perforated eardrum; earache with fever needs a doctor.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: One of the strongest contact allergens. Earache with fever or discharge needs a doctor.
- Curanderismo of northern Peru: Not internally. Balsam of Peru is a well-known cause of contact allergy.
Preparation
Do not prepare it yourself; only in ready-made products.
Use in traditions
The Spanish physician Nicolás Monardes described the balsam as early as 1574. In the Andes the tree is called quina quina; according to Bastien the name has nothing to do with cinchona bark at first, and only later passed from this tree to the cinchona. Kallawaya healers used the resin from the seeds for earache. In Peru the seeds were also carried in a pocket as a lucky charm.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
The resin from the seeds for earache.
Preparation and amount
Do not prepare or use it yourself.
Caution: One of the strongest contact allergens. Earache with fever or discharge needs a doctor.
Curanderismo of northern Peru
Attributed effects
In baths for mal aire, susto, headache and bronchitis.
Preparation and amount
Externally: boil the ground seeds (quina quina) in bath water, with the seeds of other plants.
Caution: Not internally. Balsam of Peru is a well-known cause of contact allergy.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Powder and kitchen