Witnessed by: Western
Tolu balsam (Myroxylon balsamum), of the Fabaceae family. Large forest tree, tapped through V-cuts in the bark; the drug is the exuded balsam, not a plant part; native range: the forests of northern South America — Colombia and Venezuela, and through Central America; the drug named for Santiago de Tolú on the Colombian coast, the port it shipped from. Globally recognized as bálsamo de Tolú in Spanish, and balsam of Tolu, Tolu balsam, Thomas balsam in English. The part used is the balsam — the resinous exudate obtained by incising the trunk. A soft brown resin that hardens with age to a brittle, glassy, amber-brown mass, breaking cleanly; the smell sweet, warm and markedly of vanilla and benzoin, the taste sweet and aromatic with a faint acrid tail.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
TOLU BALSAM
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- tolu balsam
- Scientific name
- Myroxylon balsamum (L.) Harms
- Family
- Fabaceae
Form
- Part used
- the balsam — the resinous exudate obtained by incising the trunk
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- sweet · aromatic
Temperature
- Western
- warm
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- lungs · mucous membranes
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- stimulant expectorant, mild antiseptic, a gentle stimulant to the respiratory mucous membranes, and — its commonest use — a flavouring and vehicle
Cautions
- Contraindications
- known sensitivity to the balsams — a patient reacting to balsam of Peru should be assumed to react to Tolu
- Toxicity
- low toxicity taken inwardly. Its real hazard is allergic: Tolu, like balsam of Peru, is a well-recognised contact sensitiser and a standard allergen on the dermatologist's patch-test series, and it cross-reacts with balsam of Peru, benzoin and the cinnamates. Repeated exposure raises contact dermatitis and cheilitis.
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