Witnessed by: TCM
Pine resin (colophony). The resin exuded by pines, gathered from wounds cut in the living trunk. Globally recognized as song zhi (松脂) · song xiang (松香) in Chinese, shōshi (松脂) in Japanese, pine resin · rosin · colophony in English, and Resina Pini · Colophonium in Latin. The part used is the resin, cleared of its volatile oil. Brittle, glassy translucent lumps, pale yellow to amber, that shatter under the hammer with a shell-like fracture and soften to stickiness in the hand; the smell is turpentine-like, the taste faintly bitter and resinous.
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.
PINE RESIN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- pine resin (colophony)
Form
- Part used
- the resin, cleared of its volatile oil
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Spleen
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- dispels wind and dries dampness, kills parasites and relieves itching, draws out pus and generates flesh, and stops pain
Cautions
- Contraindications
- not for a sore already hot, red and suppurating freely, nor where damp-heat is unresolved
- Toxicity
- a known contact sensitiser — plasters and ointments carrying it may raise a rash on sensitive skin; unprocessed resin taken internally is irritant, and the internal use of this drug is not undertaken lightly
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