Myrrh
Myrrh holds a distinguished place in human history, valued by ancient Egyptians for embalming bodies being prepared for mummification and temple rituals and employed across traditional medicine systems for its powerful antiseptic and healing properties. The name “myrrh” derives from the Semitic root “murr,” meaning bitter.
Myrrh is obtained from the commiphora myrrha tree, as well as a few other varieties of commiphora (of which nearly 200 have been documented). One famous myrrh variety is the Gilead’s balm mentioned in the bible. Commiphora myrrha is a thorny tree or shrub native to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen. Growing in rocky, arid terrain at elevations up to 1,800 meters, these hardy trees rarely exceed 5 meters in height.
The resin is harvested in two ways. Myrrh trees occasionally exude resin by themselves, not only to protect the tree, but also to evacuate excess moisture after rains. This resin is called ‘suhul’, meaning ‘given freely’ and is the most prized of myrrh resins. Otherwise, it it collected after making incisions in the bark. The tree responds by exuding a pale yellow liquid that hardens into irregular, reddish-brown tears or lumps as it oxidizes in the air.
Fresh myrrh, like all other resins, is sticky and hard to handle. With age, it hardens and becomes more brittle. When stored in a closed container outside of direct light, myrrh resin can retain its bioactive properties for many years. Myrrh resin usually fetches higher prices than that of frankincense carterii, as it is more painful to collect.
Myrrh’s scent is deep, warm, earthy and slightly bitter.
Chemical Composition
- Gum Fraction (40-60%): Myrrh contains significantly more water-soluble polysaccharides than frankincense species. This high gum content makes fresh myrrh notably sticky and moisture-absorbing. When burned, it produces a thick, heavy smoke.
- Resin Fraction (25-40%): Contains acids that serve similar anti-inflammatory roles as frankincense’s boswellic acids but through different biochemical pathways. Also includes astringent compounds that give myrrh its characteristic tightening effect on tissues, making it such a wonderful wound-healer
- Volatile Oil Fraction (2-5%): This relatively low oil content creates myrrh’s distinctive warm, earthy, slightly medicinal aroma. Among the main ingredients are the bioactive sesquiterpenes curzerene and beta elemene, which both inhibit the growth of tumors, inducing apoptosis (self-destruction of cancer cells), reduce inflammations, provide pain relief and help keep depression and cognitive impairment at bay.
Traditional and Contemporary Uses
Burnt as incense, myrrh’s heavy, resinous smoke has made it central to religious and spiritual practices across Christianity, Islam, and other traditions. In the Somali countryside, myrrh is burnt to chase vermin, especially snakes. In other traditions too, the smoke was believed to purify spaces, carry prayers heavenward, and create a sacred atmosphere. Its tenacious base notes, which sweeten somewhat when burned, ground and center you.
Ancient Egyptians used myrrh extracts in mummification, religious ceremonies, as medicine and perfume. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is called “Mo Yao” and serves to move blood and relieve pain. Myrrh was a mainstay of medieval pharmacies in East and West, and its use has been amply attested in historical sources. It was known as a battlefield drug among ancient Egyptian, Persian and Greek soldiers as it is so efficient for wound care and tissue repair. Other attested uses across cultural traditions are
- an anti-inflammatory and for pain relief of muscles and joints,
- for gynecological purposes (stimulating menstruation, relieving uterine congestion and for post-partum cleansing),
- against gum disease and oral ulcers,
- to strengthen the digestive system
- to preserve the body after death.
Myrrh Essential Oil
The low content of essential oils in myrrh resin means that it requires 60 to 120 kg of resin to produce one litre of essential oil (with frankincense the rate is typically 15-30 kg/litre). Given that myrrh resin is usually more expensive than frankincense, true essential oil of myrrh is extremely costly.
2Mages myrrh essential oil is such a pure, unadulterated product. Perfumers and connoisseurs will be delighted!
As many of the healing properties of myrrh are contained in the more abundant resin, resin extracts are much more common and cheaper. Often they are erroneously labeled ‘essential oil’. It is easy to test: essential oils are lighter than water, while resin extracts are heavier. The resin extract is dark brown, thick, heavy and resinous (sticky). Therefore it can best be used with a dropper/pipette, as it will clog orifice reducers. When used in a diffuser or a bath it needs to be mixed carefully into the water – otherwise it may settle as a drop at the bottom of the water, refusing to mix. When myrrh resin extract is mixed with other oils, you should therefore shake the mix before use.
In perfumery, myrrh often serves as a fixative, grounding other scents. It smells ancient, mysterious and often a bit heavy. That is because this oil is exceptionally rich in sesquiterpenes, which provide the deep, earthy, smoky and tenacious base notes, and only has 5-15% monoterpenes (limonene, alpha-pinene and others) that provide top notes.
In aromatherapy, myrrh is rather contemplative than uplifting; it grounds and centers, thus supporting emotional processing and introspection.
Myrrh oil has amazing therapeutic qualities. It has a nearly miraculous effect on infected wounds: as an analgesic (pain-killer), as an anti-microbial disinfectant, and as a skin tissue repairing agent all at once, leaving no scar. It works very well on first degree burns, on dental infections, infected gums and other tissues. It provides instant relief after insect bites. 2Mages has developed a wound serum with a relatively high concentration of myrrh (and some frankincense) for topical use.
