Myrrh - Medicinal Plant of the Year 2021
Due to its great importance in the cultural and medical history, research in the recent past and the potential for medical use, the interdisciplinary study group Development History of Medicinal Herbology chooses the myrrh tree as the medicinal plant of the year 2021.
Botany
The myrrh tree (Commiphora myrrha, syn. Commiphora molmol) is a deciduous, thorny small tree from the balsam family (Burseraceae) that reaches a height of about 4 m. It is native to the arid regions of northeastern Kenya and eastern Ethiopia, in Djibouti, Somalia and on the Arabian Peninsula (Oman and Yemen).
The myrrh tree is to be distinguished from other Commiphora species, some of which were and are also used medicinally.
history
The ritual and medicinal use of the aromatic gum resin, the actual (real) myrrh, is already mentioned in the oldest surviving records of mankind. In our culture we are especially familiar with the mentions in the Bible. In the 2nd book of Moses (Ex 30,23-25), myrrh is found as the first component of the holy anointing oil. The balsamic-sweet and spicy-warm smelling resin is very stable when dried and was already transported as a valuable commodity over long trade routes in ancient times. The best known is the passage in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2,11), where the magicians from the East offer gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn child.
A very diverse medical use is documented in ancient Egyptian texts, including: in formulations for the treatment of coughs and for the care of wounds, which is continued by the authors of Greco-Roman antiquity. In the Middle Ages, digestive tract complaints developed into a main area of application for myrrh, for example with the Persian doctor Ibn Sina (Latin Avicenna, approx. 980/1037) and in the influential school of Salerno ("Circa instans", 12th century). In the handwriting of Hildegard von Bingen's natural history, there are two chapters on myrrh; it describes in detail the use of the bark for jaundice and paralysis, as well as the external use of the resin for stomach ailments and internally for fever. In the early printed herbal books of the 15th and 16th centuries, the applications focus on complaints of the respiratory and digestive tract. Finally, in the 18th and 19th centuries, myrrh was also recommended as a general tonic for the stomach, heart and nerves.
Today, preparations made from myrrh are used in Europe because of their astringent, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, especially for inflammation of the skin and the mucous membranes in the mouth and throat, but also of the intestines: a combination with chamomile and coffee charcoal is used in clinical studies due to positive results Remission-maintaining treatment is recommended for ulcerative colitis.
Extensive research is currently underway around the world, in which not only the resin but also other components of the myrrh tree are examined. An abundance of pharmacologically interesting substances has already been identified in the Harz, indicating further medical potential.
The choice of the myrrh tree was based on a formalized award of points for its historical significance, the preclinical and clinical research situation and current medical practice, in which the myrrh tree outperformed the other medicinal plants proposed by the expert jury.
The interdisciplinary study group Development History of Medicinal Herbology has chosen the Medicinal Plant of the Year since 1999. The primary aim is to remember the long and well-documented history of plants in European medicine. From this history, important indications for the pharmaceutical and medical use of well-known medicinal plants can be extracted. The award will take place on November 19, the birthday of the medical historian Dr. Johannes Gottfried Mayer.