Dewy frankincense, or benzoic resin of tropical trees, is obtained with cuts from the branches and trunk of an old-tree tree from the old-family.
This is a tropical tall tree with rounded pale green leaves, the lower part of which is white. It has flattened fruits, something like nutmeg. Of incisions in the bark, a dewy incense stands out and freezes in the light. The tropical tree of the Tonkin Styrax grows up to 30 m. You can meet it in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. By the way, in the East in ancient times, benzoic resin was used as a means that drives away evil spirits. Also in Malaysia, China, on the island of Java and Sumatra, dew incense is mined. A tropical tree called Styrax benzoin Dryander grows in these places. In Chinese medicine, resin was used in the treatment of gastrointestinal and infectious diseases.
The composition of dew incense includes cinnamon and benzoic acid, and
their esters and vanillin. Depending on the composition, there are several varieties of this resin, for example, Indonesian, Siamese and Calcutta. Indonesian resin is a mass of gray-brown color with reddish veins. It has a characteristic smell, in which there is no vanilla note. This suggests that it contains cinnamon and phenylpropyl alcohol, cinnamic acid esters and very little styrene and vanillin. And Siamese resin is orange-brown. She has a sweet balsamic aroma, which pleasantly gives vanilla. This resin is better in quality. Coniferyl alcohol, benzoic acid, rosin-like resins and 1.5% vanillin - this is what Siamese dew incense consists of. A tropical tree called Styrax tonkinensis is a producer of Siamese resin, which is also called Tonkin.
In Europe, benzoin was introduced in the 14th century; Arabian merchants supplied it to Alexandria. And it came to Western Europe thanks to the Venetian merchants. Its name is Rosny
th frankincense - resin received in Russia, since here too they believed in the medicinal properties that tropical trees can be endowed with. Indonesian resin in Europe gained fame a little later, it came from the island of Sumatra. There since ancient times, the extraction of this resin was the main industry among local residents.
Today, dew incense in its purest form is used in India for incense smoking. And in Europe, it is part of the main incense, which consists of many components and is used by Catholics during worship. Benzoic resin is used in the manufacture of both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, dough products and chewing gum. By the way, it is registered as a food supplement under the number E906. In addition, it is used in the cosmetic industry, as it is able to smooth wrinkles, moisturize the skin, regenerate damaged cells, remove toxins, stimulate blood circulation and so on. Resin of tropical trees has also found its place in medicine: it reduces joint pain, heals wounds, reduces irritability, and helps with infectious diseases and inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. And this is not a complete list of useful properties that dew incense is known for. The tropical tree, as you see, also has unique abilities, such as our famous Siberian trees.
