Balsam (Peru) Essential Oil

Product Details Peru Balsam Essential Oil: Uses, Benefits, and Blends Although rarely spoken of as being sacred, Peru Balsam Essential Oil brings a gorgeous sense of calm and focus, as well as clarity to one's thoughts. This lovely, richly fragranced resin has historically been used for respiratory support, wound healing, and treating parasites. But how can you use Peru Balsam Essential Oil safely and creatively? Let’s have a look, shall we? Scientific Name: Myroxylon Pereirae Origin: El Salvador Plant Part: Resin Scent: Honey, Lemony, Sweet, Woody, Smokey, Reminiscent of Vanilla Color: Deep Brown Consistency: Very thick and sticky Perfumery Note: Base Initial Aroma Strength: Moderate to strong Extraction Method: Steam distillation Suitable Blending Oils: Beautiful with spice oils and woods. Lovely with flower oils. Lemon fragranced citruses. Breaking Down the Peru Balsam Essential Oil’s Chemical Components Benzyl benzoate: 59.0–86.2% (E)-Benzyl cinnamate: 0.4–30% 1% Benzoic acid: 1.4–6.3% (E)-Cinnamic acid: 0–5.8% (E)-Nerolidol: 2.0–3.1% (E)-Methyl cinnamate: tr–1.7% Benzyl alcohol: 1.3–1.6% Tisserand, Robert, Young, Rodney. Essential Oil Safety (p. 1565). Elsevier Health Sciences. Kindle Edition. Historical Uses of Peru Balsam Essential Oil The word Balsam has a Semitic root Beshe,m, which means fragrant spice or resin. Found from Mexico to Brazil, the sap has been used for centuries, and in the 16th century became known as the “Black Gold” of El Salvador. The trade for Peru Balsam grew, and so the search for trees grew too. Eventually, in the 1900s, the Eru Balsam was declared the national tree of El Salvador. The name of the oil is misleading, since it does not, and never has come from Peru. The name derives from the ancient conquistadors shipping it back from Spain. To fox pirates, ships carrying “Black Gold” would leave port in Peru. (Estes, 1995).Myroxylon Pereirae is a beautiful tree related to the bean family. The trees are large, growing to around 130 ft tall, high above the canopy. Its long, evergreen leaves hang in clusters of between 5–13 leaflets. It produces pretty white flowers with bright yellow stamens that then change into a long pod of around 10 cm, which contains just one seed. It produces a wood that is extremely resilient to all climates, and so is well sought after for civil construction, but also for furniture and musical instruments. The Essential Oil is steam distilled from a resin exuded from the bark, which is also well sought after for church incense. All parts of the tree are aromatic and have use; as such, everyone wants a piece of it, and the status of Peru Balsam is currently listed as being near threatened. This was further complicated by the fact that Peru Balsam had been confused with another tree. When this was discovered, it was realized that the situation was worse than had been previously thought. Planting efforts are underway to rebuild the species. Although Peru Balsam does have excellent medicinal prope