Sandarac, Cypress Gum

Alerce Cypress, Vernix, Gum Juniper
Picture Sandarac
Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491

Picture Tetraclinis articulata
F.E. Köhler, Medizinal Pflanzen, vol. 2 (1890)

Botanical name:


Two distinct species are credited with supplying Sandarac:
  1. Tetraclinis articulata (syn. Callitris quadrivalvis, Thuja articulata); the typical product on the market)
  2. Juniper communis (traditional

Tetraclinis is known as the Sandarac Tree, and can be considered the principal species. It is likely that related conifer and Juniper species may have supplied the market in the past.

Parts used:


Gum

Temperature & Taste:


Warm, dry. Pungent, Bitter

Uses:


1. Clears Wind, Resolves Damp:
-Headache, Dizziness, Vertigo, Lethargy, Paralysis from Damp
-Catarrh (internally and as a fumigation); Head oppressed with Phlegm
-Cold and Damp pain; Fluid swelling
-Arthritic, Rheumatic and Gout pain; weakness of the Joints
-Obesity
-Dysuria (Mesue)

2. Strengthens the Womb:
-excess Menstruation
-Threatened Miscarriage (as a plaster)

3. Clears Phlegm:
-Phlegm obstructing the Lungs or Stomach

4. Used in Pharmacy:
-commonly used in the formation of plasters and ointments
-also used to make Varnish

5. Externally:
-topically to Polyps, Warts
-fumigation for Catarrh, and to strengthen the Brain
-used in tooth powders
-contraction of the Sniews
-resolves Tumors and hardness


Dose:


Powder: 500mg–3 grams (Salmon said 1–2 drams)
Spirit of Sandarac: ½–1 dram
Distilled Oil: 4–9 drops (up to 12 drops) on sugar, dissolved in wine
Mostly used externally

Comment:


1. Note the name Sandarach was classically used for the arsenic ore Realgar (Red Orpiment).
2. The powder dissolved in alcohol makes the traditional Varnish, or else gently boiled in Linseed oil.

Substitute:


1. Juniper gum was the traditional source of Sandarac.
2. Resin can be substituted in plasters and external preparations.

Main Combinations:


1. Catarrh, Cold and Damp obstructing the Head:
i. Sandarac, Mace, Aloeswood, Tabasheer, Mastic (Nicholas)
ii. Sandarac, Storax, Mastic, Costus, Indian Spikenard, Aloeswood (Mesue)
iii. Sandarac, Pomegranate flower, Cyperus rotundus, Mastic, Clove, Citron peel, Coral, Amber, Frankincense (as in Powder of Pomegranate Flowers)
iv. Sandarac, Mastic, Frankincense, Amber, Sandalwood, Rose wood, Storax, Benzoin, Clove, as a Fumigation, for Catarrh etc
2. To reduce excessively large Breast, Sandarac, Sarcocolla, Fern root, Alum (½ dram each), make 5 pills with Orris juice. Take one each morning, fasting 4 hours after.
3. Threatened Miscarriage, Sandarac, Tragacanth, Gum Arabic (both roasted), Bdellium, Frankincense, Dragon’s Blood, made into a plaster and applied to the pubic region. 
4. A Salvie for Arthritis, Sagapen (1 oz.), Bdellium and Gum Ammoniac (½ oz. each), Sandarac (¼ oz). Dissolve the gums in a little red wine vinegar and with wax form a salve (Wirtzung)
5. Lax Joints and Fluid swelling, Sandarac, Turpentine, Gum Ammoniac, Galbanum, Sulphur as a plaster. It is resolvent and strengthening.
6. A bag for Cold pain of the Head, Sandarac, Cumin, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mastic, sewn into a silk bag and held upon the Head. (Wirtzung)
7. Nasal Polyps, Sandarac, Alum, Myrrh, burnt Copper, Galls, used topically (Galen)
8. To resolve Tumors, Sandarac, Frankincense, Mouse dung (Pliny)
9. Leprosy, Sandarac, Black Hellebore, Mustard, Nigella, Pyrethrum, Euphorbium, Scammony, Costus, Rue, Mandrake, Stavesacre (as in Ungent for Leprosy from Botanicon Continens Herbarum Dorsten, 1540)
10. Warts:
i. Sandarac, Orpiment, Quicklime, Frankincense, Birthwort, Resin (Nicholas)
11. To clean and whiten the teeth, Sandarac, Pumice, Cuttlefish bone, Egg shell, Coral, Orris, Mastic (Wirtzung)

Major Formulas:


Powder for Head Wounds (Bononiense)
Tooth Powder to Whiten the Teeth (Wirtzung)
Powder of Pomegranate Flowers

Cautions:


None noted

Main Preparations used:


Tincture

1. TINCTURE OF SANDARAC
  Sandarac             1 oz.
  Alcohol                1 pound
Mix. Extract a tincture.
Dose: 1–1½ dram
Click the Tabs above for more information on this Medicin
GENERAL / REVIEW:
–Tetraclinis articulata (vahl) masters: An insight into its ethnobotany, phytochemistry, toxicity, biocide and therapeutic merits.
–On the tracks of sandarac, review and chemical analysis.
–Identification of the main constituents in sandarac resin, a natural gum base.

ANTI-BACTERIAL:
–[Antibacterial and bacteriostatic activity of carbol resin and sandarac resins].