Opopanax is the commercial name of ''bisabol'' or ''bissabol'', the fragrant oleo- gum-

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

of ''

Commiphora guidottii ''Commiphora guidottii'', commonly known as scented myrrh or bisabol, is a tree or shrub species that is native to the countries of Somalia and Ethiopia. Essential oil from its gum-resin has been researched for its use in topical treatment of wo ...

''. It has been a major export article from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

since ancient times, and is called ''hebbakhade'', ''habaghadi'' or ''habak hadi'' (''habbak haddi'') in Somali. It is an important ingredient in

perfumery Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

and therefore known as scented myrrh, sweet myrrh, perfumed myrrh or perfumed bdellium. Sometimes the oleo-gum-resin of ''

Commiphora holtziana The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the ...

'' (often treated as a synonym of ''C. erythraea'' or ''C. kataf''), called ''habak hagar'', ''habaq hagar ad'' or ''habbak harr'' in Somali, is also sold under the name of opopanax.

Etymology

"Opopanax" originally refers to the gum resin from plants of the genus ''

Opoponax Opopanax is the commercial name of ''bisabol'' or ''bissabol'', the fragrant oleo- gum-resin of '' Commiphora guidottii''. It has been a major export article from Somalia since ancient times, and is called ''hebbakhade'', ''habaghadi'' or ''habak ...

'' which is used in

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

rather than perfumery. In the early 20th century, the name "opopanax" was misapplied to bisabol in perfumery. Nowadays the true opopanax is seldom used and the commercial opopanax is almost exclusively bisabol. To distinguish bisabol from the true opoponax, it is often alternatively spelled opoponax, and sometimes referred to as the opopanax of perfumery or perfumery's opopanax.

Botanical origin

The true botanical origin of perfumery's opopanax is a tree native to Somalia and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, ''

'' Chiov. ex Guid., known as ''hadi'' in Somali. It has been mistakenly believed that the opopanax of perfumery comes from ''

Commiphora erythraea The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the ...

'' (Ehrenb.) Engl. or ''Commiphora kataf'' subsp. ''erythraea'' (Ehrenb.) J.B.Gillett, owing to historical misidentification. ''C. erythraea sensu stricto'' is narrowly distributed in the coastal region of the Red Sea, but ''C. erythraea sensu lato'' incorporates ''

'' Engl. which is widely distributed in East Africa, known as ''hagar ad'' or ''hagar'' in Somali. The oleo-gum-resin of ''hagar ad'' is sometimes sold under the name of opopanax or perfumed bdellium. This is not only because of historical misidentification, but also attributable to their similar scents. The oleo-gum-resin of ''hagar ad'' (''C. holtziana'' or ''C. erythraea'') is considered the second strongest-scented bdellium after that of ''hadi'' (''C. guidottii'').

Uses

A resinoid is prepared from the oleo-gum-resin by

solvent extraction A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

Steam distillation Steam distillation is a separation process that consists in distilling water together with other volatile and non-volatile components. The steam from the boiling water carries the vapor of the volatiles to a condenser; both are cooled and ret ...

of the resin gives the

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

, which has a warm, sweet, balsamic odor. Opopanax oil and resinoid are used in perfumes with

oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

characteristics. An IFRA recommendation exists.{{citation , author=Karl-Georg Fahlbusch , contribution=Flavors and Fragrances , title=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry , edition=7th , publisher=Wiley , year=2007 , pages=107–108, display-authors=etal, title-link=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry

References

Resins Perfume ingredients Incense material

Etymology

Botanical origin

Uses

See also

References