Ammoniacum

September 5th, 2008

Botanical Name: Dorema ammoniacum (D. DON.)

Family: N.O. Umbelliferae/Apiaceae (ay-pee-AY-see-ee) (Info)
Genus: Dorema
Species: ammoniacum
Synonyms: Gum Ammoniac.
Part Used: The gum resin exuding from the flowering and fruiting stem of Dorema ammoniacum and probably other species.
Habitat: Persia, extending into Southern Siberia.

Description: The plant grows to height of about 7 feet and in spring and early summer contains a milky juice. It is visited by numbers of beetles which puncture the stem and thus cause an exudation, part of which dries on the stem, the rest falling to the ground where it becomes mixed with stones and other impurities found in the gum collected by the natives.Its whole stem is pervaded with a milky juice, which oozes out on an incision being made at any part.
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The gum resin is found in special cavities in the tissues of the stem, root and petioles of the leaves. The name of the drug is said to be derived from the Temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan Desert where it was collected by the ancients. The gum resin occurs in commerce in two forms, tear ammoniacum and lump or block ammoniacum. The former alone is official in England and consists of pale yellow nodular masses varying in size from a pea to a walnut, brittle when cold but softens on warming, fractured surface, milky white or pale brown in colour. The lump ammoniacum, which is that collected from the ground, is used sometimes but is not official in medicine. The odour of the drug is slight, taste acrid and persistent.

The milky juice quickly hardens into round tears, forming the “tear ammoniacum” of commerce. “Lump ammoniacum,” the other form in which the substance is met with, consists of aggregations of tears, frequently incorporating fragments of the plant itself, as well as other foreign bodies. Ammoniacum has a faintly fetid, unpleasant odor, which becomes more distinct on heating; externally it possesses a reddish-yellow appearance, and when the tears or lumps are freshly fractured they exhibit a waxy luster. It is chiefly collected in central Persia, and comes to the European market by way of Bombay. Ammoniacum is closely related to asafoetida and galbanum (from which, however, it differs in yielding no umbelliferone) both in regard to the plant which yields it and its therapeutical effects. Internally it is used in conjunction with squills in bronchial affections; and in asthma and chronic colds it is found useful, but it has no advantages over a number of other substances of more constant and active properties (Sir Thomas Fraser).

Constituents: The drug contains volatile oil resin and gum. The resin consists of an indifferent resene associated with ammoresinotannol combined with salicylic acid.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Taken internally, it acts by facilitating expectoration and is of value in chronic bronchitis, especially in the aged when the secretion is tough and viscid. The resin has a mild diuretic action. It is antispasmodic and stimulant and is given sometimes as a diaphoretic and emmenagogue, used as a plaster for white swellings of the joints and for indolent tumours. Its use is of great antiquity and is mentioned by Hippocrates.

Preparations and Dosages: Ammoniacum mixture, B.P. 4 to 8 drachms. Ammoniacum in powder, 1 part; syrup of balsam of tolu, 2 parts; distilled water, 30 parts. Dose, 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce. Dose of the powdered gum, 5 to 15 grains, B.P.C. Dose of the powdered gum, 10 to 30 grains, U.S.P.

Ammoniacum Gummi – Homeopathic Remedies

Other Species: African Ammoniacum or ‘feshook,’ from Ferula Communis is not a commercial article. The Mahommedans use if for incense; this variety grows well in the author’s garden at Chalfont St. Peter.

The “tear ammoniacum” is officinal. African ammoniacum is the product of a plant said to be Ferula tingitana, which grows in North Africa; it is a dark colored gum-resin, possessed of a very weak odor and a persistent acrid taste.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/ammon032.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammoniacum