[Herbalist] Benzoin gum

[foxryde]

--
Greetings, Tegan,

Not trying to correct you, just trying to add a bit more information.  :-)

Any time you add oil and water together, it has the potential to spoil in
very nasty anaerobic ways.  Remember all the flap about garlic oils a few
years ago, serious botulism infestations. Tinctures contain water (and
alcohol) so I don't recommend them for a salve.

I use benzoin gum powder during the infusion process.   Benzoin gum is a
sacrificial oxidizer to keep the oil from going rancid.  I get about 5
years of shelf-life on my salves with benzoin gum.  The Vitamin E salves go
rancid in about 18 months.

It does not kill the extant or introduced buggies, though.  In a waterless
salve, there is very little concern about these, however.  The salve is not
hospitable to fungus or molds or other critters as there is no water.

All the best,
Mistress Leonora

At 10:24 AM 2/6/03 -0500, you wrote:

>I was told a bit of tincture of benzoin(sp).  But if I'm wrong, someone
>please correct me.
>
>Tegan
>
>
>
>Original Message:
>-----------------
>From: Jenne Heise jenne at mail.browser.net
>Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 08:45:06 -0500 (EST)
>To: herbalist at ansteorra.org
>Subject: RE: [Herbalist] bruise salve
>
>
> > Has anyone actually ever made this concoction?
>
>Yes, I know some people who make it and swear by it.
>
> >What makes the oil and the
> > alcohol stay mixed together - I don't see an emulsifier.  I also don't see
> > any preservative to keep the mixture from going bad (oil and water make a
> > wonderful bacterial soup - my research doesn't support alcohol as a
> > reliable buggie killer).
>
>*blink* I missed something here.... Alcohol is a very good preservative,
>well known for killing 'buggies'. Mixtures of either vinegar or alcohol in
>sufficient quantities with oil are quite well known for NOT going bad...
>
>Now, the recipe in question is not period at all, and I don't know what
>accounts for the popularity-- I'm much more in favor of Iasmin's bruise
>balm.
>
>Does anyone have any good tips for additives to solid (beeswax) balms?
>Some of the ones I have made have developed dark/grey spots in them, which
>probably means they are spoiled. But I'm not sure what to add to keep this
>from happening, and I can't give away the stuff until I'm sure I can
>stabilize it!
>
>Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise        jenne at mail.browser.net
>"I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by
>giving, by losing." -- Anais Nin
>
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