Olibanum

Frankincense tree Boswellia

Description

A natural, triterpenoid gum-resin obtained from the Boswellia caterii trees native to Africa and Arabia. Olibanum, or frankincense, contains 3-8% volatiles oils (pinene, dipentene), 60% resins (mostly triterpenoids), 20% gums, and 6-8% bassorin. Olibanum comes in hard yellow grains. It is used in incense and perfumes.

FTIR

Synonyms and Related Terms

Boswellia caterii; frankincense; olíbano (Esp.); Incenso di Somalia (It)

Authority

• Thomas Gregory, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 3rd ed., 1942

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 589

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 6969

• Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technologies, Paul Nicholson, Ian Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000 Comment: M.Serpico, R.White, "Resins, Amber and Bitumen