Myrrh

Myrrh is formed as a physiological, viscous oleo-gum-resin, and thus occurs naturally in

the trunks of the small trees of various Commiphora species. The trees, or shrubs, grow
in various parts of eastern Africa, north of the Equator, and in southern Arabia opposite
the East African coast. It is collected in Arabia, Ethiopia and Somaliland and parts of the
Sudan.
The best quality of myrrh is obtained from the species Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl.
To increase yield and production, the native collectors make incisions in the bark to allow
the resin to excise.
Myrrh consists of rounded or irregular tears, or agglomerated masses of smaller and
larger tears of a moderate yellow to dark or reddish brown color. The odor is warmbalsamic, sweet and somewhat spicy aromatic.
Myrrh oil is produced either by steam distillation of crude myrrh or from myrrh extracts.
Myrrh oil is described as warm-spicy, often showing a very peculiar, sharp-balsamic,
slightly medicinal smoky topnote with a delightful lift. The sweetness increases to a
deep, warm-spicy and aromatic dry out which is quite unique.
Although the chemical composition is quite complex (see the reprints), the following
constituents are most important to the odor.

Dihydropyrocurzerenone

Furanoeudesma-1,3-diene

Lindestrene

Wilson & Mookherjee noted that a mixture of furanoeudesma-1,3-diene and lindestrene

possessed a typical myrrh-deep, rich, leathery incense, warm, balsamic, sweet aromawhereas dihydropyrocurzerenone possessed a very heavy resinous myrrh with rich, sweet
incense notes. The latter compound was further described as possessing a very
characteristic odor of myrrh.
______________
Wilson RA, Mookherjee BD. (1983) Characterization of aroma donating components of
myrrh. Proceedings of 9th International Congress of Essential Oils, Singapore, 1317
March, paper no. 400, pp. 110, Book 4. Singapore: Essential Oils Association of
Singapore. See also - Lumr O. Hanu, Tom ezanka, Valery M. Dembitsky, Arieh
Moussaieff, MyrrhCommiphora Chemistry, Biomed. Papers 149(1), 328 (2005).
Frankincense (more often known as Olibanum)

Frankincense is produced from Boswellia species, the best being

Boswellia carterii Birdwood, fam. Burseraceae although several related
Boswellia species are also used (e.g., Boswellia frereana, B.
Bhaudajiana, B. papyrifera, B. sacra and B. serrata).
These are small trees originating in the mountainous areas of western
India, southern Arabia and northeastern Africa. Most comes from
northeastern Africa.
Frankincense is a translucent and brittle oleo-gum-resin that looks like
irregular
Droplets or tear-shaped lumps or globs obtained when the bark is
incised.
The viscous oleo-gum-resin, which oozes out and soon resinifies, is either collected off
the branches or collected from fallen pieces on the ground. The resin is available in
various grades. The grades depend on the time of harvesting, and the resin is hand-sorted
for quality. The quality is largely dependent on the amount of volatile essential oil present
and the constituents of the Boswellia variety.
The odor of Frankincense oil is described as fresh, diffusive, terpene, somewhat greenfruity citrus with peppery top notes and a rich, sweet, woody, balsamic undertone. Good
qualities also exhibit an almost cistus, amber-type, balsamic dry out note.
The main constituents are normally octyl acetate, octanol, terpenenoids (e.g., pinenes,
thujene, p-cymene, bornyl acetate, verbenone, etc.), with lesser amounts of
sesquiterpenoids (cadinenes, alpha-muurolene, caryophyllene oxide, etc.) and often major
amounts of cembranoids (e.g., Incensole, Incensyl acetate).
The octyl acetate and octanol contribute the green-fruity citrus notes while the peppery
top notes come from the monoterpenes. The woody balsamic notes are due in part to the
sesquiterpenoids as well as verbenone and bornyl acetate.
In normal use as a perfume constituent it is doubtful that the
cembranoids, incensole and incensyl acetate, contribute a significant odor, but when
aerosoled in the incense fumes of the smoldering resin they undoubtedly contribute to the
distinct incense character. Basar has shown that the gum resin incense smoke contains
significant amounts of the cembranoids incensole and incensyl acetate.
---------Ref: Simla Basar, PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON BOSWELLIA
SPECIES - Comparative Studies on the Essential Oils, Pyrolysates and Boswellic Acids
of Boswellia carterii Birdw., Boswellia serrata Roxb., Boswellia frereana Birdw.,
Boswellia neglecta S. Moore and Boswellia rivae Engl., Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Hamburg, 2005.

Burning of Frankicense resin as incense has been part of religious and cultural
ceremonies for millennia and is believed to contribute to the spiritual and emotional
exaltation associated with such events. The use of Frankicense resin in religious
ceremonies as incense material is still important in the Roman
Catholic, Episcopal and eastern Orthodox churches.

OAc

O
OAc

Octyl acetate

Incensyl acetate
Cembra-8,12-diene-1,4-oxide-5-yl acetate

While the medicinal use of Myrrh goes back to early Egyptian times, it has recently been
shown that Incensyl acetate elicits psychoactivity by activating TRPV3 channels in the
brain and may be a potential candidate for use in treating anxiety and depression.
Ref: Arieh Moussaieff, et al., Incensole acetate, an incense component, elicits
psychoactivity by activating TRPV3 channels in the brain FASEB J August 1, 2008
22:3024-3034
Pine
In the case of Myrrh & Frankincense, the use goes back several thousand years. Today,
one of the familiar scents of Christmas is that derived from the use of Christmas trees,
which produce the familiar scent of pine needles. It was not until the 15th 16th century
that the erecting and decorating of coniferous evergreen trees began.
In Europe the use of the Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Silver Fir (Abies alba) are
popular, while in the Americas the Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Balsam Fir
(Abies balsamea) and Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) are commonly used as Christmas trees.
The scent of such trees is primarily due to the terpenoids (e.g., alpha-Pinene, beta-Pinene)
and especially Bornyl acetate (which by itself has the characteristic pine needle aroma).
Two of most highly scented trees are Abies alba and Abies balsamea which have bornyl
acetate contents as high as 12-14% of the volatile oils.

OAc
Bornyl acetate

-Pinene

-Pinene

For those using artificial trees, the use of commercial pine scents can add a touch of the
real thing.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was so highly prized among ancient
nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for honoring gods.
The familiar scent of cinnamon permeates many households at Christmas from cookies
and baked treats to the use of cinnamon sticks in hot toddies.
The main aroma constituents of Cinnamon bark are cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol,
which normally comprise about 70% and 5% of the volatiles respectively. Cinnamic
aldehyde is the characteristic cinnamon note while eugenol has the character of clove.
OH
O
O
Cinnamic aldehyde

Eugenol

Note much of the information on composition of these materials was derived from ESO
2006 - Database of Essential Oils, Boelens Aroma Chemical Information Service. 2006,
Leffingwell & Associates, Pub., Canton GA, USA while the odor descriptions are derived
from Flavor-Base 2010, Leffingwell & Associates, Pub.