TY - JOUR
T1 - The Jerusalem Balsam
T2 - From the Franciscan Monastery in the old city of Jerusalem to Martindale 33
AU - Moussaieff, A.
AU - Fride, E.
AU - Amar, Z.
AU - Lev, E.
AU - Steinberg, D.
AU - Gallily, R.
AU - Mechoulam, R.
PY - 2005/10/3
Y1 - 2005/10/3
N2 - The Jerusalem Balsam, a remedy based on an ethanolic extract of a herbal mixture, was formulated in 1719 in the pharmacy of the Saint Savior monastery in the old city of Jerusalem. Having gained fame, the Jerusalem Balsam was replicated and prepared in Europe. One can still find variations of the formula in current pharmacopoeias (B.P., 1998. The Stationary Office, London, p. 1510; Sweetman, S.C., Blake, P.S., McGlashan, J.M., Parsons, A.V., 2002. Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopeia, 33rd ed. Pharmaceutical Press, London, p. 1101). We report here, five different formulas, all referred to as "The Jerusalem Balsam". Three of those formulas were translated and two of these translations are presented in the text. A third one is available as Supplementary data online. As the formulas originate from different historical periods, the Jerusalem Balsam may be a good case study of the development of pharmaceutical formulations over a 250 years period. One of the formulas, found in a manuscript form in the archive of the monastery, contains four plants: olibanum (Boswellia spp.), myrrh (Commiphora spp.), aloe (Aloe sp.) and mastic (Pistacia lentiscus L.). We conducted pharmacological assays on this four-plant formula. It showed anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-oxidative, and anti-septic properties.
AB - The Jerusalem Balsam, a remedy based on an ethanolic extract of a herbal mixture, was formulated in 1719 in the pharmacy of the Saint Savior monastery in the old city of Jerusalem. Having gained fame, the Jerusalem Balsam was replicated and prepared in Europe. One can still find variations of the formula in current pharmacopoeias (B.P., 1998. The Stationary Office, London, p. 1510; Sweetman, S.C., Blake, P.S., McGlashan, J.M., Parsons, A.V., 2002. Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopeia, 33rd ed. Pharmaceutical Press, London, p. 1101). We report here, five different formulas, all referred to as "The Jerusalem Balsam". Three of those formulas were translated and two of these translations are presented in the text. A third one is available as Supplementary data online. As the formulas originate from different historical periods, the Jerusalem Balsam may be a good case study of the development of pharmaceutical formulations over a 250 years period. One of the formulas, found in a manuscript form in the archive of the monastery, contains four plants: olibanum (Boswellia spp.), myrrh (Commiphora spp.), aloe (Aloe sp.) and mastic (Pistacia lentiscus L.). We conducted pharmacological assays on this four-plant formula. It showed anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-oxidative, and anti-septic properties.
KW - Aloe sp.
KW - Balsam
KW - Boswellia spp.
KW - Commiphora spp.
KW - Mastic
KW - Myrrh
KW - Olibanum
KW - St. Savior
KW - Traditional medicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=24644511790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2005.03.028
DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2005.03.028
M3 - Article
C2 - 15963667
AN - SCOPUS:24644511790
SN - 0378-8741
VL - 101
SP - 16
EP - 26
JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
IS - 1-3
ER -