Crude drug sample data base

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Crude drug name

Market nameKundur
Urudu nameKundur
Arabic name /
Persian name		Kundur / Husn-lab
English nameIndian Olibanum, Frankincense
Original plant nameBoswellia serrata Roxb., Indian Olibanum, Frankincense
Family nameBurseraceae
Used partClassificationPlant origin
Sub classification resin
Collection informationIslamic Republic of Pakistan, Karachi [Karachi], Sind, Amjad Unani Medicine (Pvt.) Ltd.
Collection date1994/1/22
CollectorTsuneo Namba
IdentifierJaved Ahmad
DescriptionFeatures:
The gum hard, opaque, or translucent tears of greenish white, golden yellow, or light brown colour, occurring in various sizes. The shape ranges from round and club-shaped to typical stalactitic. Sometimes it occurs as lumps of agglutinated tears. Fracture - short and brittle; exposing a shining glossy surface; taste - astringent and mucilaginous.
TMPW No.14445

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Production area information
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25.0700428
67.2847875
Collection information
Islamic Republic of Pakistan,Karachi [Karachi], Sind
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Scientific information data base

Crude drug nameUrudu name,
English name		Kundur, Indian Olibanum, Frankincense
Arabic name / Persian nameKundur / Husn-lab
crude drug image
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Original plant nameBoswellia serrata Roxb.
Family nameBurseraceae
Used partOleo-gum resin
Distribution areaIt is found in the mountainous tracts of Central India (Madhaya Pradesh) and on the Coromandal Coast.
DescriptionTrees are found in Arabia and Africa. Kundur used to be obtained from the Ibisiniya, a city in Africa. In the market the same gum is obtained by the name of kundur. In India allied species of this genus yield kundur of commerce. It is a well-known drug. It is adulterated with different kinds of gums and pine resin. Frankincense in inflammable on contact with fire while the pine resin gives only smoke. Hence all the adulterated samples of frankincense do not catch fire. The Indian frankincense is greenish in colour. Another variety of frankincense is cut into square pieces, kept in a jar and rolled till the pieces become round. Its another variety is white and when used in fresh state, it becomes laxative like the mastic. On storage it becomes red. Other parts of the plant, specially the leaves, are also used.
Function and propertiesCosmetics, Swellings, Ulcers, Head, Eye, Chest, Food, Excretion, Fevers.

Demulcent, emollient, exhilarant, emmenagogue, stimulant-expectorant, abortifacient, detersive, antidiarrhoeal/antidiarrheal and resolvent in application, antiseptic, tonic for vital organs and for improving vitality. Its smoke is highly desiccant and astringent. The red variety is more detersive than the white one.
Specific actionsDemulcent, emollient and detersive.
Frequency in useCommon.
Common usesCosmetics: Application of frankincense with honey removes whitlow.

Swellings: It is applied on the hot swellings of the breast with camolian earth and rose oil. Besides, it is incorporated in the plasters which are made to dissolve the inflammation of viscera.

Ulcers: It is good wound healing drug particularly when it is fresh. It prevents the spread of malignant ulcers. It is applied with duck fat on ringworm. It heals the ulcers caused by burns.

Head: It strengthens the memory when used by taking its infusion regularly on an empty stomach. It stops phrenic and nasal hemorrhage. It is useful for treating contusions of the ear.

Eye: It heals and fills up ophthalmic ulcers and matures the related chronic swellings. Its smoke is useful in hot swellings, stops the influx of ophthalmic fluid, heals serious ulcers and cleanses the underlying pus from the cornea. It is an important drug meant to be used in red and chronic pterygium and also for treating cancer of the eye.

Chest: It is useful in hot inflammation of the breast in confined women.

Food: It stops vomiting and even blood vomiting. It is highly warming for the stomach and facilitates digestion. Its scrappings restore tonicity of the loose stomach.

Excretion: It stops diarrhoea/diarrhea, sprue and bleeding from the uterus and anus. It is useful in dysentery.

Fevers: It is useful for treating phlegmatic fevers.
Side effectIts excessive and oral intake with wine may be fatal. Similar action is seen when it is used with vinegar.
Its excessive use 'burns' the blood and may cause headache.
Medical systemUnani
Traditional conceptTemperamentIt is hot and dry in the first degree.
It is hot in second and dry in the first degree (Avicenna).
Drug effectIt is used as antiseptic to clean and to dry up the wounds. After grinding it in coconut oil, it is used as an ointment. It is also used with some mucilage (10 to 20 drops) orally for treating gonorrhoea/gonorrhea. It also acts as diuretic.
Dosage1 to 4gm.
SubstituteMastagi (Pistacia lentiscus Linn.), mastich and guggul (Commiphora mukul (Hook. ex. Stocks), Engl. - guggul.
Related drugsSubstantial quantities of the material are also imported from the countries of the Gulf and North Africa. This is sold in the Indian bazaars by the name of kundur and consists of large round or club-shaped tears of golden colour obtained from Boswellia carteri and B. frereana.
Corrigent (corrective)Katira (Cochlospermum religiosum (L.) Alston) and Za`faran (Crocus sativus Linn.)
Important compound preparationsMa`jun Kundur and Habb Sur`a.
ReferencesReference book　

Tips！

Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, 1956. Chopra, R.N., Nayar, S.L. and Chopra, I.C., Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi. - New Edition (1996) National Institute Science Communication; Supplement
p 39.

Illustrated Manual of Herbal Drugs Used in Ayurveda, 1996. Sarin, Y.K., Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi
p 346.

Indian Materia Medica, Vols. 1-2, 1976 (Repr. 1989). Nadkarni, A.K., Popular Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., Bombay
Vol. 1, pp 211-212.

Avicenna's Tract on Cardiac Drugs and Essays on Arab Cardiotherapy, 1983. Hameed, H. A. Hamdard Foundation Press, Karachi.
p 48.

Makhzanul-Mufradat (Khawasul Adviyah), Hakeem Kabiruddin, Daftar Al-Masih, Qarol Bagh, Delhi.
pp 463-464.

A Survey of Drugs, 1961 (2nd edi.). Wahid, A. K. and Siddiqui, H. H. Institute of History of Medicine and Medical Research, Delhi.
pp 55-58.

Dictionary of Economic Plants in India, 1996 (2nd Rep.). Singh, U; Wadhwani, A. M. and Johri B.M. Indian council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
pp 31-32.

Al-Qanun Fil-Tibb. Avicenna. (English translation of the critical Arabic text), Book 2, 1998. Hameed, H. A. (editor), Dept. of Islamic Studies, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi.
pp 399-401.

Hamdard Pharmcopoeia of Eastern medicine, 1969. Said, H. M. (editor), The Times Press, Sadar Karachi.
pp 281-282.

Indusyunic Medicine, 1997. Usmanghani, K., Saeed, A. and Alam, M. T. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Karachi.
pp 125-126.

Unani Adwiyah Mufradah, 1984. Ali, Saifuddin, A. (3rd edi.). Taraqi-e-Urdu Bureau, R. K. Puram, New Delhi.
pp 232-233.

RemarksThe drug is described by Avicenna (Ibn Sina) as tonic for pneuma that is in the heart and brain. He states that it is beneficial for amentia and amnesia. Its property resembles that of red behman, but is milder. It has a strong aroma. Its fumigation is beneficial in epidemics.
It is included in the list of drugs used exclusively in Unani medicine.

In Indian bazaars this material is generally available in four grades. The one is described above and is considered the most superior variety. The second grade consists of globular or club-shaped tears of smaller size while the third is a coarse powder containing about 50 percent of brown or black material. The fourth grade is the resinuous mass with hardened tears of various sizes and represent the oleo-resin as collected from the forest area.
Last renewal date2024/02/28
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