Medicinal Uses of Sweet Gum Trees

The sweetgum tree is one of the oldest flora specimens on record. Many of them extinct, the oldest recorded sweetgum tree is 55 million years. The presence of an American species of sweetgum was first recorded in 1519. Spanish soldiers attended a ceremony with Cortez and Montezuma during which the amber liquid from the sap was used. Sweetgum trees provide a low-grade lumber, are used as a stock tree in reforestation, but the medicinal properties are efficacious and ancient.

Introduction

• Sweetgum production is a historic apothecary. The ancient Chinese mixed it with sake, to be taken internally. South, Central and North American Indians also took advantage of the sweetgum's medicinal properties. Southern doctors used it during the Civil War, and it was first listed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia in 1926.

Production

• The Oriental species of the sweetgum tree, Liquidambar orientalis, and the American species, Liquidambar styraciflua, are commonly used for their medicinal properties. The common name for the sweetgum tree's medicinal product is liquid-amber.

  For sweetgum production, young trees are tapped by insertion to the inner bark. The sap runs as a yellowish brown liquid, much like the color and consistency of honey, that eventually hardens into a rosin. This rosin substance is heated, strained, and stored in bottles. The sweetgum rosin is used to make balsam, or tincture, depending on the intended purpose. A more modern use for liquid-amber is in aroma therapy.

Medicinal Purposes

• The sweetgum tree's liquid-amber is an aromatic substance. When made into a balsam or salve, it is used for skin conditions, hemorroids, ringworm scabies and frostbite. Sweetgum salves have a minor antiseptic value, but work well as an anti-inflammatory. Taken internally, liquid-amber has stimulant and expectorant effects. It is also used internally for sore throats, coughs, colds, asthma, bronchitis, cystitis, vaginal discharge, strokes, and is it indicated to have an effect on some cancers.

Storax

• The odorous resin "Storax" is obtained from the trunk of the sweetgum. It forms in the conclaves of the bark and exudes naturally. Harvested in autumn, the production of this resin is often stimulated by pounding on the trunk months before. The common medicinal use for Storax is as a parasiticide. Storax oil is often used in combination with ingredients to create medicinal oils and balms. These mixtures are used to treat acne, skin sores, as an astringent, or as a healing lubricant for dry and itchy skin.