Friar’s balsam
Compound tincture of benzoin; balsamum traumaticum
- Known today as
- Benzoin, storax, balsam of tolu, and aloes, in spirit.
- Kind
- Compound
- Constituents
- benzoic and cinnamic acids, benzyl benzoate, aloin, and 1 more
Revised October 3, 2026: Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 30, 2026.
Friar’s balsam: what was it used for?
For small cuts, put on undiluted with lint; and in hot water, its steam breathed for bronchitis and inflamed throats.
Friar’s balsam: what does modern science say?
Used to help adhesive strips stick to the skin around a cut, though a weaker adhesive than Mastisol.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- benzoic and cinnamic acidsfrom the benzoin
- benzyl benzoate ChEMBLfrom the balsam of Tolu
- aloin ChEMBLfrom the aloes
- ethanol ChEMBLthe rectified spirit
- Mechanism
- Put undiluted on lint it is an antiseptic and styptic dressing for small cuts; in hot water it is breathed for bronchitis and laryngitis, and benzoin taken by mouth is mildly expectorant as it is excreted. It is a contact allergen: in a Melbourne clinic in 1999, 45 of 477 patients patch-tested positive to it, the third most common allergen there.
- Toxic dose
- External and inhaled; once also given by mouth, 2 to 4 mils, in chronic bronchitis.
- Standing
- Compound tincture of benzoin was in the BP and the USP of 1911, and the BPC gave a benzoin steam inhalation.
- Scardamaglia, L., et al. (2003). “Compound tincture of benzoin: a common contact allergen?” Australasian Journal of Dermatology 44. Abstract read · the text read
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Friar’s balsam: what lore surrounds it?
The London Pharmacopoeia of 1788 renamed its balsamum traumaticum “compound tincture of benzoin.”
In Their Own Words
Buchan thinks the balsam of some value but undeserving of the extravagant praise given it under names including Friar's Balsam, Jesuit's Drops and Turlington's Drops.
“This, though a medicine of some value, does not deserve the extravagant encomiums which have been bestowed on it. It has been celebrated under the different names of The Commander’s Balsam, Persian Balsam, Balsam of Berne, Wade’s Balsam, Friar’s Balsam, Jesuit’s Drops, Turlington’s Drops, &c.”
William Buchan, M.D., Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines. With an Appendix, containing a Dispensatory for the Use of Private Practitioners, Dispensatory, Balsams: 'The vulnerary Balsam'. London: printed for A. Strahan, T. Cadell, 1791 (Project Gutenberg eBook #74359). The text, read in part
Buchan says this tincture is applied externally to heal recent wounds and bruises, and is also given internally for coughs, asthmas and complaints of the breast.
“This balsam, or rather tincture, is applied externally to heal recent wounds and bruises. It is likewise employed internally to remove coughs, asthmas, and other complaints of the breast.”
William Buchan, M.D., Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines. With an Appendix, containing a Dispensatory for the Use of Private Practitioners, Dispensatory, Balsams: 'The vulnerary Balsam'. London: printed for A. Strahan, T. Cadell, 1791 (Project Gutenberg eBook #74359). The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Sources
- Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (1788). Read in part · the text read
- The British Pharmaceutical Codex (1911). London: Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Monographs as transcribed at Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, henriettes-herb.com. Read in full · the text read
- Thornton, N. J., Gibson, B. R., & Ferry, A. M. (2021). Contact dermatitis and medical adhesives: a review. Cureus 13: e14090. Read in full · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)
- Sources
- 4 cited: 2 read in full, 1 read in part, 1 abstract read. 1 with the abstract on file.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 30, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026
- Chicago
“Friar’s balsam.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/friars-balsam.
- MLA
“Friar’s balsam.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/friars-balsam. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Friar’s balsam. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/friars-balsam
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See Also
Sharing benzoic and cinnamic acids, benzyl benzoate, aloin
Onycha and stacte · Myroxylon balsamum · Golden pills · Foetid pills · Laricifomes officinalis · Cochia pills · Honeyed wine and honeyed water · Carmelite water
Drawing on the same sources: Scardamaglia
Nearby in the alphabet
Fu ling (the sclerotium of a fungus that grows on pines) · Frankincense (The resin of Boswellia sacra and related trees) · Funeral bell (A small brown mushroom of rotting wood) · Fox’s heart (The dried heart of a fox) · Galangal (Alpinia officinarum) · Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) · Galbanum (Gum resin of Ferula gummosa) · Fool’s webcap (A tawny webcap of European woods)
Historical description, not medical advice.