# Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)

**Mirra**

**Known today as.** The resin of *Commiphora myrrha*.

Kind: Resin & Wood  
Qualities: Hot and dry in the second degree (Galenic tradition).

## What did Canale use it for?

In fumigations and the oil; blessed at Epiphany (chs. 8–9; Treatise Two).

## What does modern science say?

Astringent and antibacterial; still used in mouthwashes.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **furanoeudesma-1,3-diene**: 
- **curzerene**: 
- **commiphoric acids**: 

**Mechanism.** The sesquiterpenes are antiseptic and, in mice, analgesic through the opioid receptors; the resin tightens the gums, which is the surviving use.

**Dose.** No toxicity in use.

**Standing.** Tincture of myrrh is in the European monographs for the mouth and small wounds.

## What lore surrounds it?

Bitterness and preservation together: the resin of death and of incorruption.

The word preserves the resin’s bitterness: “myrrh” descends through Greek and Latin from a Semitic root meaning simply “was bitter,” the root of the Hebrew *mor* and the Arabic *murr*, so that the Magi’s gift names the taste before the substance.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Herodotus.** Describes the Egyptian embalmers filling the body with pure myrrh and cassia.

**The Gospels.** A gift of the Magi (Matthew 2:11); offered to Christ in wine at the Crucifixion (Mark 15:23); brought with aloes by Nicodemus for his burial (John 19:39).

## Sources

- Online Etymology Dictionary, “myrrh.”
- Dolara, P., et al. (1996). “Analgesic effects of myrrh.” *Nature* 379.

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*Myrrh.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/myrrh

Historical description, not medical advice.