Some associate this phrase with technique and paint. Others - with natural varnishes and renovation of premises. So, what is gum turpentine? This concept also has biological and medical significance and purpose. And traditional healers and some official doctors treat various ailments with gum turpentine and successfully use the remedy as a prophylaxis.
Turpentine Tree
In the countries of the Mediterranean grows a turpentine tree (a genus of pistachios) with small greenish flowers and reddish fruits. But not only for its fruits, it became famous. If you make an incision on its trunk, then a resinous substance is released, greenish and pleasantly smelling. It is called Cypriot, or Chios, turpentine. The resin of the tree is close in properties to turpentine, therefore the tree is also called turpentine.
Coniferous turpentine and resin
In our latitudes, where traditionally a lot of coniferous trees grow, turpentine is made from gum turpentine. Resin is the same resinous discharge from trunks, only coniferstrees. Gum turpentine (or turpentine oil) is a volatile substance. It is it that spreads in the hot season through coniferous forests in pairs of terpenes, giving these massifs a characteristic aroma. However, gum turpentine and gum differ in composition. The second substance also contains resin acids, rosin, water and impurities.
How do they get it?
In modern industry, this substance is obtained in various ways. This is a product of distillation of spruce (pine, cedar, fir) fresh resin, wood, needles. Extraction is extracted with organic solvents from wood chips of stumps and trunks. Sulfate - formed as a by-product of wood pulping and pulp production.
Healing properties
Turpentine gum in ancient times was considered almost a panacea for all diseases. In some treatises on medicine, it was even said that he cures any ailment, only so that it is not chronic (no more than 3 years). It certainly looks like an exaggeration. But modern science has proven that, nevertheless, purified gum turpentine has a lot of useful properties that affect the entire human body in a wide range. And the therapeutic effects are due to the presence of terpenes (alpha and beta pinenes) contained there in abundance. The substance is able to have an activating effect on metabolism, normalize blood pressure, the work of the heart and blood vessels. By the way, it has been noticed that in reasonable doses turpentine has practically no contraindications.
Gum turpentine. Application
- In essence, this substance can be considered an essential oil, which is obtained from various trees (their parts) of the pine family. The historical tradition of using it for medicinal purposes goes back thousands of years. So, the Sumerians, for example, used turpentine oil to stop bleeding and heal wounds. The Egyptians and ancient Greeks gave it as a medicine to increase the general tone and immunity of the body. The Chinese treated bronchitis, toothache, dermatitis. Hippocrates and Galen prescribed it for urinary infections and lung diseases, as an external remedy for healing and speeding up the recovery process.
- It has been proven that with regular inhalation procedures with this drug, the mucous membrane is irritated and its secretory functions are stimulated, the sputum that occurs with pulmonary diseases is liquefied (it was not for nothing that turpentine was previously considered almost a panacea for incipient tuberculosis).
- Gum turpentine is also used for arthritis, gout, sciatica and osteochondrosis. The use is due to the fact that it has an irritating and at the same time anti-inflammatory effect (this is recognized not only by folk, but also by official medicine).
- Turpentine baths (the so-called Zalmanov baths) have recently become very popular. They help relieve stress caused by the high speeds of modern life. It has been proven that such procedures, carried out regularly, increase the overall tone of the body, improve performance, strengthen joints and regenerateskin covers. There are white and yellow turpentine baths, depending on the consistency of the substance.
- Gum turpentine is also used in the production of such substances as camphor, aromatic substances, pine oil, insecticides, terpinhydrate. It is used as a solvent ingredient for varnishes and paints, some enamels.
Fly in the ointment
But not everything is as rosy as it might seem at first glance. And in the use of this substance has its negative sides. First, you should remember, before you find out where to buy gum turpentine, that this is a rather toxic and concentrated substance. And it is capable, especially when applied topically in treatment, to cause an allergic reaction and even chemical and biological burns. And with prolonged use, it is not far from benign tumors. Be careful with inhalations: they can cause poisoning and kidney failure in large quantities. And turpentine injections, until recently widely used in the fight against varicose veins and furunculosis, can cause an abscess.
Where to buy gum turpentine?
Today, buying this substance for various purposes is not difficult. One has only to go online, and many stores will offer you their services directly with home delivery. As before, you can also buy it in hardware stores and pharmacies.
