Tofu balsam or balsam of Tofu (a variant of balsam of Peru) is the resinous secretion of Myroxylon balsamum.
The resin is still used in certain cough syrup formulas. However its main use in the modern era is in perfumery, where it is valued for its warm, mellow yet somewhat spicy scent. It is also used as a natural remedy for skin rashes. Ironically, it is a well known cause of contact dermatitis, a form of skin allergy.
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T. balsamum is a tall tree native to South America and grows abundantly on the high plains and mountains of Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru. The species is also known as Myroxylon toluiferum HBK and M. balsamamum (L.) Harms. It is also cultivated in the West Indies. The tree differs little from that yielding Balsam of Peru.
The resin is tapped from the trunk of the tree through incisions into the bark and collected when dry. The colour of the resin is light to reddish brown. Tolu balsam is pliable when warm and fractures in a pattern similar to flint when cold. The dry resin has a complex aroma consisting chiefly of cinnamon and vanilla notes with a slight floral character.
Tolu has begun to be used in the niche perfume industry notably by Ormonde Jayne Perfumery, which launched its oriental perfume Tolu in 2002 and also recently in 2010 by Esteban which launched Baume Tolu. Both perfumes have a velvety rich quality and Ormonde Jayne's Tolu Perfume was used by designer Roksana Ilincic to scent her evening dress shows during Fashion Week.
The resin, as well as the leaves and fruit, have been traditionally used by the people of Central America and South America to relieve coughs and asthma, and to treat wounds. Its name comes from Tolú (singular); Tolúes (plural), the name of the native precolumbian people that used to be the inhabitants at the same place where now is located Tolú, a small town and municipality in Sucre Department, northern Colombia (South America) by the Caribbean sea. Tolúes were the first reported to be using this resin in early Spanish chronicles.
Today, it remains in use in pharmaceutical preparations, in the form of a syrup, as an expectorant and as a fragrant vehicle for other compounds. It is an ingredient in compound benzoin tincture that is used for the treatment of bedsores, cracked skin, and minor cuts. It has been reported to have been used in the folk treatment of cancer.
Tolu balsam is a yellow-brown semifluid or near solid material with an aromatic vanilla-like odor and taste. On drying it becomes hard and brittle. It is insoluble in water but soluble in pharmaceutical solvents such as alcohol, ether, sodium hydroxide solution, and chloroform. The balsam contains up to 80% resin, approximately 15% free cinnamic acid and benzoic acid, and about 40% of the benzyl and related esters of these free acids. A volatile oil is present in small amounts (from 1.5% to 7%), as is a small amount of vanillin (0.05%). A wide variety of additional minor components have been identified in the balsam. The concentrations of these components vary widely in commercial products because of a lack of international standards for tolu balsam.