Western Herbalism
Galbanum
Galbanum officinale
Also known as Gum galbanum.
Galbanum is an oleo-gum-resin exuded from the stems and roots of certain Ferula species native to the mountains of Iran and neighboring regions of the Levant and Central Asia, most reliably attributed today to Ferula gummosa. The source plant was long unknown to Western botanists, who received only the dried resin as an article of ancient trade. Physiomedicalist writers grouped it with asafoetida and ammoniacum as a foetid gum-resin, valued as a milder relative of asafoetida for chest, digestive, and uterine complaints, and applied externally as a warming plaster for chronic pain and indolent sores.
Ask Herbert about Galbanum. Herbert is the master herbalist inside Bountiful Herbs: he answers from this plate and eleven hundred others, with dosing, pairing and cautions. Your first ten questions are free.
Ask HerbertActions
Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Chronic bronchitis with thick, tenacious mucus
- Spasmodic or nervous cough
- Dyspepsia with flatulence and colic
- Amenorrhea and delayed menses
- Chronic rheumatic and arthritic pain (topical)
- Hysteria and nervous excitability (historical use)
- Indolent ulcers and chronic skin lesions (topical plaster)
- Uterine complaints associated with stagnation
- Intestinal colic
- Asthma with mucus congestion
Specific indications
A lingering, loose chest cough with thick phlegm that will not clear, in a patient of sluggish, cold constitution
Suppressed or scanty menses with a feeling of pelvic heaviness and cold, calling for a warming emmenagogue resin
Safety
Pregnancy: Avoid in pregnancy given its traditional emmenagogue and uterine-stimulant reputation.
Breastfeeding: Insufficient safety data; avoid internal use during lactation as a precaution.
The record lists 4 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
Galbanum sits in the same family of foetid resins as asafoetida and myrrh, and older practitioners reached for it when a patient needed the warming, antispasmodic, expectorant action of that group but could not tolerate the stronger odor and stimulation of asafoetida.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Tincture (1:5, 50% alcohol) | 0.5-2 mL three times daily | 0.5-2 mL |
| Powdered gum-resin (pill or emulsion) | 0.3-1 g daily in divided doses | 300-1000 mg |
| Plaster (topical) | softened resin applied externally to affected area as needed | |
| It has been used in hysteria, chronic rheumatism, suppressed menstruation, leucorrhoea and chronic mucous affections of the air passages; and may be given in doses of from 10 grains to ½ drachm, in pill form, or in emulsion. | 648-1944 mg | |
| The dose is from 10 grains to ½ drachm. | 648-1944 mg | |
| Dose, from 15 to 30 grains. | 972-1944 mg |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Galbanum is an oleo-gum-resin exuded from the stems and roots of certain Ferula species native to the mountains of Iran and neighboring regions of the Levant and Central Asia, most reliably attributed today to Ferula gummosa. The source plant was long unknown to Western botanists, who received only the dried resin as an article of ancient trade. Physiomedicalist writers grouped it with asafoetida and ammoniacum as a foetid gum-resin, valued as a milder relative of asafoetida for chest, digestive, and uterine complaints, and applied externally as a warming plaster for chronic pain and indolent sores.
Clinical Notes. Galbanum sits in the same family of foetid resins as asafoetida and myrrh, and older practitioners reached for it when a patient needed the warming, antispasmodic, expectorant action of that group but could not tolerate the stronger odor and stimulation of asafoetida.
Properties and Uses. This gum-resin resembles asafoetida in its action, but is less stimulant. It is used for the same purposes as the asafoetida; though it is more unpleasant both to the taste and smell. It is seldom used internally; but by combining it with ammoniac and beeswax, a stimulating plaster may be formed, which has been much commended for indolent swellings, chronic pulmonary complaints, and weakness of the back.
Drawn from Cook's Physio-Medical Dispensatory; King's American Dispensatory, 18th edition (Felter and Lloyd), and the Bountiful Herbs editorial.
Often paired with
MyrrhCommiphora molmol
asafoetidaFerula asafoetidaNearby on the shelf
FrostweedHelianthemum canadense
FumitoryFumaria officinalis
Gaja pippaliScindapsus officinalis
GalangalAlpinia officinarum
GambirUncaria gambir
GambogeCambogia
Garden AngelicaAngelica archangelica
Garden BurnetSanguisorba officinalisThe whole plate is in the library. The compass, Compare, the Sky of eleven hundred plants and the formulary open with an email address and a password, free, with the formula builder and its safety engine. Herbert without limit, his formulating, clients, the handouts and the labels are the paid room.
Open the library, free