Western Herbalism
Gum ammoniacum
Dorema ammoniacum
Also known as Ammoniac gum, Persian gum ammoniac, Ammoniac, Gum ammoniac, Gummi-resina ammoniacum.
Dorema ammoniacum is a tall biennial or perennial umbellifer native to the arid plains and plateaus of Persia (Iran) and neighboring regions of Central and Southern Asia. The medicinal part is the milky gum resin that exudes when the stem and root are cut, which hardens on exposure into brittle yellowish tears. Gum ammoniacum has a long history of use across Persian, Greco-Roman, and later Western herbal traditions as a stimulating expectorant and resolvent, and it found a place in nineteenth-century physiomedicalist practice as a warming agent for relaxed, atonic mucous membranes.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Chronic bronchitis with copious mucus
- Chronic cough in a debilitated patient
- Catarrhal asthma
- Amenorrhea from atony
- Leucorrhea with atonic tissue
- Hoarseness with relaxed throat tissue
- Flatulent colic
- Indurated glandular swellings (external use)
- Chronic joint or tendon swellings (external plaster)
- Old, lingering catarrh without active inflammation
Specific indications
Persistent loose cough with profuse thin mucus in a pale, debilitated patient, without fever or active inflammation
Amenorrhea or scanty menses in a cold, atonic constitution with sluggish circulation
Safety
Pregnancy: Avoid in pregnancy: traditionally regarded as an emmenagogue and modern safety data are lacking.
Breastfeeding: Avoid in lactation due to absence of modern safety data.
The record lists 5 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
Physiomedicalist writers such as Cook placed gum ammoniacum among the stimulating agents with a secondary relaxant quality, distinguishing it from purely heating stimulants by its particular affinity for mucous surfaces.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Gum resin, powdered or in pill | 0.3-1 g up to three times daily | 300-1000 mg |
| Ammoniacum emulsion (traditional Mistura Ammoniaci) | 5-10 mL three times daily | 5-10 mL |
| Tincture (1:5, 60%) | 1-2 mL three times daily | 1-2 mL |
| Plaster (external, softened gum resin) | applied topically over indurated swelling, changed daily | |
| From ten to twenty grains may be given at a dose, three times a day | 648-1296 mg | |
| The dose is from 1 to 30 grains, in pill or in emulsion. | 64.8-1944 mg |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Properties and Uses. Stimulant, with moderate relaxing powers, rather diffusive in its action, chiefly influencing the mucous membranes. It should not be used in any case where inflammation is present, but is suited to relaxed and atonic conditions.
Description. Natural Order, Umbelliferae. A native of Persia, India, and other Oriental countries. It is a biennial, attaining the height of six or seven feet, and abounding in a somewhat milky juice. This juice is gathered in the spring time, from incisions made in the roots, after the manner of asafoetida. It is a gum resin, and comes to market in the form of tears consolidated into rough masses; yellowish without, whitish within, compact and brittle. At a moderate heat, it softens without melting; and will burn with a white flame and much smoke. It is partly soluble in water, with which it forms a milky emulsion; and acts as other resins with alcohol.
Drawn from Cook's Physio-Medical Dispensatory; King's American Dispensatory, 18th edition (Felter and Lloyd), and the Bountiful Herbs editorial.
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