Tolu

Short, sharp, dry, hacking cough arising from irritated bronchial mucosa with scanty expectoration

Chronic cough with copious thick mucus and a relaxed, atonic feel to the mucous membranes, where tolu helps tone the tissue while easing expulsion of mucus

Overview. Tolu balsam is a fragrant, semi-solid oleoresin obtained by cutting the bark of Myroxylon balsamum trees native to the tropical forests of Colombia and Venezuela. The resin hardens on exposure to air into a brittle, vanilla-scented mass that has long been valued both as a medicine and as a fixative in perfumery. In the eclectic materia medica it held a modest but steady place as a mild expectorant and mucous membrane tonic, most often given as a syrup or tincture to support the action of more direct respiratory remedies.

Clinical Notes. Tolu is rarely used alone; it earns its place in a formula as a gentle balsamic tonic to the respiratory mucosa that smooths out the action of sharper expectorants such as senega, ipecac, or squill, and lends a pleasant taste that makes a cough syrup easier for children to take.

Therapy. The agent is used in all forms of bronchial irritation. Its influence is not so readily observed in the acute forms as in the subacute and chronic forms. It is not sufficiently active to be depended upon to the exclusion of other more direct remedies, but it is serviceable in facilitating the action of these remedies and in modifying the action of stimulating or irritating expectorants.

Physiological Action. The remedy is disinfectant-antiseptic, and when applied to the skin and to raw surfaces it is stimulant. It promotes healing of wounds and restores impaired and abnormal conditions of the skin. It is direct in its action upon mucous membranes, exercising a tonic and healing influence and restoring deficient secretion. It is eliminated freely through these membranes and through the kidneys, hence its beneficial action upon these structures.