Copaiba Balsam

COPAIBA BALSAM, Balsamum Copaivae (Ph VII), is obtained from large trees of various species of Copaifera (Langsdorffii, guyanensis, coriacea, etc., family Leguminosae), growing in Brazil, Venezuela, Guiana, and the West Indies. Liquid oil-resin (oleoresina) is contained in wide (up to 2.5 cm), long ducts in the wood. A depression is cut into the tree down to the heartwood, and the oil-resin flows into it from the ducts, sometimes in quantities of up to 50 liters from a single tree. In commerce, thick varieties (Maracaibo, Angostura, Bahia, etc.) and more liquid ones (Para, Maranham, etc.) are distinguished. All of them are close in composition but differ in the amount of essential oil. Copaiba balsam is a transparent liquid of oily consistency, yellow-brown in color, specific gravity 0.94-0.99; the taste is sharp, bitter, lingering in the mouth, the odor is aromatic. It is insoluble in water, soluble in absolute alcohol, ether, acetic acid, chloroform, gasoline, etc. It consists of essential oil (38-45% in thick varieties, 40-76% in more liquid ones), resin consisting of resenes and resin acids, in the series of which illuric acid C₂₀H₂₈O₃, some copaiba acids (not yet studied in detail), and a bitter substance have been isolated. The essential oil consists mainly of sesquiterpenes C₁₅H₂₄, caryophyllene, and cadinene. The acid number is 75.8-84.2, the saponification number is 84.2-92.7 (these numbers change significantly during storage). Copaiba balsam has acquired a special reputation as a remedy against gonorrhea, but there is hardly any basis (N. Kravkov) to consider it a "specific" remedy to a greater extent than other terpenes and balsams (see). It can be granted some advantage, as it irritates the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys to a lesser extent compared to other terpenes (but not cubeb). It is possible that the terpenes of copaiba balsam (like terpenes in general), as such or in the form of their derivatives formed in the body, act antiseptically when excreted by the kidneys and kill gonococci, just as, by increasing urine output, they mechanically facilitate the removal of microorganisms and their metabolic products from the inflamed urinary tract. The terpenes of copaiba balsam, like terpenes in general, are excreted in the form of paired glucuronic acids, and in connection with this, urine during treatment with copaiba balsam acquires reducing properties and also gives a precipitate with nitric acid that is soluble upon boiling, as well as in alcohol. Copaiba balsam is prescribed to patients with gonorrhea per os at 1-2 g three times a day in gelatin capsules, and also in the form of pills with cubeb and magnesia. To avoid stomach irritation and the diarrhea that often appears with large doses, small amounts of opium are prescribed simultaneously. Sometimes copaiba balsam causes the appearance of skin rashes. In industry, liquid varieties of copaiba balsam find fairly wide application for the preparation of varnishes, polishes, in porcelain painting, etc.