Elemi

ELEMI, Elemi, Resina Elemi, the name for resins obtained from plants of the Burseraceae family. From Canarium luzonicum Gray (Mig.), which grows in the Philippine Islands, the official E. is obtained. The E. resin is soft, paste-like, greenish-yellow, grainy-crystalline mass with admixtures of plant remains; its smell is aromatic, reminiscent of dill, lemons, and turpentine; its taste is spicy, slightly bitter; it easily dissolves in ether, chloroform, benzene, and with difficulty in cold alcohol and petroleum ether. On prolonged storage it turns brown; the hard variety is considered inferior in quality. In composition it contains up to 30% essential oil, α- and β-amyrins, C₃₀H₄₉OH (up to 25%), elemic acid, and other substances. E. is occasionally included in the composition of ointments and plasters that irritate the skin (it acts similarly to turpentine but milder); in technology, varnishes are prepared from E.; in dental practice, E. was used to impregnate a cotton tampon placed in a tooth cavity as a temporary filling.