jgg STYRAX OFFICINALE. 
process of adulteration; for it is very rare to meet xvith the storax 
of commerce in a state of purity. In selecting it, we should choose it 
of a reddish-brown colour ; rather soft, unctuous to the touch ; brittle 
and friable, and of a fragrant smell : indeed we consider the smell 
the best test of its purity ; this it derives from the benzoic acid it 
contains, and its virtues, in every respect, may be considered to arise 
from and be proportioned to the quantity of this ingredient, which 
enters into its composition.* Rectified spirit readily dissolves storax, 
which may be inspissated to a solid consistence, as directed above 
for the purification of it, without sustaining any loss of its sensible 
properties. Common storax infused in water, imparts to the men- 
struum a good yellow colour, some share of its smell, and a slight 
balsamic taste; it gives a considerable impregnation to water by 
distillation, and strongly diffuses its fragrance to water when hea ed 
though it scarcely yields any essential oil. The pure resin, distilled 
without addition, yields along with an empyreumatic oil, a portion ot 
benzoic acid. Storax appears to be a natural combmatiou of resin 
with benzoic acid ; the proportion varying according to the purity 
of the drug, and perhaps the soil, climate, and culture of the tree, 
from whence it has been obtained.! 
Medical Properties and Uses. As the medical properties 
of 'storax are entirely dependant on the benzoic acid which enters 
into its composition, and as this latter is so readily obtained in a state 
of purity, the compound substance may well be considered as it is 
by most practitioners, an useless article in the Materia Medica ; it 
was formerly prescribed for asthma, and chronic affections of the 
trachea, but as we shall have occasion to treat further of this ac.d, 
when noticing the Styrax Benzoin, we shall for the present dismiss 
the subject. 
Off. The Balsam 
Off. l^p- Pilulae e Styrace, D. 
Styrax Purificata, D. 
Tinct. Benzoini Comp. L. 
« storax enters into the composition of the incense ^hich is burned on the altars of 
Roman Catholic Chapels, and souieother places of worship. 
T Another substance under the name of storax, or liquid amber, rs known .n com- 
nxerce • it is a liquid balsam, distinct from the storax of the Pharmacopoeias, and ,s 
Td L'be obtained from a tree gro.bg in the Southern States of North America. 
