Guaiac tree

The plant is distributed in the dry areas of the northern shores of South America ( Venezuela , Colombia , Guatemala ) and the West Indies . It is also cultivated within its natural range and in India .

Botanical illustration from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen , 1887

Tree with a height of 6 to 10 m.

Opposite leaves 2.5-3 cm long and 2 cm wide, leathery, from two pairs of leaflets.

Pale blue five-petalled flowers are collected six to ten in the apical umbrella-shaped inflorescences .

The fruit is a bright yellow-orange capsule with black seeds.

The wood is very heavy (sinks in water, since 1 dm³ of its wood weighs 1420 g ^[2] ), unable to crack.

For therapeutic purposes, wood purified from bark is used; it is gray-green to black-green, it smells nice when heated; the taste is resinous. When chewing, it softens, upon oxidation it acquires a blue color (reaction to the presence of oxidases ), and when reduced or heated, it becomes colorless ^[3] . Wood shavings ( lat. Lignum Guaiaci ) contain about 25% resin , saponins and essential oil rich in guaiazulene , as well as gum , saponins , derivatives of oleanolic acid ^[4] . Guaiac gum ( Resina Guaiaci ) is obtained from crushed wood, usually by digestion in water or by dry distillation. The resin has a red-brown color, dissolves in acetone , alcohol , ether and alkalis , melts at 85 ° C, density - 1.2 g / cm. The most important resin component is guaiac resin acid (about 11% ^[3] ), which belongs to lignans derived from diphenylbutene ^[4] ; in addition, it contains about 70% of α- and β- guaiaconic acid , which gives a blue color in the presence of oxidases, a little essential oil, vanillin, and pigment ^[3] . The alcoholic resin solution, under the influence of oxidizing agents, turns green or blue and was used as a reagent for hemoglobin ^[4] .

Decoction of wood and tincture of resin are used for rheumatism and gout ^[4] .

It has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 16th century and has long been a popular remedy for syphilis , rheumatism and gout , swollen joints, rheumatic pains, etc .; less commonly used in the treatment of respiratory, renal disease and tuberculosis . The Bakoutovy tree was included in the VII edition of the State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR , but was excluded from the VIII edition because of its insignificance ^[3] .

Of particular value is the sound of guaiac wood - a backout . It has the highest density of 1300-1450 kg / m³ among all types of trees, is one of the heaviest, drowns in water, wear-resistant, difficult to process. A large number of resins gives the wood lubricating properties, especially when immersed in water. Due to these properties, a backout is used in shipbuilding as bearings of propeller shafts . In mechanical engineering it is used for the manufacture of various kinds of templates, turning products. Balls and bowling pins for bowling, all kinds of clappers, stupas and pestles, knife sticks are also made from a backout. In addition, a decorative veneer for the manufacture of furniture is made from a backout ^[5] .

The flower of the guaiac tree is the national symbol of Jamaica .

• Muravyova D.A. Tropical and subtropical medicinal plants. - M .: Medicine, 1983 .-- S. 336.
• Blinova K.F. et al. Botanical-pharmacognostic dictionary: Ref. allowance / ed. K.F. Blinova, G.P. Yakovleva. - M .: Higher. school, 1990. - S. 179. - ISBN 5-06-000085-0 .
• Manninger E. Fancy trees / per. from English I. G. Gurova; under the editorship of and with the foreword. P.I. Lapin. - M .: Mir, 1970 .-- S. 371.

• IUCN Guaiacum officinale
• Guaiac resin