Traditionally used for
- Teeth & mouth
- Cough & breathing
- Skin
☯ TCM Properties
Invigorates the Blood and alleviates pain; Detoxifies, stops bleeding and cools the Blood and generates flesh
Traditional Chinese Uses
Bai Jiao Xiang, also called Feng Xiang Zhi (Resina Liquidambaris), is the aromatic oleoresin of Liquidambar formosana (Chinese sweetgum). Bitter and pungent with a neutral nature, entering the Spleen, Liver, and Lung channels, it invigorates the Blood and relieves pain, stops bleeding, cools the Blood, resolves toxicity, and generates flesh to close wounds.
It is used mainly externally, applied to non-healing sores, carbuncles, bleeding wounds, and traumatic injury, and internally in small amounts for stasis pain, toothache, and bleeding. It is commonly incorporated into medicated plasters and topical powders. Typical internal dose is small (about 3-6 g in pills or powder), with the pounded resin used topically as a paste.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Liquidambar formosana is a large deciduous tree of the Altingiaceae, native to the warm-temperate to subtropical forests of central and southern China, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam, reaching 25–40 m. The grey, longitudinally fissured bark exudes a fragrant balsamic gum when injured. The alternate, long-petioled leaves are characteristically three-lobed (occasionally five-lobed in vigorous shoots), 8–15 cm across, palmately veined, turning brilliant red and orange in autumn. The monoecious flowers are inconspicuous: greenish male spikes and pendulous spherical female heads. The aggregated fruit (the medicinally distinct Lu Lu Tong, drug record 3213) is a hard spiny ball about 3 cm across. The medicinal organ here, Bai Jiao Xiang, is the dried resin tapped from the trunk: irregular yellowish-brown to amber translucent lumps with a sweet balsamic odour, softening on warming.
Active Constituents
(E)-Caryophyllene
Bicyclic sesquiterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 3.3-64.4% of the essential oil distilled from the oleoresin, across 12 commercial samples
The single most variable major volatile of the oleoresin; contributes to the resin's anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity and is a CB2 cannabinoid receptor ligand. The enormous batch-to-batch range means essential-oil-based potency claims for this resin cannot be generalised from one sample to another.
alpha-Pinene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 0.6-34.5% of the essential oil; (-)-alpha-pinene is the dominant enantiomer
A principal aromatic monoterpene of the resin, responsible for much of its penetrating balsamic odour and contributing to the antimicrobial activity seen against Gram-positive organisms.
beta-Pinene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 0.6-26.0% of the essential oil
Co-occurs with alpha-pinene and camphene as the monoterpene fraction that dominates freshly tapped resin; largely lost on prolonged storage or heating.
Camphene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 0.3-17.3% of the essential oil
A minor but consistently present monoterpene of the oleoresin volatile fraction.
Limonene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 0.2-7.9% of the essential oil
Present as the (-)-enantiomer in this species, which distinguishes the resin from citrus-derived material where (+)-limonene predominates.
Liquidambaric acid
Oleanane-type triterpenoidConcentration: reported as a characteristic triterpenoid of the resin; no reliable quantitative figure published
One of the marker triterpene acids of Liquidambar formosana resin. The 28-carboxyl oleanane triterpenes of this resin are the fraction credited with inhibiting ADP-induced platelet aggregation, which is the pharmacological correlate of the traditional blood-invigorating use.
Oleanolic acid
Oleanane-type triterpenoidConcentration: a common constituent of the resin; not quantified in the drug
A ubiquitous plant triterpene acid with anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activity in preclinical models. Its presence is not specific to this drug and should not be used to authenticate it.
Betulonic acid
Lupane-type triterpenoidConcentration: reported among the non-volatile triterpenoids of the oleoresin
A lupane triterpene of the resin's non-volatile fraction, of interest for cytotoxic activity in cell lines.
3alpha,25-Dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid
Oleanane-type triterpenoidConcentration: reported as a major non-volatile of the oleoresin
An oleanane acid isolated from the resin, part of the 28-carboxyl series associated with platelet aggregation inhibition.
Liquidambarines A-C
Abietane-type diterpenoidsConcentration: trace new compounds isolated from the resin
Abietane diterpenoids described from the resin in 2022 that showed anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. Reported at isolation-scale quantities only, so they cannot account for the clinical effect of a decocted or powdered dose.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Su He Xiang (storax, Liquidambar orientalis resin) and other substituted balsams
Bai Jiao Xiang / Feng Xiang Zhi is the resin of Liquidambar formosana. It sits in commerce alongside true storax (Su He Xiang), the balsam of Liquidambar orientalis, and the two are traded and substituted for one another in East Asian markets. Aromatic resins sold as storax are also drawn from Altingia excelsa in Java and Burma, and American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) balsam is marketed as liquid storax although it differs chemically and is not an accepted substitute in Chinese medicine. Liquidambar orientalis is under heavy supply pressure, which drives adulteration of storax with cheaper resins, pine products and synthetic fragrance. The two drugs are not interchangeable in TCM: Su He Xiang is an aromatic orifice-opening herb, while Bai Jiao Xiang is used to invigorate Blood, stop bleeding and generate flesh.
Clinical note: Insist on species-identified material. If a supply is labelled only storax, styrax or liquidambar resin, treat the botanical source as unknown and do not use it where the L. formosana resin was intended.
Lu Lu Tong (Fructus Liquidambaris, the infructescence of the same tree)
Liquidambar formosana yields two separate drugs. This record is the resin (Bai Jiao Xiang / Feng Xiang Zhi, Resina Liquidambaris). The dried infructescence of the same tree is Lu Lu Tong, a channel-opening and dampness-dispelling herb with its own Pharmacopoeia monograph. Sharing a binomial does not make them substitutable, and the triterpene and volatile chemistry described here belongs to the resin.
Clinical note: Check the plant part on the label. Resin should arrive as brittle yellowish-white to amber lumps, not as spiky woody fruiting heads.
Warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel and other anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs
The 28-carboxyl oleanane triterpenes of Liquidambar formosana resin have been reported to inhibit ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vitro, which is consistent with the traditional blood-invigorating indication. No human pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interaction study exists for this resin, and no case report of bleeding on it has been published, so the risk is inferred from in vitro chemistry alone.
Clinical note: Not a reason to withhold the herb, but if it is combined with full-dose anticoagulation, ask about bruising and gum bleeding and check INR after starting.
Balsam of Peru and cinnamate-containing topicals (contact sensitisation)
Aromatic balsams of the storax type are established contact allergens that cross-react within the balsam of Peru group. The published sensitisation data are for storax (Liquidambar orientalis) rather than for L. formosana resin specifically, but the two are used interchangeably in commerce and share the balsamic resin chemistry, so a patient already patch-test positive to balsam of Peru should be assumed at risk from this resin applied topically.
Clinical note: Ask about balsam of Peru, fragrance-mix or perfume allergy before using this resin in a plaster, ointment or medicated oil. Patch test a small area first.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 5 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
5
0 verified · 5 unverified
Show 5 studies
- The Essential Oil Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Liquidambar formosana Oleoresin
- Oleanane Triterpenoids with Inhibitory Activity against NFAT Transcription Factor from Liquidambar formosana
- Three new diterpenoids from the resin of Liquidambar formosana
- Liquidambarines A - C, three new abietane diterpenoids from Liquidambar formosana Hance and their anti-inflammatory activities
- Diterpenoids from the Resin of Liquidambar formosana Hance and Their Anti-inflammatory Activities
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
The Essential Oil Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Liquidambar formosana Oleoresin
Hydrodistilled essential oils from commercial L. formosana oleoresin samples were profiled by GC-MS and chiral GC (191 compounds identified) and screened against a bacterial and fungal panel. Composition varied enormously between samples, with (E)-caryophyllene 3.3-64.4%, alpha-pinene 0.6-34.5%, beta-pinene 0.6-26.0%, camphene 0.3-17.3% and limonene 0.2-7.9%; the (-)-enantiomers dominated. Several oils showed strong activity with MIC at or below 625 micrograms/mL, including MIC 78 micrograms/mL against Staphylococcus epidermidis and 78-313 micrograms/mL against Aspergillus niger, with Gram-positive organisms more susceptible than Gram-negative. This is laboratory antimicrobial data on the volatile fraction only, not evidence of clinical anti-infective efficacy.
Oleanane Triterpenoids with Inhibitory Activity against NFAT Transcription Factor from Liquidambar formosana
Oleanane triterpenoids isolated from Liquidambar formosana were tested for inhibition of NFAT transcription factor activation, a pathway central to T-cell cytokine production. The isolated triterpenes showed inhibitory activity, giving a molecular basis for the anti-inflammatory reputation of the plant. Cell-based assay only; no animal or human data.
Three new diterpenoids from the resin of Liquidambar formosana
Phytochemical study of the resin itself, reporting three previously undescribed diterpenoids alongside known constituents. Establishes that the diterpene fraction of the drug is chemically distinct from the better-known triterpene acids, and provides reference structures for authentication work.
Liquidambarines A - C, three new abietane diterpenoids from Liquidambar formosana Hance and their anti-inflammatory activities
Three new abietane diterpenoids were isolated from L. formosana and assessed for anti-inflammatory activity in cell assays. Supports an anti-inflammatory contribution from the diterpene fraction, but the compounds were obtained at isolation scale and their concentration in a clinical dose of resin is unknown.
Diterpenoids from the Resin of Liquidambar formosana Hance and Their Anti-inflammatory Activities
Further diterpenoids were isolated from the resin and screened for anti-inflammatory effects in cell-based assays, extending the earlier liquidambarine series. In vitro only.
Historical Texts
Xin Xiu Ben Cao (Tang Ben Cao)
Tang dynasty, 659 CEBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Xi Ouyang, Shan Yi, Hua Lu, Shang Wu, Hong Zhao. Liquidambar formosana Hance: A Mini-review of Chemical Constituents and Pharmacology . European Journal of Medicinal Plants (2016) [DOI]
- Juan Yu, Shanshan Liu, Lijiang Xuan. Two new lupene-type triterpenoids from the roots of Liquidambar formosana . Natural Product Research (2011) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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