Commiphorah Gileadensis is a plant that was used in ancient Israel to make the famous
"Balm of Gilead" as well as Insence and medicinal oils that could cure a whole list of diseases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...i/Commiphora_gileadensisHere more on the plant's various medicinal properties:
http://halachicadventure...9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8.pdf^^ this article suggests the plant contains Cholinergic compounds, but sais nothing specifically about it's chemical constituents. ( Cholinergic = Potential Oneirogen?)
UPDATE: I did find this gem of an article:
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/872394/It mentions several chemical compounds, 1( of which "is a Selective Apoptosis
Inducer for Tumor Cell Lines". Here's the list of compounds mentioned(and how
they were extracted):
hindawi.com wrote:2.1. Plant Material
Commiphora gileadensis cuttings were obtained from the Dead Sea Ein Gedi Botanical Garden located in kibbutz Ein Gedi, the Dead Sea, Israel (31° 27′N, 35° 23′E) (plants originated from the Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London, UK). In Ein Gedi’s botanical gardens, the plants were grown in the field in sandy soil and drip irrigated with tap water (drinking water originating from Ein Gedi’s spring water). Each plant received 10 liters every four days. Between November and March, the plants were watered every five days. The plants were identified as Commiphora gileadensis (L.) (Burseraceae), by Dr. Shimon Rachmilevitch from the Department of Biotechnology and Agriculture in Arid Land in Ben Gurion University.
2.2. Extraction
Commiphora gileadensis stem extracts were prepared as follows.
(1) Ethanolic stem extracts: stems were dried at 40°C for three days and stem powder was suspended in tubes with ethanol 96% (EtOH-FRUTAROM) at a ratio of 200 μg/mL which were incubated overnight at room temperature (25°C), followed by centrifugation (13,000 revolutions per minute (rpm)). The supernatant (the extract) was moved to another tube and kept at −20°C until used.
(2) MTBE extraction for volatiles analysis: plant stems were extracted with methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), containing 10 mg/mL isobutylbenzene as an internal standard, for 24 h with gentle shaking at room temperature [34].
2.3. Chemical Compounds
(i)β-Caryophyllene: (−)-trans-caryophyllene, syn. β-Caryophyllene, trans-(1R,9S)-8-methylene-4,11,11-trimethylbicyclo[7.2.0]undec-4-ene (C15H24), was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Inc. 204.35 g/mol, ≥98.5% pure, catalog number 22075.
(ii) Citral: syn. 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal (C10H16O), 40 : 60% of geranial and neral mixture was used in this research as a positive control [35]. Purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Inc (Fluka). 152.24 g/mol, ≥95% pure, catalog number 27450.
(iii) Staurosporine (STS): syn. antibiotic AM-2282 (C28H26N4O3), from Streptomyces sp., was used in this research as a positive control. Purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Inc. 466.53 g/mol, ≥95% pure, catalog number S4400.
The extracts made in the hindawi.com article were done using Ethanol and MTBE.
Would be interresting to find out what different solvents would extract out of the plant's various parts. Hot water, cold water, hot water & cold water with various acids and bases in various concentrations, hot water & cold water with ethanol in various concentrations, D-Limonene, Naphtha, Butane and whatnot. The possibilities are endless.
I could get these solvents I mentioned, but Chemically Analysing the resulting extracts would be beyond me.
Is anyone here willing and able to perform an analysis on various extracts with various solvents made from this plant's various parts and report back the results here?