The plants of the Burseraceae family are a major source of these oils, the use of which has been documented since antiquity. In the dry sub-humid tropics of America, Africa and Asia, species from 18 genera of this family of plants are found. Among the most important of these are the genus Boswellia, from which is obtained incense, oil, various balms and bdellium. Myrrh is obtained from plants of the the genus Commiphora, while copal comes from Bursera.
Chemical composition of resins
Resins are secreted from specialized structures inside the plant or from the bark. They contain volatile and nonvolatile compounds, the proportions of which determine the viscosity and hardening properties. Terpenoid type resins are found in most living things, but in the plants these reach their greatest diversity with over 30,000 different molecules. They are formed from simple skeletons of isoprene (C5H8) that bind with many distinct molecules.
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