Leung's Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics

REFERENCES

See the General References forAHPA;APPLEQUIST;BARNES;BLUMENTHAL1&2;DER MARDEROSIAN AND

BEUTLER;DER MARDEROSIAN AND LIBERTI;HORTUS3rd;MCGUFFIN1&2;STEINMETZ;TUTIN2;UPHOF;WEISS;

WREN.

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BIRCH OIL, SWEET

Source:Betula lentaL. (syn.B. carpinefolia

Ehrh.) (Family Betulaceae).

Common/vernacular names: Birch, black

birch, cherry birch oil, and sweet birch oil.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Tree up to about 25 m high with dark reddish

brown bark, which is not peeling but broken

into plates; native to southern Canada and

northern United States, from Maine to Ohio

and south to Florida and Alabama.

There are numerous species of birch with

habitats spanning several continents.

Sweet birch oil is produced by steam dis-

tillation of the warm water-macerated bark.

During maceration the enzyme system present

hydrolyzes gaultherin, setting free methyl sa-

licylate, which is the major component of the

oil. The yield is about 0.6%.^1

Sweet birch oil should not be confused with

other birch oils such as birch bud and birch tar

oils, which are produced from different spe-

cies of birch and have different physical and

chemical characteristics; they are used for

quite different purposes. For example, birch

tar oil is obtained by destructive distillation of

thewood and bark of the European white birch

(Betula pendulaRoth; syn.B. albaL.) and is

used in psoriasis, eczema, and other chronic

skin diseases.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Birch oil is almost entirely composed of

methyl salicylate (98%).

Birch oil, sweet 95