Camphor Uses

Camphor is a white, waxy solid that comes from the wood of camphor tree. The bark and wood of the tree, camphor laurel or Cinnamomum camphora are distilled, and then purified to extract the highly aromatic camphor crystals. Nowadays, camphor is also manufactured from turpentine oil. The camphor tree is mainly found in China, Subtropical Asia and Southern Europe. It is basically renowned for its strong smell, for which it is used in religious ceremonies and for cooking in Asia. In Asia, it is largely obtained from the plant camphor basil. It has also been a folk remedy for a host of medical conditions.

Camphor as a Medicine

It is primarily used to relieve cough and cold owing to its decongestant properties. It is a major ingredient in vaporizing rubs used for relieving cold and cough. It can be mixed with oil to rub on the chest and nose to relieve congestion. It has been observed that it can relieve pain and itching, when used topically. It acts as a topical analgesic to reduce pain, while its cooling effect can soothe the irritated skin and reduce itching. It has also been used for conditions, like arthritis, stiffness of joint and muscles, insect bite, eczema, minor burns, cold sores, warts, and toenail fungus, while camphor oil is used in acne skin care products. It can stimulate the circulatory and the nervous system as well.

Varied Uses of Camphor

In recent times, it has found several other uses and applications, apart from being a folk remedy for treating the above mentioned ailments. Its strong smell can repel insects and moth, for which camphor is used as an insect and moth repellent. It is also used in plasticizers, fireworks and embalming. Due to its medicinal properties, it is the main ingredient in anti-itch gels, vaporizing rubs and cooling gels. It releases fumes, which can form an anti-rust coating. This is the reason why, it is placed by many in tool kits, in order to prevent rusting of tools.

It is antimicrobial and it can help to remove excess oil from the skin, for which it can be found in many facial washes, clarifying masks and astringents. In countries like, China and Japan, it is employed for removing oil paints and varnish. In Hindu religious ceremonies, it is burnt to create a holy flame. But, the act of burning camphor leaves behind carbon deposits, for which it is presently burnt only for outdoor ceremonies. Apart from being a part of religious ceremony, it has several culinary uses in Asia. In Asia, it is used in a very small quantity to add flavor to sweets, while in India it is used in making desserts. Earlier, it was used in confectioneries in China, while the Arabs used it in a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes.

It is primarily used topically, as its ingestion in large quantity is toxic. If taken in large doses, it can cause confusion, seizures, and irritability. Even topical application of a large amount of camphor may cause hepatotoxicity. The camphor that is used for cooking is different from the one that is used for other purposes. It used for culinary purposes is labeled as 'edible camphor' and is known as green or raw camphor. In the view of its toxicity, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has imposed certain restrictions on its uses. It has set a limit on camphor in consumer products at 11%, while products labeled as camphor oil, camphor liniment, camphorated oil and camphorated liniment have been banned altogether. At the same time, FDA has discouraged it for medicinal purposes, excluding the skin related uses such as, medicated powders that contains only small amounts of camphor.