Researchers found the perfectly preserved seed during an archaeological dig in the lower Wadi el-Makkuk region in north Jerusalem. However, identification through the seed alone was not possible, which urged the experts to plant the tree in pursuit of gathering more information about the specimen. “About five and a half weeks later, up jumps this nice little shoot,” said Dr. Sarah Sallon, a physician and founder of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. She speculated whether the tree was related to the biblical “tsori” that was found in the historical region of Gilead near the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley.
It did not take long for the scientists to realize that the actual tree species that produced the ‘Judean Balsam’ or the ‘Balm of Gilead’ was, in fact, closely related to this tree. However, the found tree did not produce any aromatic compounds used in the healing balm. It was made out of a fragrant resin used to make a revered perfume exported across the world. “We planted it in 2010 (and) it’s now 2024. Why did we wait so long (to publish the research)? Because I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t the Judean Balsam. And how would I definitively know that? By smelling it,” revealed Sallon. The medicinal plant did not grow any flowering or fruits that would lead to easy identification.
Instead, the researchers detected compounds like “guggulterols”, a reassuring indication of the tree’s close relations with the Judean balsam. This compound found in Commiphora wightii tree species can potentially fight cancer. “Based on all these things, it’s not the Judean balsam, it’s a close cousin of it, and one of the non-aromatic Commiphora that is a treasure chest of medicinal compounds,” Sallon explained. Though it was not the source of the biblical extract, the tree’s survival even after staying dormant for thousands of years startled Dr. Louise Colville, a senior research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, per CNN. @BBC_Global shared an interview with Dr. Sarah Sallon on YouTube.
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