What is Qinna?

Qinna is the dried gum resin of Ferula gummosa, a tall plant in the carrot family that grows wild in the mountains of Iran. In English it is usually called galbanum. Persian and Unani physicians have used it for stiff, painful joints, coughs with thick phlegm, and sluggish digestion.

It is a single drug, meaning it is one plant material rather than a mixed formula. It is used by mouth in tiny amounts, spread on the skin in plasters, and burned as incense.

Here is the honest verdict up front. The traditional record is long and spans several cultures, but human trial evidence in people is essentially absent, and a long history of use is not proof that something works.

How does Qinna work?

Nobody has shown, in people, how Qinna works or whether it works at all.

In classical Persian and Unani theory it is classed as hot and dry. Healers used it to "thin" thick phlegm, open blocked passages, and warm cold, stiff limbs. That is a description of an old medical system, not a measured biological effect.

Laboratory and animal studies of galbanum resin and its essential oil report anti-inflammatory (swelling-calming) and antimicrobial (germ-killing) activity in test tubes. Results in a dish or in rodents often fail to repeat in humans, so treat these as leads only.

What forms does Qinna come in?

You will most often meet Qinna as raw lumps of amber to greenish gum resin, or as a soft paste. Both are sold by Unani and Persian herbal suppliers.

Other common forms include the steam-distilled essential oil used in perfumery, a tincture in alcohol, and incense grains for burning.

The essential oil is a concentrated product for fragrance use. It is not meant to be swallowed.

Where it comes from:

Galbanum is one of the oldest named aromatic resins in the written record.

It appears in the Hebrew Bible as an ingredient of temple incense, and Greek and Roman writers such as Dioscorides and Pliny describe its medical use. Persian and Arabic physicians carried it into the Unani tradition under the name Qinna.

It kept a place in European pharmacy well into the nineteenth century, mostly in plasters for swellings. Today its main commercial use is perfumery.

What does Qinna help with?

• Coughs with thick phlegm: Traditional use only. Unani texts class Qinna as an expectorant (something that loosens phlegm so you can cough it up). No human trial has tested it for cough or chest congestion.
• Stiff or aching joints: Traditional use only. It was applied warm in plasters over stiff knees, backs and shoulders. Animal and test-tube work suggests the resin may calm inflammation (swelling and irritation), but this has not been shown in people.
• Wind and bloating: Traditional use only. Persian practice used small amounts as a carminative (something that eases trapped wind). There is no trial evidence, and larger amounts can upset the stomach instead.
• Boils and skin swellings (used on the skin): Traditional use only. The classic preparation is a resin plaster laid over the swelling to help it come to a head. Test-tube studies show some activity against bacteria; that is not the same as treating an infection on a person.
• Slow-healing wounds (used on the skin): Traditional use only, and the weakest of the uses listed here. Do not put resin on a deep, dirty or spreading wound. Open wounds need proper medical cleaning and dressing.

Which foods are rich in Qinna?

1. Commercial soft drinks and sweets: galbanum oil is permitted as a flavouring in tiny traces
2. Perfumed products: the oil is a common base note in fragrance, not a food

What are the side effects of Qinna?

• Nausea and stomach upset
• Belching with a strong resinous taste
• Loose stools or diarrhoea at higher amounts
• Skin redness, itching or rash where a plaster is applied
• Increased sunburn risk on treated skin, from coumarins in the resin
• Allergic reaction, especially if you react to celery, carrot, fennel or asafoetida
• Headache from breathing the strong scent in a closed room

Good to know:

Most reported problems are mild: an upset stomach after swallowing it, or irritated skin under a plaster. They usually settle when you stop.

The bigger concerns are not everyday side effects. They are the risk in pregnancy and the possible effect on bleeding, both covered below. Because no proper safety study exists in people, rare or delayed harms may simply not be recorded anywhere.

How much Qinna should you take?

• Recommended daily: There is no established safe or effective dose. No dose has been tested in a human trial. Historical Unani and pharmacy texts describe very small internal amounts of the resin, roughly 100 to 500 mg a day, usually made into a pill with honey. Older figures like these were set by eye and experience, not by safety testing, so treat them as history rather than a recommendation. For skin use, tradition mixes the softened resin into a plaster or ointment and applies it to a small area. Never swallow the essential oil.
• Best time of day: Tradition takes the internal form after meals, once or twice a day. Skin plasters were applied at night, when you can leave them in place and rest.
• With or without food: With or just after food. The resin is sharp and can irritate an empty stomach.
• Time to effect: Not known, because it has never been measured in a trial. Traditional accounts of skin plasters describe changes over one to three days.
• How long to take it: Short-term use only. Traditional practice used it in courses of a few days to about two weeks, not as a daily long-term supplement. If your symptom has not clearly improved within two weeks, stop and see a doctor. Long-term safety in people has never been studied.