Mur Makki (Myrrh): Mouth and Gum Uses, Fakes, and the Pregnancy Rule
Mur makki is myrrh: the reddish-brown, bitter, aromatic resin of Commiphora myrrha, a thorny tree of Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen. It is one of the oldest medicines in the world and one of the few traditional resins with a clear red line attached: myrrh acts on the womb, so it is never taken in pregnancy. The rest of its story, mouth, gums, wounds, “pait”, is gentler, and this page sorts the supported from the sentimental.
Quick facts
- English: myrrh; Urdu and Hindi mur makki, bol, hirabol; Arabic murr
- Scientific: Commiphora myrrha (older books: Commiphora molmol); family Burseraceae, the same as frankincense
- Form: irregular reddish-brown tears with a pale, oily fracture; sold whole, powdered, as a pharmacy tincture, and as an essential oil
- Best-supported use: mouth ulcers, sore gums and minor skin wounds, as a tincture, which is the use European regulators accept on tradition
- Red line: not in pregnancy or breastfeeding, not swallowed as oil, not for children
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Mur makki in English, and the two name traps
“Mur” is the Arabic murr, which simply means bitter. “Makki” ties it to Makkah: the resin reached India along the Hijaz trade route, and the name stuck as a mark of the Arabian article, much as “rumi” marks Greek mastic. The tree grows on dry, rocky ground in the Horn of Africa and southern Arabia; cuts in the bark bleed a pale sap that darkens and hardens into the lumps sold as tears.
Two other “makki” and “mur” words cause real confusion at the counter. Sana makki is senna, a leaf laxative, and has nothing to do with myrrh beyond the shared trade route. Guggul (Commiphora wightii, Indian bdellium) is myrrh’s cousin from the same genus; it looks similar, smells heavier, and is sold for joints and cholesterol, not for the mouth. Our guggul guide owns that resin; its sibling kundur (frankincense) is the other great Burseraceae resin and gets its own page too.
What myrrh is made of, and why tincture works where water doesn’t
Myrrh is a gum-resin: a mixture of water-soluble gum, alcohol-soluble resin, and a few per cent of volatile oil that carries the smell and the bitterness. That split explains the tradition. The active, antimicrobial parts sit in the resin and the oil, and they dissolve in alcohol, not water. This is why the pharmacy product is “tincture of myrrh” (resin dissolved in alcohol, dripped into water to make a cloudy mouthwash), and why a water decoction mostly extracts the bland gum and leaves the point behind. Powdered myrrh stirred into honey or applied directly to a sore gum is the other old way around the problem.
The pansari’s check: what shaking a piece in water tells you
Drop a small lump in a glass of water, cap it and shake hard for a minute. Real myrrh does not dissolve, but the gum part disperses and the resin breaks into a fine suspension: the water goes yellowish and milky, and smells warm, bitter and medicinal. Dyed gum arabic, the common cheat, dissolves away cleanly and leaves a plain sweetish liquid with colour but no smell. Taste is the second check: real myrrh is unmistakably bitter; sweet or tasteless lumps are not myrrh. Third, warm a tear in your fist for a minute. If it releases almost no scent, the volatile oil has gone and you are buying old stock. These are kitchen checks that catch the common fakes; only a laboratory separates Commiphora species from one another.
Traditional uses, and what is actually known
Unani physicians class mur makki as hot and dry, a cleanser of wounds and the mouth, a mover of stuck menstruation, and a remedy for a cold, sluggish stomach and chest. Egyptians embalmed with it; Greek doctors packed wounds with it; Ayurveda’s bol is pasted onto gums and ulcers. In Pakistani homes it survives mostly as a gum powder, a gargle, and an ingredient in Unani compounds for the stomach and for women’s complaints.
Reasonably supported, on tradition and lab work. Mouth and gum care. The European Medicines Agency accepts myrrh tincture as a traditional herbal medicine for minor ulcers and inflammation in the mouth and for minor wounds and small boils, for adults and adolescents over 12. That acceptance rests on long use plus laboratory evidence that myrrh is astringent and active against mouth bacteria, not on large trials. It is still the use with the least risk and the most history.
Preliminary. Stomach complaints, parasites, inflammation: animal and lab studies, very little in people. One area has a real human trial, and it is the one that matters for safety: in a 2020 double-blind study, 80 women with an incomplete miscarriage (tissue retained in the womb) took myrrh capsules for two weeks, and the womb emptied fully in about 83 per cent compared with 54 per cent on placebo. The researchers set out to test an old Persian claim that myrrh stimulates the uterus, and the trial supports it.
Tradition only. “Pait saaf”, bringing on periods, chest “balgham”, worms. Also the “myrrh oil for wrinkles and scars” market, which has no human evidence behind it.
Unsupported or unsafe. Taking myrrh to “regulate” a late period when pregnancy has not been ruled out. That is the oldest and the most dangerous use.
How mur makki is used today
- Mouthwash or gargle: pharmacy tincture of myrrh diluted in water as the pack directs, swished and spat, not swallowed. For a single mouth ulcer, some people dab the neat tincture on with a cotton bud; it stings for a few seconds.
- Gum powder: finely ground myrrh rubbed along the gum line or mixed into a tooth powder, then rinsed out. Grit and bitterness are normal; swelling or burning is not.
- Skin: tincture dabbed on a clean minor cut or small boil, a traditional antiseptic. Not on deep, large or dirty wounds, and not on burns.
- Compounds: myrrh appears in Unani majoons and jawarishes; the preparations explainer describes those forms. The pack or a qualified practitioner sets any amount taken by mouth.
- Essential oil: a scent only, one or two drops in a tablespoon of carrier oil after a patch test. Never swallowed, never neat, never on children.
Mouth ulcers that last more than three weeks, bleeding gums that do not settle with brushing and flossing, or a white or red patch in the mouth need a dentist or doctor, not a stronger gargle.
Who must avoid myrrh
Pregnancy: never by mouth, in any form, at any stage, and not “to bring the period on” when you might be pregnant. Myrrh stimulates the womb; a modern trial used it to empty the uterus after miscarriage, and there is a published case of acute abdominal pain in a pregnant woman taking it. Breastfeeding: no safety data; avoid oral myrrh. Trying to conceive: the same caution applies through the second half of each cycle. Children: the regulator’s traditional-use approval starts at 12; no myrrh products by mouth for younger children, and no essential oil on them at all. Heart and kidneys: large oral amounts have been linked with changes in heart rhythm in references on the herb; this is a mouthwash and a wound dab, not a tonic to swallow by the spoon. Blood thinners: myrrh may weaken warfarin’s effect; tell your doctor if you use it regularly. Skin: the resin and oil can cause contact dermatitis; patch test, and stop at redness or itching. Alcohol: tincture is alcohol-based; those who avoid alcohol for religious or health reasons should know before buying. Diabetes and other regular medicines: mention any herbal product you swallow to the doctor who prescribes for you.
Heavy bleeding, severe cramping or fainting in a woman who has taken a herbal “period” remedy is an emergency; go now and take the packet. Our hakeem or doctor page lists the other symptoms that are never for totkay.
Price and fakes
We could not verify a dated Pakistani price for mur makki, so we will not invent one. In words: good myrrh is a mid-priced resin, far cheaper than Chios mastic or Omani hojari frankincense, and the cheating is less about price than identity. The common substitutes are dyed gum arabic (dissolves, no bitterness, no smell), cheap bdellium or guggul passed off as myrrh (heavier, less bitter, sold by weight to people who cannot tell), and stale myrrh that has lost its oil (dull, dark, nearly scentless). Buy from a shop that will let you smell and shake a piece, and choose tears that are reddish-brown outside, pale and slightly oily on a fresh break, and strongly bitter.
The bottom line on mur makki
Known: myrrh is the gum-resin of Commiphora myrrha, bitter, antimicrobial in the laboratory, accepted in Europe on tradition as a tincture for mouth ulcers, sore gums and minor wounds, and shown in one human trial to act on the womb. Claimed: stomach tonic, chest clearer, period regulator, skin rejuvenator. Uncertain: almost everything taken by mouth beyond the mouthwash. Main safety issue: pregnancy, without exception. More honest ingredient pages like this one are in Unani & Herbal, Decoded.
Mur makki and myrrh: your questions
Mur makki kya hai?
Mur makki is myrrh, the bitter, reddish-brown resin of the Commiphora myrrha tree from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen. “Makki” marks the Arabian trade route it came through.
Mur makki in English?
Myrrh. Older pharmacy labels say myrrha or gum myrrh; the Hindi bol and hirabol are the same resin.
Myrrh in Urdu?
Mur makki, or simply mur. Do not confuse it with sana makki (senna leaves) or with guggul, a related resin.
Mur makki ke fayde?
The traditional and regulator-accepted use is for mouth ulcers, sore gums and small wounds as a tincture or powder. Stomach and chest claims are tradition; there is no good human evidence for them.
Myrrh benefits for teeth and gums?
As a diluted tincture mouthwash or gum powder, it is astringent and active against mouth bacteria in lab studies, and long use supports it for minor gum soreness and ulcers. It does not replace brushing, flossing or a dentist for bleeding gums.
Is myrrh safe in pregnancy?
No. Myrrh stimulates the uterus; a clinical trial used it to empty the womb after miscarriage, and tradition itself calls it a period-bringer. Avoid all oral myrrh in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, and when pregnancy is possible.
Myrrh benefits for stomach?
Tradition uses it for a cold, sluggish stomach and for worms, but human evidence is lacking. Anyone with persistent stomach pain, black stools or weight loss needs a doctor.
Myrrh gum side effects?
Skin rash from the resin or oil, mouth irritation from strong tincture, and, with large swallowed amounts, reported effects on heart rhythm. It may weaken warfarin. The serious risk is uterine stimulation in pregnancy.
Myrrh oil benefits?
It is a fragrance. Claims for wrinkles, scars and infections are not backed by human trials. If you use it, dilute it in a carrier oil, patch test, and never swallow it or use it on children.
How to identify real mur makki?
Real myrrh is strongly bitter, smells warm and medicinal when warmed in the hand, and turns water yellowish and milky when shaken without dissolving. Dyed gum arabic dissolves cleanly and has no smell or bitterness.
Mur makki price?
We could not confirm a dated local price, so we will not guess. It is a mid-priced resin; suspiciously cheap “myrrh” is usually dyed gum or guggul.
Sources
- European Medicines Agency: Myrrha (Commiphora molmol gummi-resina), EU herbal monograph summary
- Efficacy and safety of myrrh in patients with incomplete abortion: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, BMC Complement Med Ther 2020
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs: Myrrh (adverse reactions, pregnancy case report, warfarin interaction)
- El Ashry ES et al. Components, therapeutic value and uses of myrrh, Die Pharmazie 2003
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Commiphora myrrha (T.Nees) Engl., accepted name