Wintergreen and Sweet Birch - Again

[Guest guest]

Butch Owen <butchbsi

Tue, 13 Apr 2004 23:02:26 -0700

Wintergreen and Sweet Birch

 

Hi y'all,

 

Someone asked if the above truly existed .. some claimed to have them

in hand. The answer is .. they can exist but why should one demand and

pay for the natural when in the case of Methyl salicylate its not found

in the original plant material in the first place .. it requires much

laborious processing to obtain it .. and the enantiomers are the same

for the natural or synthetic .. the body uses both BADLY in the same

manner - synthetic or processed from the plant materials. So its not

really so much an issue of natural vs synthetic. It is, however, a

matter of frequency of use.

 

-

 

If we're gonna talk about Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) we might

as well discuss Birch (Betula lenta) because both are generally made of

synthetic Methyl salicylate. Such discussion upsets some folk sometime.

Makes'em wanna shoot the messenger. Anyway .. see below if you want

some facts on the two products above .. and don't shoot me. ;-p

 

True Birch and Wintergreen are technically available but very expensive.

They've been replaced by synthetics. They are irritants and toxic, and

were replaced because both are 99 percent Methyl salicylate in the first

place so they use a cheaper lab chemical rather than the more expensive

natural process. In fact, in the case of Birch - the Methyl salicylate

is produced by enzymatic destruction of the plant material. Difficult.

 

Birch and Wintergreen are never less than 98% Methyl salicylate and are

generally 99% plus. There are MANY scientific studies documenting Methyl

salicylate poisoning .. and it's as high as 50% fatal. Several medical

studies say lipid solubility is the reason why it can be so toxic.

 

Most chemists will say there is no such a thing as " real " Birch and

Wintergreen oils available in the commercial market .. they say this

cause they've never seen one and they're real good at making them. They

can't imagine why anyone would want to pay for the real thing anyway as

it's not practical - there's no reason to because Methyl salicylate is

one of the few chemicals that the body will handle (badly) the same way

be it from a chemist's bottle or the actual production process.

 

If we do find a pure Birch it will cost more than we would want to pay

because Methyl salicylate isn't even in the original plant material.

The plant has to be soaked for 24 hours in warm water and then the oil

is steam extracted as it decomposes. It's a labor intensive, expensive

process .. and as the Essential Oil is not in the living plant material

anyway it's not a natural oil ... so why not use the synthetic?

 

Its NOT impossible to find true Birch or Wintergreen - but it's not very

likely you will because substituting Methyl salicylate at a cost of less

than $5 a pound is the norm - and its not unsafe or unethical - unless

the seller claims its the real thing and knows it's not. Some sellers

make such claims. Its generally not (methinks) because they want to

cheat you - they just flat don't know themselves - which I think is a

shame! :-(

 

As for requesting an analysis .. its a waste of time. Why? Because

claims of " real " Wintergreen and Sweet Birch oil are hard to disprove

even if you disregard the economically responsible logic I presented

above. They are difficult to prove because tests to determine

authenticity would require isotopic studies so even chiral analysis

really won't prove anything. The cost of chiral analysis is BIG BUCKS

and the better tests are even BIGGER BUCKS!

 

Preparations containing Methyl salicylate are effective pain relievers -

and Methyl salicylate is used in many medications for pain. But that

doesn't mean it's safe - doesn't mean you and I can use it effectively

as can the experienced and professional OTC medication manufacturers.

Most folks don't really care why it works - but I heard an " opinion " of

why it's good for joint pain. Feller said it's an effective detoxifier.

Said the build-up of toxins around the joint is part of what causes the

pain, so the use of a detoxifying substance gets toxins moving on down

the road. Not sure if I buy that or not .. just passing it along.

 

In addition to that, Methyl salicylate is a rubifacient and analgesic.

 

Check this out for Ben Gay.

http://store./buyinprivate/benorfor4ozt.html

Active ingredients are Methyl Salicyate 18.3% and Menthol 16%.

 

And this one for Icy Hot.

http://home.intekom.com/pharm/searle/icyhot.html

Each 100 g of Icy Hot has 29.02 g Methyl salicylate and 7.65 g Menthol.

 

In my opinion, both the above have far too much Methyl salicyclate

because folks suffering from arthritis and other lingering pain are

going to continue to use them .. that's the problem. The effects are

cumulative. But .. in order to cover their butts .. even knowing that

folks are not gonna listen .. they include on the instructions wording

to the effect that it should not be used for a long period. Do any of

you think folks suffering pain are gonna pay attention to that?

 

Wintergreen/methyl sallicylate are commonly used in candies and breath

fresheners, Lifesavers, Altoids etc. Both are found in analgesic balms

such as Tiger Balm, Vicks, Ben-Gay etc. It is toxic, but as with other

natural products, it's level of usage which should be considered. The

oil is for EXTERNAL USE ONLY and a maximum 1% dilution might be safe for

occasional use. Continued use is VERY dangerous.

 

Methyl salicylate is a dermal and oral toxin and there is not one person

in the world of chemistry or medicine that will tell you otherwise, but

that doesn't mean you're gonna fall down and die the first time you use

it. But in concentration, and/or with frequent use, Methyl salicylate

does make people sick, and it can be fatal if the overdose is high. I

want to emphasize " frequent use " because of the cumulative effects of

Methyl salicylate. Don't ask me what is too much .. I don't know .. but

I won't sell them or use them.

 

I'm not one to hang onto in vitro/in vivo studies on what does this or

that to a rat .. but I pay attention to data reported by dermatologists

and the medical folks when they report real, live results from real,

live human critters. This data is collected by various agencies.

 

Methyl salicylate builds up in the body so using the same amount every

day is in effect giving yourself a higher and higher dose. And there is

no disputing that such build up can cause permanent damage to the liver.

I'm not smart enough to tell folks how to use it and I know that many

folks aren't as smart about EOs as I am - so I don't sell it.

 

I think the bottom line is Yes they smell good and Yes they can help you

with pain and Yes you can get poisoned from arthritis medications - to

include Ben Gay and Icy Hot. You are not gonna be poisoned with very

infrequent use (most likely) but its frequency of use you gotta really

be concerned with. I wrote an article on this once for the Saponifier.

 

The odds are better of finding an honest politician than of finding a

natural Birch or Wintergreen. And those who would want the natural

product would pay out the nose if they did find it .. and the fact that

they were willing to do so would be proof of their lack of knowledge of

the facts I've reported above .. synthetic or natural will be the same

dadgummed thing.

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch :-) http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Bulk/Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Rose Otto, Hydrosols and other nice

things shipped to you from downtown Friendsville, MD .. pop: 597