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Bees wax Details & Specifications |
| Useful
Link |
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| Botanical Name |
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Apis mallifera |
| English Name |
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Bees wax |
| Hindi Name |
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Mom |
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| CATEGORY |
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Emollient |
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| SOURCE |
| Part used |
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State of the part used |
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Exudate |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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| FAMILY |
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Apidae |
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| GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE |
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The plant is indigenous to India and is found in following countries :-
France
India
Italy
Jamaica
West Africa
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| IDENTIFICATION |
| Organoleptic characteristics |
| Colour |
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| Odour |
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Honey-like odour |
| Taste |
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Tasteless |
| Size |
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N/A |
| Physical
Standards |
| Total Ash |
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N/A |
| Moisture |
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N/A |
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| CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS |
| Major |
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Major chemical constituents responsible for physicochemical and therapeutic action of the herb are :-
Esters of straight-chain monohydric alcohols
Bees wax
Myricin
Myricl palmitae
Free cerotic acid
/p>
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| Minor |
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Minor chemical constituents of this herb affecting color, odour, taste and stability are
Mellisic acid
Cerolein
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| CULTIVATION |
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Wax is secreted by the worker bees especially the younger bees which cling together by their fore and hind legs to form numerous festoons which makes a larger cluster of bees. After removing of the honey the comb and cappings of honeycomb are broken and boiled in water and then cooled resulting in formation of cake on the surface. The cake formed is removed and purified for suspended matter by melting in a deep vessel and allowing it to stand in a fluid state for some time. The pure wax is poured off into earthen vessels and wiped with a wet cloth and the debris on outer surface are separated by scraping. It is also purified by heating in boiling water or dilute sulphuric acid and settling. This process is repeated several times and finally wax is skimmed off.
Melting yellow wax and running molten wax on a revolving wet drum in form of thin stream and scrapping long ribbon-like strips prepare white wax. The strips thereafter are laid on flannel and bleached in sun. It is also prepared by bleaching with chemicals.
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| STORAGE |
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To maintain physicochemical properties and medicinal values of the herb it is recommended to maintain following storage conditions :-
Air tight containers
Protection from light
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