Setanggi

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Burning incense

Setanggi (Latin: incendere, "to burn") terdiri daripada bahan wangi, yang membebaskan asap wangi apabila dibakar. Istilah setanggi merujuk kepada bahan itu sendiri, dan bukannya bau yang dihasilkannya.

Banyak upacara keugamaan dan penyucian diri menggunakan setanggi, perlakuan yang kekal sehingga hari ini. Setanggi turut diguakan dalam perubatan dan bagi nilai aesthetiknya. Bentuk setanggi berbeza menurut kemajuan teknologi budaya pengguna, dan kepelbagaian sebab ia dibakar.

Setanggi dibakar

Setanggi (bahasa Inggeris Incent dari bahasa Latin incendere "dibakar") terdiri daripada bahan Biotik harum, yang membebaskan asap harum apabila dibakar. Istilah setanggi merujuk kepada bahan itu sendiri, bukannya bau yang dihasilkan. Ia digunakan dalam istiadat keagamaan, upacara penyucian, aromatherapy, meditasi, bagi menghasilkan suasana kerohanian, dan menyembunyikan bau kurang enak.

Setanggi terdiri daripada bahan tumbuhan harum, sering kali digabung dengan minyak haruman. Bentuk yang dimainkan oleh setanggi berbeza dengan budaya asasnya, dan telah berubah dengan kemajuan dalam teknologi dan pertambahan kepelbagaian tujuan ia dibakar. Setanggi boleh dibahagikan kepada dua jenis utama: "dibakar tidak langsung" dan "dibakar langsung." Setanggi dibakar tidak langsung (atau "setanggi tidak terbakar") tidak berupaya terbakar sendirian, dan memerlukan punca haba yang berasingan. Setanggi dibakar langsung ( "setanggi mudah terbakar") dinyalakan secara langsung menggunakan api dan kemudian dikipas atau dihembus padam, meninggalkan bara yang membara dan membebaskan haruman. Setanggi dibakar langsung terdapat dalam pelbagai bentuk, termasuk batang ( "batang colok"), kon, dan piramid.

Sejarah

Batang setanggi di Monasteri Po Lin, Hong Kong

Setanggi digunakan dalam kebudayaan Cina sejak Zaman Neolithik dan menjadi tersebar semasa Dinasti Xia, Dinasti Shang, dan Dinasti Zhou. Penggunaan setanggi terawal direkodkan datangnya dari Cina kuno yang menggunakan setanggi dari keluaran herba dan tumbuhan (seperti dari cassia, kulit kayu manis, styrax, gaharu, antara lainnya) semasa upacara istiadat rasmi. Akhirnya, orang-orang Hindu menerima pakai penggunaan setanggi dari Cina, tetapi mereka juga yang pertama menggunakan akar sebagai setanggi.

Setanggi digunakan oleh Mesir kuno, bukan hanya bagi menghilangkan bau busuk, tetapi juga untuk menghalau jembalang dan menyenangkan Dewa-dewi Mesir. Mereka percaya bahawa bebola resin yang banyak dijumpai dalam kubur Mesir prasejarah di El Mahasna diletakkan bagi tujuan ini. Dupa tertua dijumpai bertarikh sehingga dinasti Mesir ke-5. Kuil Deir-el-Bahari di Mesir mengandungi siri ukiran yang menggambarkan ekspedisi bagi mendapatkan setanggi.

Sesetengah rujukan tertua mengenai setanggi kelihatannya terdapat dalam kitab Veda (teks Hindu kuno) sendiri, terutamanya Atharva Veda, menunjukkan kegunaan setanggi agak lama, bertarikh sehingga sekurang-kurangnya 3,500 tahun dahulu dan kemungkinannya hampir antara 6,000 hingga 8,500 tahun.

Sekitar 2,000 BC, China Kuno merupakan peradapan pertama yang mula menggunakan setanggi dari segi keugamaan, iaitu bagi penyembahan.

Orang-orang Babylon menggunakan setanggi semasa berdoa pada "oracle (/nujum)" menilik ("divining oracle"). Dari situ, setanggi merebak ke Greece dan Rome.

Peradapan Indus menggunakan dupa. Bukti menunjukkan minyak terutamanya digunakan bagi haruman mereka.

Setanggi dibawa masuk ke Jepun pada abad ke-6 oleh sami Buddha Korea, yang menggunakan haruman mistik dalam upacara penyucian mereka, bau lembut Koh (setanggi berkualiti tinggi Jepun) menjadi sumber hiburan dan menyenangkan dikalangan bangsawan di Istana Kemaharajaan ("Imperial Court") semasa Era Heian 200 tahun berikutnya.

Di China, penggunaan setanggi mencapai kemuncaknya semasa Dinasti Song dengan banyak bangunan didirikan khusus bagi upacara setanggi.

Semasa abad ke-14 pemerintahan Shogun, perwira samurai mungkin mengharumkan topi dan perisainya dengan setanggi bagi mencapai aura kekebalan (juga sebagai tanda hormat kepada sesiapa yang mengambil kepalanya dalam pertempuran). Ianya hanya pada Era Muromachi semasa abad ke-15 dan abad ke-16 penghargaan setangi (Kōdō) merebak ke masyarakat Jepun kelas atasan dan pertengahan.

Komposisi

Sesetengah bahan setanggi mentah dan bahan penghasilan setanggi (dari atas ke bawah, kiri ke kanan) serbuk Makko (抹香; Machilus thunbergii), Borneol kapur barus ("camphor") (Dryobalanops aromatica), Sumatra Benzoin (Styrax benzoin), Omani frankincense (Boswellia sacra), Guggul (Commiphora wightii), Golden Frankincense (Boswellia papyrifera), Tolu balsam (Myroxylon toluifera), Somalian myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), Labdanum (Cistus villosus), Opoponax (Commiphora opoponax), dan white Indian sandalwood powder (Santalum album)

Sepanjang sejarah, pelbagai jenis bahan telah digunakan bagi menghasilkan setanggi. Dalam sejarah terdapat kecenderungan bagi menggunakan bahan tempatan yang ada. Sebagai contoh, sage dan cedar telah digunakan oleh penduduk pribumi Amerika Utara. Ini merupakan kecenderungan, dan perdagangan silam setanggi dari satu kawasan ke kawasan yang lain merangkumi sebahagian besar perdagangan sepanjang Laluan Sutera dan laluan perdagangan yang lain, satu yang terkenal dikenali sebagai Laluan Setanggi.

Hal yang sama juga boleh dikatakan bagi teknik menghasilkan setanggi. Pengetahuan dan peralatan setempat banyak memberi pengaruh pada gaya penghasilan, tetapi kaedah pembuatan turut dipengaruhi oleh perpindahan orang asing, antara mereka paderi dan pakar perubatan yang kedua mereka biasa dengan seni setanggi.

Haruman pepejal semulajadi

Bahan haruman berikut boleh digunakan pada setanggi bakar langsung atau tidak langsung. Ia biasanya digunakan dalam upacara keugamaan, dan banyak dari mereka dianggap agak berharga. Minyak pati atau pasi hasilan dari bahan berikut juga boleh diasingkan dan digunakan bagi menghasilkan setanggi. Setanggi yang terhasil kadang-kala dianggap kekurangan haruman rumit, atau tidak asli berbanding setanggi yang dihasilkan dari bahan yang tidak digabung atau diperkaya dengan hasilan ini.

Kayu dan kulit kayu Aloeswood Cedar Sandalwood Cypress Juniper Cassia Cinnamon Biji benih dan buah Coriander Cardamom Juniper Nutmeg Star anise Vanilla

Resins and gums Amber Bdellium Benzoin Kauri Gum Copal Frankincense Myrrh Labdanum Dragon's blood (a plant resin) Mastic (plant resin) Storax Galbanum Elemi Camphor Sandarac Guggul (Indian Myrrh) Opoponax Tolu balsam

Leaves Patchouli Sage Bay Tea Balsam Roots and rhizomes Vetiver Orris Calamus Spikenard Galangal Costus

Flowers and buds Clove Lavender Saffron Rose Animal-derived materials Ambergris Civet Musk Operculum

Combustible base

Charcoal based cone incense

The combustible base of a direct burning incense mixture not only binds the fragrant material together but also allows the produced incense to burn with a self-sustained ember, which propagates slowly and evenly through an entire piece of incense with such regularity that it can be used to mark time. The base is chosen such that it does not produce a perceptible smell. Commercially, two types of incense base predominate:

• Fuel and oxidizer mixtures: Charcoal or wood powder forms the fuel for the combustion. Gums such as Gum Arabic or Gum Tragacanth are used to bind the mixture together while an oxidizer such as Sodium nitrate or Potassium nitrate sustains the burning of the incense. Fragrant materials are combined into the base prior to formation as in the case of powdered incense materials or after formation as in the case of essential oils. The formula for the charcoal based incense is superficially similar to black powder, though it lacks the sulfur.
• Natural plant-based binders: Mucilaginous material, which can be derived from many botanical sources, is mixed with fragrant materials and water. The mucilage from the wet binding powder holds the fragrant material together while the cellulose in the powder combusts to form a stable ember when lit. The dry binding powder usually comprises about 10% of the dry weight in the finished incense. Makko (抹香・末香 incense powder), made from the bark of the tabu-no-ki tree (Machilus thunbergii) (Jpn. 椨の木; たぶのき), is perhaps the best known source of natural plant-based binder. In India a resin based binder called Jigit is used. In Nepal, Tibet, and other East Asian countries a bark based powder called Laha or Dar is used.

Types

Incense is available in various forms and degrees of processing. They can generally be separated into direct burning and indirect burnings types depending on use. Preference for one form or another varies with culture, tradition, and personal taste.

Indirect burning

Indirect burning frankincense on a hot coal

Indirect burning incense, also called non-combustible incense, is simply a combination of aromatic ingredients not prepared in any particular way or encouraged into any particular form, leaving it mostly unsuitable for direct combustion. The use of this class of incense requires a separate heat source since it does not generally kindle a fire capable of burning itself and may not ignite at all under normal conditions. This incense can vary in the duration of its burning with the texture of the material. Finer ingredients tend to burn more rapidly, while coarsely ground or whole chunks may be consumed very gradually as they have less total surface area. The heat is traditionally provided by charcoal or glowing embers.

The best known incense materials of this type in the West, are frankincense and myrrh, likely due to their numerous mentions in the Christian Bible. In fact, the word for "frankincense" in many European languages also alludes to any form of incense.

• Whole: The incense material is burned directly in its raw unprocessed form on top of coal embers.
• Powdered or granulated: The incense material is broken down into finer bits. This incense burns quickly and provides a short period of intense smells.
• Paste: The powdered or granulated incense material is mixed with a sticky and incombustible binder, such as dried fruit, honey, or a soft resin and then formed to balls or small cakes. These may then be allowed to mature in a controlled environment where the fragrances can commingle and unite. Much Arabian incense, also called Bukhoor or Bakhoor, is of this type, and Japan has a history of kneaded incense, called nerikō or awasekō, using this method. Within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition raw frankincense is ground into a fine powder and then mixed with various sweet smelling essential oils.

Direct burning

Incense coils hanging from the ceiling of an East Asian temple

Direct burning incense also called combustible incense, , generally requires little preparation prior to its use. When lit directly by a flame (hence the appellation) and then fanned out, the glowing ember on the incense will continue to smolder and burn away the rest of the incense without continued application of heat or flame from an outside source. This class of incense is made from a moldable substrate of fragrant finely ground (or liquid) incense materials and odorless binder. The composition must be adjusted to provide fragrance in the proper concentration and to ensure even burning. The following types of direct burning incense are commonly encountered, though the material itself can take virtually any form, according to expediency or whimsy:

• Coil: Extruded and shaped into a coil without a core. This type of incense is able to burn for an extended period; from hours to days and is commonly produced and used by Chinese culture
• Cone: Incense in this form burns relatively fast. Cone incense containing mugwort are used in Traditional Chinese medicine for moxibustion treatment.
• Cored stick: This form of stick incense has a supporting core of bamboo. Higher quality varieties of this form have fragrant sandalwood cores. The core is coated by a thick layer of incense material that burns away with the core. This type of incense is commonly produced in Indians and China. When used for worship in Chinese folk religion, cored incensed sticks are sometimes known as Joss sticks.
• Solid stick: This stick incense has no supporting core and is completely made of incense material. Easily broken into pieces, it allows one to determine the specific amount of incense they wish to burn. This is the most commonly produced form of incense in Japan and Tibet.
• Incense blanks: This form is made of unscented dust and then immersed into any kind of essential or fragrance oil. It was made popular in American Flea markets by vendors who wanted their own style and often known as "dipped" or "Hand-dipped"
• Loose powder: The incense powder used for making indirect burning incense is sometimes burned without further processing. They are typically packed into long trails on top of wood ash using a stencil and burned in special censers or incense clocks.
• Rope: The incense powder is rolled into paper sheets, which are then rolled into ropes, twisted tightly, then doubled-over and twisted again, yielding a two-strand rope. The larger end is the bight, and may be stood vertically, in a shallow dish of sand or pebbles. The smaller (pointed) end is lit. This type of incense is highly transportable and stays fresh for excessively long periods of time. It has been used for centuries in Tibet and Nepal.

Direct burning incense of these forms is either extruded, pressed into forms, or coated onto a supporting material.

Production

Drying cored stick incense, Vietnam

Although the production of direct and indirect burning incense are both blended to produce a pleasant smell when burned, the two differ in their composition due to the former's requirement for even, stable, and sustained burning.

Indirect

Indirect burning incense does not have any stringent requirements except for achieving pleasant smell when lit. Mixture of incense materials can be combined by powdering the raw materials and then mixing together with a binder to form pastes, which are then cut and dried into pellets.

Incense of the Athonite Orthodox Christian tradition are made using similar methods by powdering frankincense or fir resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately 1cm thick and left until the slab has firmed. It is then cut into small cubes, coated with powder clay to prevent adhesion, and allowed to fully harden and dry. The product visually resemble cubes of Loukoum.

Direct

Poor quality cored incense. Note that the sticks are uneven in thickness and the supporting cores remain even after combustion of the incense

It is quite the opposite for direct burning incense. On top of producing a pleasant scent when burnt, this type of incense must burn completely to ash with a stable ember. Ideally the incense should burn slowly and evenly with no trace of the supporting core after burning. In order to obtain these desired combustion qualities, attention has to be paid to certain proportions in direct burning incense mixtures:

• Oil content: Resinous materials such as myrrh and frankincense must not exceed the amount of dry materials in the mixture to such a degree that the incense will not smolder and burn. The higher the oil content relative to the dry mass, the less likely the mixture is to burn effectively. Typically the resinous or oily substances are balanced with "dry" materials such as wood, bark and leaf powders.
• Oxidizer quantity: The amount of chemical oxidizer in gum bound incense must be carefully proportioned. Too little, and the incense will not ignite, too much, and the incense will burn too quickly and not produce fragrant smoke.
• Mixture density: Incense mixture made with natural binders must not be combined with too much water in mixing, or over-compressed while being formed. This either results in uneven air distribution or undesirable density in the mixture, which causes the incense to burn unevenly, too slowly, or too quickly.
• Particulate size: The incense mixture has to be well pulverized with similar size of particulates. Uneven and large particulates will result in uneven burning and may smell inconsistent when burned.
• Binder: Water soluble binders like makko (抹香・末香) have to be used in the right proportion to ensure that the incense mixture does not crumble when dry but also that the binder does not take up too much of the mixture

Compressed forms

The incense mixture can be extruded or pressed into shapes small quantities of water are combined with the fragrance and incense base mixture and kneaded into a hard dough. The incense dough is then pressed into shaped forms to create cone and smaller coiled incense, or forced through a hydraulic press for solid stick incense. The formed incense is then trimmed and slowly dried. Incense produced in this fashion has a tendency to warp or become misshapen when improperly dried, and as such must be placed in climate controlled rooms and rotated several times through the drying process.

Cored sticks

In the case of cored incensed sticks several methods are employed to coat the sticks cores with incense mixture:

• Paste rolling: A wet malleable paste of incense mixture is first rolled using a paddle into a long thin coil. When this is done a thin stick is then put next to the coil and rolled together until the stick is center in the mixture and a correct thickness of the incense stick is achieved. The stick is then cut to the right length and dried.
• Powder coating: Coating is used mainly to produce cored incense of either larger coil (up to 1 meter in diameter) or cored stick forms. The supporting material, either thin bamboo or sandalwood slivers, are soaked in water or a thin water/glue mixture for a short time. The bundle of thin sticks are then evenly separated then dipped into a tray of incense powder, consisting of fragrance materials and occasionally a plant based binder. The dry incense powder is then tossed and piled over the stick while they are spread apart. The sticks are then gently rolled and packed to maintain roundness while repeatedly tossing more incense powder onto the sticks. Three to four layers of powder are coated onto the sticks, forming a 2 mm thick layer of incense material on the stick. The coated incense is then allowed to dry in open air. Additional coatings of incense mixture can be applied after each period of successive drying. Incense sticks that are burned in temples of Chinese folk religion produced in this fashion can have a thickness between 1 to 2 cm.
• Compression: A damp powder is mechanically formed around a cored stick by compression similar to the way uncored sticks are formed. This form is becoming more commonly found due to the labor cost of producing powder coated or paste rolled sticks.

Burning incense

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An Oriental Orthodox congregation in India processes outside its church with palm fronds on Palm Sunday with incense.

For indirect burning incense, pieces of the incense are burned by placing it directly on top of the heat source or on a hot metal plate in the censer or thurible.

In Japan a similar censer called a egōro (柄香炉, egōro^?) is used by several Buddhist sects. The egōro is usually made of brass with a long handle (柄, e^?)) and no chain. Instead of charcoal, makkō powder is poured into a depression made in a bed of ash. The makkō is lit and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as Sonae-kō (Religious Burning).

For direct burning incense, an end of the incense is held against a flame or a heat source until the incense begins to turn into ash at the burning end. Flames on the incense are fanned out and the incense is allowed to burn on its own.

Cultural variations

Chinese incense

Incense at a temple in Beijing, China

There are many forms of Chinese incense and its use and formulation theory is strongly tied to Traditional Chinese medicine and are still referred today as "fragrant medicines" (香藥). Use of incense in dynastic times was as much for promotion of bodily well-being as much as for veneration and religious ceremonies. As with Japanese incense, agarwood (沈香, chenxiang) and sandalwood (檀香, tanxiang) are the two most important ingredients in Chinese incense.

Calibrated incense sticks and powders were used in both secular and religious Chinese culture for keeping time.

Indian incense

Indian incense can be divided into two categories: masala and charcoal.

Masala incenses are made by blending several solid scented ingredients into a paste and then rolling that paste onto a bamboo core stick. These incenses usually contain little or no liquid scents (which can evaporate or diminish over time).

Charcoal incenses are made by dipping an unscented "blank" (non-perfume stick) into a mixture of perfumes and/or essential oils. These blanks usually contain a binding resin that holds the sticks' ingredients together. Most charcoal incenses are black in color.

Jerusalem temple incense

Ketoret was the incense offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and is stated in the Book of Exodus as a mixture of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.

Setanggi Tibet

Setanggi Tibet merujuk kepada jenis setanggi biasa yang terdapat di Tibet, Nepal, dan Bhutan. Setanggi ini mempunyai ciri-ciri bau "tanah" pada mereka. Bahannya berbeza dari kulit kayu manis, cengkih, dan juniper (sejenih pokok renek), hingga pada bunga cerek jantan ("kusum flower"), ashvagandha, atau sahi jeera.

Banyak setanggi Tibet dipercayai memiliki ciri-ciri perubatan. Adunannya datang dari teks Vedas/Vedik kuno yang diasaskan pada teks perubatan Ayurveda yang lebih lama. Resepi ini kekal tidak berubah selama beberapa dekad.

Setanggi Jepun

Timbunan setanggi di kuil di Jepun

Di Jepun penghargaan setanggi merangkumi seni, budaya, sejarah, dan upacara. Ia boleh dibandingkan dengan dan memiliki kuali yang sama seperti muzik, seni, atau sastera. Membakar setanggi kadang-kala dilakukan semasa istiadat teh, seperti Aturan Kaligraf, Ikebana, dan Skrol. Bagaimanapun seni penghargaan setanggi atau Koh-do, umumnya diamalkan berasingan sebagai bentuk seni berasingan dari istiadat teh, bagaimanapun biasanya diamalkan dalam bilik teh dengan rekabentuk tradisi Zen.

Gaharu ("Agarwood") (沈香　Jinkō) dan Cendana ("sandalwood") (白檀　Byakudan) merupakan dua bahan penting dalam setanggi Jepun. Gaharu dikenali sebagai "Jinkō" di Jepun, yang diterjemah sebagai "setanggi yang tenggelam dalam air", kerana besar resin dalam kayu. Cendana pula merupakan satu dari bahan setanggi penenang dan amat sesuai untuk digunakan bagi meditasi. Ia turut digunakan dalam upacara teh Jepun. Cendana paling dihargai datangnya dari Mysore dalan negeri Karnataka di India.

Satu lagi bahan penting dalam setanggi Jepun adalah kyara (伽羅). Kyara merupakan sejenis Gaharu (Syarikat setanggi Jepun membahagikan gaharu dalam 6 kategori bergantung kepada kawasan ia didapati dan ciri-ciri gaharu). Kyara masa kini bernilai sama timbangan dengan nilai emas.

Uses of incense

Incense, being an article familiar to humanity since the dawn of civilization, has meant different things to the different peoples who have come to use it. Given the wide diversity of such peoples and their practices, it would be impossible to form an all-inclusive list of the ways in which incense has come to be used, since the methods and purposes of employment are as diverse and nuanced as those who have employed it.

Practical use of incense

Mosquito repellent used in China, India, Canada, Korea, and Japan are usually manufactured in coil form and burned in a similar manner as incense

Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other, less desirable odors. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. Another example of this use, as well as of religious use is the Botafumeiro, which, according to tradition, was installed to hide the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

The regular burning of direct combustion incense has been used for chronological measurement in incense clocks. These devices can range from a simple trail of incense material calibrated to burn in a specific time period, to elaborate and ornate instruments with bells or gongs, designed to involve and captivate several of the senses.

Incense made from materials such as citronella can repel mosquitoes and other aggravating, distracting or pestilential insects. This use has been deployed in concert with religious uses by Zen Buddhists who claim that the incense that is part of their meditative practice is designed to keep bothersome insects from distracting the practitioner. Currently, more effective pyrethroid-based mosquito repellant incense is widely available in Asia.

Incense is also used often by people who smoke indoors, and do not want the scent to linger.

Aesthetic use of incense

Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it, in the same way that the forgoing items can be produced or consumed solely for the contemplation or enjoyment of the refined sensory experience. This use is perhaps best exemplified in the kōdō (香道, kōdō^?), where (frequently costly) raw incense materials such as agarwood are appreciated in a formalized setting.

Religious use of incense

Incense burning at a temple in Taipei

Use of incense in religion is prevalent in many cultures and may have their roots in the practical and aesthetic uses considering that many religions with not much else in common all use incense. One common motif is of incense as a form of sacrificial offering to a deity.

Incense and health

Incense smoke contains various contaminants including gaseous pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), sulfur oxides (SO_x), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [4–8], and absorbed toxic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and toxic metals). The solid particles range between ~10 and 500 nm. The emission rate decreases in the row Indian sandalwood > Japanese aloeswood > Taiwanese aloeswood > smokeless sandalwood. There is no question that those contaminants are carcinogenic and can cause respiratory diseases, but the risk of those depends on the exposure.

Research carried out in Taiwan in 2001 linked the burning of incense sticks to the slow accumulation of potential carcinogens in a poorly ventilated environment by measuring the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzopyrene) within Buddhist temples. The study found gaseous aliphatic aldehydes, which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, in incense smoke.

A survey of risk factors for lung cancer, also conducted in Taiwan, noted an inverse association between incense burning and adenocarcinoma of the lung, though the finding was not deemed significant.

In contrast, a study by several Asian Cancer Research Centers showed: "No association was found between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the three populations studied: i.e. primary school children, their non-smoking mothers, or a group of older non-smoking female controls. Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount." However, the researchers qualified the findings by noting that incense burning in the studied population was associated with certain low-cancer-risk dietary habits, and concluded that "diet can be a significant confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health."

Frankincense has been shown to cause antidepressive behavior in mice. It activated the poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety and depression.

Rujukan

• Silvio A. Bedini. (1994). "The Trail of Time : Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37482-0
• History of Incense

Pautan luar

• Incensole Acetate, a Novel Anti-Inflammatory Compound Isolated from Boswellia Resin, Inhibits Nuclear Factor-{kappa}B Activation. Mol Pharmacol. 2007 Dec;72(6):1657-64.
• Frankincense and Myrrh: The Botany, Culture, and Therapeutic Uses of the World's Two Most Important Resins
• Japanese Incense Tradition