X-Message-Number: 22078
From: 
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 10:45:24 EDT
Subject: more on copal

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Old time sailors used an oil distillate from such trees against scurvy. As I 
understand, DHA is a chemical name for one of the main Pycnogenol component. 
The grape seed extract is another DHA-pycnogenol-like chemical blend. 

Copal is a Spanish (Mexican) word used for a polymerized form of a shrub sap. 
The hard copal from Madagascar comes from a leguminous tree found on this 
island and in Africa in the Zanzibar-Tanzania area. The high temperature 

distillate of it was used to produce some high quality varnish and paint 
additive. 
That was before the 30's, when petrochemical products came in general use. My 
copal comes mostly from tropical conifers of the Podocarpus family, they are 
closely related to the Pacific Islands Agathis, such the New Zealand Agathis 

australis. The Agathis copal would be the best, it is a "toxic weapon" produced 
by 
the tree when stressed. It is a very strong antioxidant, it kills nearly any 
bacterium, virus, mold, forbids the decay of biological products (so it block 
the digestive process in insect gut.) It looks as synthetic resin, but don't 

put it on electric cable, it is a good electric conductor and was "used" by the
trees as grounding against lightning. It is a bad fuel and give a black 
charring in fire. A tree covered with it can't burn.

As said before, the fossil form of Agathis copal is amber, even not 

fossilized, raw copal blocks look as amber. You could start a jewels amber 
production 
with it...:-)


I first learned about it many years ago in a book about large New Zealand 

trees. It would be best to get Agathis copal, unfortunately, this is not a 
market 
product, next year I may have a green house to start with some thousandths A. 
australis. Even best would be the Rimu a Dacrydium tree. If you feel bad, eat 
some twigs of that cypress, it is good for nearly everything, I don't know 

how it works but is very efficient. Beware: because of general shape it is seen
as a cypress, but that is misleading, ordinary cypress are very different and 
toxic.

Yvan Bozzonetti.


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