According to the Bible, the wise men who visited Jesus shortly after his birth brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While gold and frankincense are fairly well known to most people who hear the Christmas story, myrrh is another story. Myrrh refers to the resinous dried sap of a number of trees of various Commiphora and Balsamodendron species. The Commiphora myrrha, the most common source of myrrh, grows natively in Somalia and eastern Ethiopia. The word myrrh comes from the Hebrew murr or maror, which means “bitter.” Myrrh was a symbolically appropriate gift for the baby Jesus because it was used in embalming at the time. Therefore, while gold and frankincense symbolize the infant’s royalty and divinity, respectively, myrrh makes reference to His future death. Myrrh was extremely valuable in the time of the Roman Empire, when Jesus was born, and it was used as an incense burned during funerals until the 15th century. Now In a new study scientists have discovered that Myrrh helps reduce bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. The ancient resin, used traditionally as a perfume or embalming fluid, may help lower cholesterol levels if taken as a food supplement.

Myrrh is a rust-coloured resin obtained from several species of Commiphora and Balsamodendron trees, native to the Middle East and Ethiopia.

At the time, myrrh was revered as an embalming ointment and as a perfume but it seems that as well preserving you in death it can preserve you in life too.

In the study, published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, Nadia Saleh Al-Amoudi, a researcher from King Abd Al-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia noted that myrrh has long been used as a medicinal treatment for sore throats, congestion, and cuts and burns.

The researcher fed myrrh resin, among other plant materials, to albino rats, and found that levels of “bad” cholesterol fell and levels of “good” cholesterol went up while the rodents were on the diet.

The discovery opens new doors for research into fighting high cholesterol, a health problem that is closely linked with the rise in obesity. “Of all nutrients, fat is implicated most often as a contributing factor to disease,” explains the researchers.

This is not the first time that myrrh has been shown to have health giving properties. A study by Rutgers University in New Jersey found a substance found in the plant extract could be used to fight prostate and breast cancers.