Dammar gum

Dammar gum, also called damar gum, dammar resin, or just dammar, is a resin obtained from the tree family Dipterocarpaceae in India and Southeast Asia, principally those of the genera Shorea or Hopea (synonym Balanocarpus). The resin of some species of Canarium may also called dammar. Most is produced by tapping trees; however, some is collected in fossilised form on the ground. The resin varies in colour from clear to pale yellow, while the fossilised form is grey-brown. Dammar gum is a triterpenoid resin, containing many triterpenes and their oxidation products. Many of them are low molecular weight compounds (dammarane, dammarenolic acid, oleanane, oleanonic acid, etc.), which easily oxidizes and photoxidizes.

Fresh dammar gum consists of a mixture of compounds; primarily hydroxydammarenone, dammarenolic acid, and oleanonic aldehyde.

The resin is stable^{[citation needed]}, probably combustible and incompatible with strong oxidising agents. Its toxicity is low, but inhalation of dust may cause allergies.