Skip to main content

Camphor

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Camphor was recorded in many ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine. There has been a long history for traditional Chinese medicine to use camphor. The research and development process of camphor has gone through from the natural product extraction to the modern chemical drug synthesis. Camphor is mainly used for the treatment of pruritic skin diseases, fibrous tissue inflammation, neuralgia, and influenza. It is toxic to human. Overdose of camphor can cause irritability, drowsiness, muscle spasms, vomiting, convulsions, epilepsy, and other symptoms. Camphor has wide pharmacological activities, but its toxicity limits the clinical application.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Mann J, Davidson RS, Hobbs JB, et al. Natural products: their chemistry and biological significance. London: Longman Scientific & Technical; 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Xiong Y, Wu XR, Tu XM. Advances in the pharmacy of camphor. Lab Med Clin. 2009;6(12):999–1001.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chen F, Chen SH. Brief introduction to the development of synthetic camphor. J Chem Ind For Prod. 1997;31(2):20–3.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Tang QY, Li JB, Lei CX. Extracting camphor and camphor oil from camphor trees. J Yiyang Teach Coll. 2000;17(5):49–50.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Ding YG, Ma HM, Zhang BL. Research on pharmacology, toxicology and safety of camphor: review and prospect. Chin J Pharmacovigilance. 2012;9(1):38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Smith AG, Margolis G. Camphor poisoning: anatomical and pharmacologic study; report of a fatal case; experimental investigation of protective action of barbiturate. Am J Pathol. 1954;30(5):857–69.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Manoguerra AS, Erdman AR, Wax PM, et al. Camphor poisoning: an evidence-based practice guideline for out-of-hospital management. Clin Toxicol. 2006;44(4):357–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guan-Hua Du .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. and People's Medical Publishing House, PR of China

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Song, JK., Du, LD., Qiang, GF., Du, GH. (2018). Camphor. In: Natural Small Molecule Drugs from Plants. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8022-7_33

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics