The flowering plants (angiosperms) divide into two major groupings, the monocots (palms, grasses, lilies, etc.) and the eudicots (most of the remainder). Despite considerablebotanical differeces, both groupings contain tree species and a few of those treesproduce bright red resin called Dragon’s Blood (DB).
Trees produce resins as wound-healing substances, … for themselves of course! Resins are made primarily of terpenes that tend to polymerise into a viscous material that seals open fissures in the tree bark.
The red pigments in DB are primarily flavonoids such as dracaenin, dracorhodin dracoflavilium, and dracorubin. Besides the pigments, DB contains numerous additional phytoactives that defend against bacteria, fungi, insects and other parasites.
The sources below give details of numerous uses for DB. As a natural medicine. Besides antimicrobial and antioxidative activities, DB is claimed to help blood circulation and clotting, to blood sugar and lipids, to enhance immunity. Also, just like in the trees, DB is proposed to promote healing of wounds in human skin; consequently DB is marketed as a skincare ingredient, where it is likely to have effects on the skin #microbiome.
However, I have been unable to find scientific support for claims in the #HarryPotter books that DB can be used as oven cleaner, though perhaps the DB referred to there is from a source other than trees!
SOURCES:
Dragon's blood. Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dragon%27s_blood&oldid=1065151424
Escobar JD etal. Dragon’s Blood Sap: Storage Stability and Antioxidant Activity. Molecules. 2018;23(10):2641. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102641
Fan J-Y et al. A Systematic Review of the Botanical, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Dracaena cochinchinensis, a Plant Source of the Ethnomedicine “Dragon’s Blood”. Molecules.2014; 19(7):10650-10669. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules190710650
Thu ZM et al. Flavonoidsand Stilbenoids of the Genera Dracaena and Sansevieria: Structures and Bioactivities. Molecules.2020; 25(11):2608. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25112608
