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Guaiacum ( OED 2nd edition, 1989. Entry "guaiacum" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved 2013-04-30.), sometimes spelled Guajacum, is a genus of in the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of slow-growing and , reaching a height of approximately but usually less than half of that. All are native to Subtropics and Tropics regions of the Americas and are commonly known as lignum-vitae, guayacán (Spanish language), or gaïac (French language). The genus name originated in Taíno, the language spoken by the native Taínos of the Bahamas; it was adopted into English language in 1533, the first word in that language of American origin.
Members of the genus have a variety of uses, including as Lignum vitae, for Herbalism purposes, and as Ornamental plant. The trade of all species of Guaiacum is controlled under CITES Appendix II.
Guaiacum officinale is the Floral emblem of Jamaica, while Guaiacum sanctum is the national tree of the Bahamas.
The Spanish encountered guaiacum wood when they conquered San Domingo in the sixteenth century. It was soon brought back to Europe, where epidemic syphilis had been raging for decades. Natural gum quickly acquired a reputation as a cure for syphilis, Johannes Stradanus undated brief review of works. Accessed August 6, 2007. a practice Benvenuto Cellini records in his . Thomas Nashe referred to its supposed medical properties in his tract Nashe's Lenten Stuff, alluding to the exotic sound of the word itself: "Physicians deafen our ears with the honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly panacaea, their sovereign guiacum." The detailed engraving, Preparation and Use of Guayaco for Treating Syphilis, published by Philips Galle after a design by the Flemish artist Stradanus, depicts four servants preparing a concoction of gum guiacum for their wealthy master under the supervision of a physician. Jan van der Straet's "Hyacum et lues venera". Accessed June 29, 2018. Paracelsus, the famous if controversial Swiss physician, disputed the effectiveness of this treatment and was censured for his criticism.
Gum guaiacum was used to stimulate menstruation; in a 1793 Virginia court case, Martha Jefferson Randolph testified that she had provided gum guaiacum to a female relative to "produce an abortion", suggesting that it was also used as an abortifacient. In A Treatise of the Materia Medica (1789), Scottish physician William Cullen noted: "Several physicians have apprehended mischief from the use of the guaiacum in a spirituous tincture."
The 1955 edition of the Textbook of Pharmacognosy states: "Guaiacum has a local stimulant action which is sometimes useful in sore throat. The resin is used in chronic gout and rheumatism, whilst the wood is an ingredient in the compound concentrated solution of Smilax ornata, which was formerly much used as an alternative in syphilis."
A natural phenol compound derived from the resin of Guaiacum trees is used in a common test for blood in human . The presence of heme in the blood causes the formation of a coloured product in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The effect of in horseradish on guiacum was first noted in 1810. (2025). 9780444514004 ISBN 9780444514004
As a food additive, Guaiacum is designated E number and classified as an antioxidant.
A widely used derivative drug is the Mucolytic agent known as guaifenesin.
The soap fragrance oil of guaiac comes from Bulnesia sarmientoi, a tree from the same family.
Members of the genus are grown in Florida and California as .
| Texas, Northeastern Mexico |
| Western Mexico, Guatemala |
| Bolivia (Santa Cruz Department) |
| The Caribbean, Northern South America |
| northwestern Mexico (Sonora) |
| Southern Florida, The Bahamas, Southern Mexico, Central America, Greater Antilles |
| Northwestern Mexico |
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