Wearing Baltic Amber – The highest content of succinic acid is found in the amber cortex – the external layer of the stone. It has long been believed that by wearing raw or polished natural Baltic amber against the skin, a “homeopathic dose” of succinic acid is absorbed into the body, enough to exert its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immune enhancing and vitality boosting influence.
Due to their natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, Baltic amber beads have long been valued as teething necklaces. Worn by babies and small children for countless centuries throughout Europe, the amber beads seem to ease babies teething discomforts and are believed to help calm a fussy baby. The beads are simply worn around the neck and not necessarily chewed.
Raw Baltic amber comes in many shades of yellow and yellow browns, and also white, pale lemon yellow and almost black. Uncommonly one finds red or “cherry amber”, green or blue, but these are rare and highly sought after. Baltic amber is translucent and can be especially beautiful when polished.
One of the things about Baltic amber that I find the most magical and fascinating is that not only does it carry the energy and memory of all those millions of years on earth, but it also often contains bubbles of air that was actually on the earth all those millions of years ago, as well as inclusions of small particles of living matter, such as leaves or bugs that bear witnesses to life on earth 40 to 200 million years ago. These physical traits energetically transmit to me the power of longevity, endurance, and the ability to survive, with strength and grace, any changes that come our way. Now that is what I call adaptogenic!
Another thing I like about natural Baltic amber is that most amber pieces are sustainably harvested in the same traditional ways that have been used for centuries. Raw chunks of amber are stirred up by turbulent seas, carried ashore by waves and collected at ebb-tide. Harvesters, furnished with nets at the end of long poles, wade into shallow waters of the Baltic Sea and drag their nets through seaweeds which may contain masses of entangled amber. Some rake amber up from boats.
Tincture of Baltic Amber
Amber’s antibiotic and disease fighting properties are legendary. It was credited with saving people from the bubonic plague during the Middle Ages. The Prussian Priest Matthaus Praetorius recorded that “During the plague not a single amberman from Gdansk, Klaipeda, Konigsberg or Liepaja died of the disease.” The succinic acid in Baltic amber has proven to be immune enhancing and an exceedingly effective ally in fighting both bacterial and viral infection.
Modern research at the University of Hamburg, Germany, confirms the safe use and positive effects of succinic acid in cellular metabolism. And in Russia, Dr. Veniamin Khazanov of the RAS’ Institute of Pharmacology says “For aged people, succinic acid has proved to be indispensable. It is capable of restoring the energy balance at the cellular level, which is often upset as the years go by, and helps the patient regain his youthful energy.”
Its “hormone-like” effect on the neuroendocrine system, studied extensively by Professor Eugene Maevsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is notable. Scientists working with Dr. Maevsky have documented studies over the past several decades that consistently support their use of succinic acid to prevent and treat many age related diseases.
Traditional Chinese Medicine also has high regard for the medicinal properties of Baltic amber. Chinese practitioners use it for subduing fright, tranquilizing the mind, for the relief of palpitations, to promote blood circulation and protect against heart attack and stroke. Amber is also specifically recommended for lower abdominal pains affecting the testes, prostate or uterus. An old time remedy called “amber syrup”, a mixture of powdered amber and opium, was used as a tranquilizer and antispasmodic.
Chemistry – In addition to the succinic acid, terpenoids with a wide range of therapeutic actions, aromatic oils, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, a-keto acid and a-hydroxy acid are also present in the alcohol extract. Ethanol extracts of amber have been used therapeutically and with no recorded negative effects, for a very long time.
According to A. Matuszewska and A. John, Department of Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Petrography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Silesian University, Sosnowiec, Poland, the succinic acid isolated from Baltic amber stimulates plant organisms, and can contribute to an increase in the yield of cultivated plants
