White Alum or Double Aluminum Sulfate

White alum, besides its applications in traditional medicine, is also used in the food industry and other industries. The scientific name of alum:

Steoptria – Alon – aloman – alen

● Other names:

– Persian: Zak, Zagh, Zaj

– Arabic: Shabb

– Greek: Khall al-Qays

– Hindi: Pehtakri

– Local names: Zameh (Mashhadi), Zi (Turkish), Zamj (Afghani), Sheeb (Armenian) (Qalqatar, Qalqadis, Nahas)

▪ Types: There are more than 25 types available.

Due to the abundance of types, the most famous are listed. White alum (Shoghar), red, green, yellow, black, red and black (used by dyers and shoemakers), alum of al-sakfa, distilled, solid, cooked, crystalline, Cypriot, Lari, Roman, Rosh, Eastern, English, milky, Parisian (Qalqand, Qalqant-Souri, Shirazi)

▪ Distribution: From the types of alum, it appears to be found in most parts of the world, but in our country, the most famous locations are Zakan of Qazvin, Zakan of Tarom, and Zagoon of Tehran. If you have stopped at the Ab-e-Ask area on the Haraz road, the running water of this area is alum water, whose sediments are clearly visible in a small stream, and a small pond of alum water is still available here for those with skin problems.

▪ Constituents: Light-weight white alum (lightweight) the best of which is shiny Egyptian, resembling the arsenic badakhshi which crumbles quickly in hand and is usually a crystalline body with a bitter taste and an appearance like rock salt and Turkish salt.

▪ Components: Alums contain various metallic substances; the white one contains sulfuric acid (sulfuric acid), iron oxide, potassium sulfate water, and alumina.

▪ Green alum: contains iron sulfate; blue alum or copper sulfate contains copper sulfate.

Nature: Their types are in the third degree warm and dry tending to mildness, and white alum is the mildest of all types.

▪ Green alum: warm and dry

▪ Yellow alum: in the third degree warm and dry. Contrary to salts which become concentrated upon burning, green alum becomes mild upon burning.

Ground soft yellow alum held under the tongue with Soranjan is beneficial for mouth ulcers, inflammation, and mouth sores.

▪ Throat: gargle for throat muscles

▪ Nose: its inhalation for nosebleeds

▪ Ear: ear cleansing to remove pus (cure infection) – wick with honey for ear ulcers (cure infection)

▪ Teeth: inflammation between teeth, toothache (alum of al-sakfa)

▪ Eye: with honey for eyelid inflammation

Washing with alum and rainwater removes eye membranes and whiteness.

▪ Skin: removal of excess flesh, removal of skin whiteness, eczema, scabies, scurvy, dry hickory, malignant ulcers (infection removal)

– Healing skin cuts by rubbing alum or its yellow variant.

– Rubbing alum on pimples (reducing pimples)

▪ Bladder: elimination of bladder ulcers (infection)

▪ Kidney: crushing stones (should be prepared pharmaceutically.)

▪ Bruises: alum compress and poultice with salt for muscle dislocations and contusions

▪ Hemorrhoids: for hemorrhoids and anal fistulas

▪ Uterus: enema improves infection and discharges

Its residue due to alum's astringent property contracts the uterus. Alum enema with Gandoma water for uterine bleeding (infection)

▪ Pharmacology: used as lotion, gargle, mouthwash, kohl, enema, powders, senuns, dust, lotion, potion, pills, inhalation, and dust.

▪ Corrective: drinking fresh milk, fresh butter, and savory syrup

▪ Antidote: disodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

▪ Identification method: White alum turns litmus paper red; powdered alum identification is done by rubbing on steel which turns the steel a coppery color.

▪ Animals: smoking alum repels mice and flies; rubbing a 50% blue alum solution on animal foot wounds improves healing.

▪ Tanning: softening hides

▪ Dyeing: for dyeing, first wash fabric in alum, then dry it before coloring; generally used for fixing colors.

▪ Ink making: used in ink production. Many poems exist about it, including a famous piece.

Alum holds a special place among Iranians; it is always burnt with rue for both insect repellent and as a protection against evil eye.

– If an infant cries excessively without any problem, placing white alum under the infant’s head and throwing it into the fire in the morning calms the child.

– In rice cooking for kebabs, adding white alum during soaking whitens the rice.

– Boiling white alum in aluminum utensils whitens the utensil.

– In the past, in bathhouses and pools, copper sulfate or blue alum (copper sulfate) was added to water at 5% concentration to prevent slipping and water spoilage.

– To keep pickled cucumbers fresh and green, a small amount of blue alum is added.

– In barbershops, alum was used to treat skin cuts due to its quick healing effect and stops bleeding rapidly when rubbed on bloody areas (infection removal and blood astringent).

– To eliminate body odor, rubbing alum or its solution reduces sweating.

– To close facial skin pores, alum can be used in solution or powder form.