Pine tar along with many other ingredients due to a lack of proof of their effectiveness. Some pine tar products contain creosote, a probable carcinogen. Creosote potentially may be produced when the pine wood is heated up to high temperatures in the creation of pine tar. Pine tar is also used in veterinary medicine as an expectorant and an antiseptic in chronic skin conditions. Pine tar Pine tar is a sticky material produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions (dry distillation or destructive distillation). The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed
Birch tar Birch tar Birch tar or birch pitch is a substance (liquid when heated) derived from the dry distillation of the bark of the birch tree. It is composed of phenols such as guaiacol, cresol, xylenol and creosol. Birch tar was used widely as an adhesive as early as the Middle Paleolithic to early Mesolithic era. Neanderthals produced tar through the dry distillation of birch bark as early as 200,000 years ago. It has also been used as a disinfectant, in leather dressing, and in medicine. 5,000-year-old chewing gum made from birch bark tar, with tooth imprints, has been found in