Table 1.
Medicinal plants in cardiovascular therapy in Pliny’s pharmacopoeia.
| Latin name | Scientific name | Common name | (Alleged) action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelidonium | Chelidonia majus | Celandine | Laxative and diuretic; against jaundice and dropsy |
| Cytisus | Cytisis laburnum | Laburnum | Used in homoeopathy |
| Veratrum | Helleborus niger | Christmas rose | In smaller doses diuretic but uncertain in action; requires great |
| caution | |||
| Laurus | Laurelia | Laurel | For rheumatism and slow digestion |
| Marrubium | Marrubium vulgaris | Horehound | For coughs in general, bronchitis, colds and feverish conditions |
| Aconitumeurs | Aconitum napellus | Monkshood | For rheumatism, gout, nervous pains, fever. Is diuretic and |
| sudorific | |||
| Ilex | Ilex aquifolium | Holly berries | Exceedingly good in dropsy and colic. In higher dose purgative |
| and emetic | |||
| Scilla | Urginea maritime | Sea onion | Contains cardiac glycosides/ flavonoids; used as emetic and for |
| heart ailments | |||
| Genista | Genista sphaerocarpus | Broom | As diuretic and purgative especially in dropsy and liver disorders |
| Lupinus | Lupinus albus | White lupine | Anthelminthic, diuretic and emmenogogue |
| Veratrum | Veratrum album | White hellebore | Contains alkaloids; used to treat hypertension in the 1950s and |
| 1960s | |||
| Murtus | Myrtus communis | Myrtle | Diabetes mellitus |
| Ruta | Ruta graveolens | Rue | Oligomenorrhoea and amenorrhoea |
| Alium | Allium sativum | Garlic | Hypertension, arteriosclerosis, antiseptic acts favourably on the |
| metabolic process | |||
| Anagyris foeta | Anagyris foetida | Bean trefoil | Homoeopathy |
| Strychnon | Atropa belladonna | Atropine | Anticholinergic |
| Hyoscyamos | Hyoscyamus albus | Atropine | Anticholinergic |
| Mandragoras | Mandragona vemalis | Atropine | Anticholinergic |
| Strychnon | Solarea nigra | Atropine | Anticholinergic |
| Strychnon | Datura stramonium | Atropine | Anticholinergic |