Abstract
Recent research in the area of new drug discovery has shown the continued promise of looking to natural products for bioactive compounds. Researchers have thus turned to traditional medicine, which is still used widely throughout the world and increasingly in industrialized countries as well, to provide clues as to which products to investigate. The oral traditions on which much of this medical knowledge rests, however, are unstable, prompting researchers to turn to textual sources for potential drugs. This study uses Mediterranean/European medical texts from the 5th century BC to the 19th century A.D. to compile a list of the most commonly used “simples” – or single action drug substances – used in therapeutics in traditional European medicine. It finds that traditional European materia medica was based on a Dioscordean tradition that lasted through the 19th century with remarkably little variation, but is significantly different from the present-day herbal pharmacopoeia as represented by the National Institutes of Health. The most prominent simples of that tradition can thus provide clues to further bioactive compounds that have not as of yet been fully exploited for their potential, but were clearly of great use in the past.
Keywords: materia medica, new drug discovery, Dioscorides, history, traditional medicine, bioprospecting
I. Introduction
I.1. Aim of the Study
This study of ancient, medieval, and early modern pharmacopoeias argues that the materia medica of the ancient Mediterreanean world had remarkable longevity in the European medical tradition, solidly in evidence well into the 19th century. Although historians are well aware of the prevalence of Galenic humoral theory in European medicine throughout this time, continuity of materia medica has yet to be fully verified. This study aims to document and prove that continuity by examining 12 medical texts that treat the subject of medicinal “simples”, or herbal, animal, or mineral substances thought to have inherent healing properties. These texts span more than two millennia, from the 5th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D. This study first identifies these texts, then presents a compiled list of the top 439 simples, or those named in at least 4 of the 12 texts. Analysis of this list reveals remarkable consistency between later pharmacopoeias and Dioscorides’s De materia medica of the 1st century A.D, thus demonstrating that this work, rather than the Hippocratic Corpus of the 5th century B.C., provided the basis for western materia medica through the medieval and early modern periods. Finally, this study compares the most common medicines and their uses throughout these periods with contemporary herbal medicine and finds a significant disconnect between the two. In this way, it seeks to point pharmacologists toward a study of traditional substances and their potential for providing clues to bioactive compounds.
I.2. Background/Context: Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine, including Chinese medicine, Indian ayurveda, Arabic unani medicine, and various forms of indigenous medicine, often employs medication therapies involving the use of herbs, animal parts, and inorganic materials that have been in place for millennia and developed from empirical practices over time rather than the application of theoretical principles. Prior to the 20th century, European medicine constituted one form of indigenous medicine whose formidable arsenal of drugs derived from natural products – mainly plants and plant parts from the Mediterranean region but with significant additions from the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas in the medieval and early modern periods.
Despite the longevity of this tradition, which dates back to the fifth century B.C., scholars have often been quick to dismiss its effectiveness (see discussion in Riddle, 1985, xx–xxii). Those who wish to present a picture of the triumphal march of western medicine in the modern era portray traditional healing and herbal medicine as profoundly irrational and un-scientific, the stuff of witch-doctors and shamans who did more harm than good. Any possible benefit that patients may have derived from traditional drugs, it has been argued, was the result of a psychological “placebo effect” (Shapiro, 1959). According to this narrative, prior to the modern age these “useless and often dangerous medications” were almost wholly ineffective, and drugs that had beneficial action were “the exception rather than the rule” (Shapiro 1959; Dowling, 1973; Sneader, 2005, 2). One author has gone so far as to say that “claims made for traditional remedies in the past have no validity” (Sneader, 2005, 3).
Traditional medicine, however, and medication therapy that derives largely from herbal medicine constitute a highly significant component of modern medical care for most of the world’s population today. In 2005, the World Health Organization outlined its significance in terms of expenditure and use in both developing and developed countries, finding that in Africa as much as 80% of the population turned to local indigenous methods of healing, while 42% of those surveyed in the U.S. had sought out alternative or traditional forms of health care at least once (WHO, 2005; see also Eisenberg et al., 1998). The importance of traditional medicine in the developing world and its growing popularity in industrialized countries has come to the attention of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical research community, both of which have sought to capitalize on the knowledge contained therein.
In conjunction with the growing appreciation for traditional medicine, there is concurrently a renewed recognition of the potential of natural products for new drug discovery. In contrast to a recent claim that “remarkably few [plants and minerals] possess the ability to relieve disease when rigorously evaluated by the criteria of modern, evidence-based medicine,” (Sneader, 2005, 3) recent research in fact shows evidence of the promise of natural products for providing prototypes for new drugs. Indeed, Newman and Cragg’s in-depth survey of the sources of new drug discovery over the past 25 years indicates that the vast majority of new drugs have resulted from the isolation and imitation of bioactive molecules of natural products. In fact, only one new drug, the antitumor compound sorfenib, has resulted from chemical synthesis through the method of combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening (Newman and Cragg, 2007). The lack of expected results from this method has prompted researchers in the field to call for the further investigation and imitation of the products of “Mother Nature” both for single and synergistic effects, and for the use of new technologies for screening these products (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001; Chin, 2006; Newman and Cragg, 2007; Lam 2007; Butler and Newman, 2008; Ji et al. 2009; Li and Vederas, 2009).
The recognition of the benefits of phytotherapy in particular has led to increasing research into plant products in order to isolate bioactive compounds. At least 25% (and probably more) of present-day medicines derive from plants, and recently, plant-based medicinals have been found to be effective in the treatment of cancer, HIV, and malaria, so much so that some pharmaceutical companies have directed research in this area (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001; Buenz et al, 2004; Buenz et al., 2006; Gertsch, 2009). An obvious and rich source for information about these products lies in the medication therapies of traditional medicine (Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001). There are more than 20,000 species of plant used in traditional medicines globally that can be “reservoirs of potential new drugs”. (Gupta, et al., 2008). These factors have combined to lead to “bioprospecting”, the idea that new drugs can be found by studying herbal medicine and phytotherapy in contemporary and historic societies (Gertsch, 2009). Although bioprospecting is certainly not a new idea or practice (see Schiebinger, 2004; De Vos, 2007), it has gained renewed popularity over the past two decades among academic and industrial researchers.
Both of these trends – the increasing recognition of the value of traditional medicine and the recent rise in bioprospecting – converge in the field of ethnopharmacology, whose position as an interface between the social and natural sciences makes it a particularly important focus for new research into drug discovery (see Gertsch, 2009 on the rise in the impact factor for the Journal of Ethnopharmacology; Heinrich and Gibbons, 2001; Heinrich et al., 2006). Thus far, much of the emphasis in the social science aspect of ethnopharmacology has been on the use of paleoecological, archaeological, and especially anthropological methods to obtain medicinal knowledge from traditional societies – i.e., the analysis of the physical remains of ancient societies, the study of folk traditions, and the documentation of indigenous medical knowledge and local medical traditions through the study of contemporary societies (Gertsch, 2009). The articles in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, for example, are largely devoted to the gathering of indigenous knowledge about local plants throughout the globe, testing them for bioactivity, and isolating bioactive compounds.
I.3. Historical Texts of Traditional Medicine
All of these efforts have contributed to an ever more complete picture of the efficacy and wisdom of traditional medicine from virtually every corner of the globe. Nevertheless, there is a sense of urgency among researchers to record this information, largely because there is substantial evidence that these knowledge traditions, which are usually communicated orally, are quickly eroding. Oral traditions run the risk of being lost due to the disinterest and absence from traditional village life of younger generations under the influence of modern education systems and the pressures of industrialization, urbanization and the inculcation of western values (Cox, 2000; Srithi, et al., 2009). In addition to the erosion of traditional knowledge, there is evidence that environmental degradation, deforestation, and invasion of non-indigenous plant species are depleting and threatening the sustainability of traditional species of medicinal plants (Buenz et al., 2004; Brandao et al., 2008).
Thus, a variety of recent publications have urged the use of textual traditions in Indian, Chinese, and European medicine to look for possible new examples for drug discovery – as Ji et al., state, “we have a rich historical record from ancient physicians about how to use natural medicines alone and in combination, which might provide important clues for developing new drugs”. (Ji et al. 2009, 198). In the Mediterranean, there a rich and continuous tradition of pharmaceutical writings of ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, and medieval European physicians and compilers that dates back to the 5th century BC. Investigation into these sources requires the expertise of historians and classicists, thus prompting the expansion of interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of enthopharmacology. The use of published textual sources in addition helps to overcome the risks and ethical controversies associated with bioprospecting (Buenz, et al., 2004). Indeed, scholars argue that with the loss of traditional knowledge in modern-day society, the written historical record becomes increasingly important, not only for information about potential medicines but to address issues of ownership and intellectual property rights for traditional medical knowledge (Riddle, 1992; Holland, 1994; Buenz et al., 2004; Fiore et al., 2005; López-Munoz et al., 2006; Scott and Hewett, 2008; Lev and Amar, 2008).
Historical texts have been put to use in the field of ethnopharmacology in two main ways. The first type of study involves regional surveys of local materia medica that show correspondence between textual and present-day folk traditions. Several scholars have done research into ancient, medieval, and early modern European herbals and recipe books and compared them with the materia medica used in present-day indigenous medical traditions around the Mediterranean (Lev, 2002; Lev and Amar, 2006; Lev and Amar, 2007; Lardos, 2006; Pollio et al., 2008; Leonti, et al. 2009). Their findings indicate that contemporary knowledge of folk medicine and use of local herbs for medicinal purposes is often based upon, and evolved in conjunction with, the written pharmacopoeia of ancient Greece, Rome, and Arabia, thus demonstrating the value of textual sources for providing evidence of the use of traditional material medica and clues as to their value. A second type of study uses these sources to guide them to new potential medicines through the study of their historic use (Fiore et al., 2005; Cox, 1998; Lardos, 2006; Buenz et al., 2006; Brandao, 2008; Adams et al., 2009). These studies look to ancient, medieval, and early modern texts in order to seek out traditional materia medica, arguing that these texts are indeed extremely valuable and as yet relatively untapped resources for further research. For example, Adams et al. (2009) argue that historical texts should be explored in a systematic manner and “could be a promising source of knowledge for the rediscovery of useful remedies and the development of modern phytotherapeutics for the 21st century” (Adams et al., 2009, 356).
Work has begun in this area, but there is still much to be done, hindered by a number of challenges pointed to by various authors (see Riddle, 1985, xxiii-xxv; Buenz et al., 2004; Lardos, 2006; Lev and Amar, 2006; Pollio et al., 2008; Scott and Hewett 2008 for discussion of various challenges). First, the inaccessibility of many of these texts, preserved in libraries, archives, and monasteries with limited and sometimes no access to the public, presents a significant barrier to their study. Early manuscripts and printed works alike also often suffer from problems of legibility due to water or other damage and quality of print or handwriting. There are also problems with language and terminology. Rarely are these texts written in the vernacular, and even upon translation, much of the terminology is foreign to modern-day researchers. Perhaps most daunting is the obstacle presented by the lack of certainty about which plants are which (See Pollio et al., 2008 for the case of identifying rue).
These difficulties are certainly appreciable and are not easily overcome. However, a number of measures are currently underway to address them: digitalization of early sources has made a surprisingly large number of obscure early pharmacy texts available for download; the GALEN project has sought to make a database for the labeling of disease over time (Rogers et al., 2001); and new technologies that allow for automated extraction of data from digitalized texts (see Buenz, 2004; Buenz et al., 2006) enhance the feasibility of historical texts to aid the search for new drugs.
This article seeks to build upon these steps to overcome the difficulties involved. It also points to directions for future research and collaboration in order to more fully exploit the pharmacological richness of early textual traditions in the history of medicine and pharmacy. In the first place, this article calls for the continued expansion of interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among members of the scholarly community, and the use of multiple methodologies of the social and natural sciences in constructing a historical record of early materia medica and active principles (Chavez and Reinhard 2003, 208; Buenz 2004; Heinrich et al., 2006). In particular, it encourages the heightened involvement of historians in the process, who now have unprecedented access to early medical texts through digitalization. Historians, classicists, and Arabists can also aid with the identification of plant species due to increased availability of digitalized medieval sinonimas, or dictionaries of synonyms that record plant names in Arabic, Greek, and Latin (see also Levey 1971).
It should be acknowledged, however, that this study is only a first step in a much larger project. It is the first study to present a comprehensive compilation of materia medica from the most important medical works of the Mediterranean and Europe over the longue durée of several centuries covering several major watershed events. Such a study allows researchers for the first time to be able to see fully the consistency and continuity of this tradition, and provides clues as to which natural products ought to be tested for bioactivity. This study thus attempts to bring together existing research into traditional materia medica with calls for more information on natural products used in medicine, and in this way allows previously isolated studies to be brought into a larger, more comprehensive framework of knowledge of traditional western medicine.
II. Materials and Methods
II.1. Determining the Textual Tradition
This study uses books of medicine and pharmacy produced in the ancient, medieval, early modern Mediterranean region in order to identify traditional material medica and trace its development in the western world from approximately 500 BC to the 19th century A.D. It is part of a larger study currently underway on the history of pharmacy in colonial Mexico (see De Vos, 2001). In order to identify a textual tradition for the history of European pharmacy, a list of books was compiled from those named in the inventories of nine different pharmacies in eighteenth-century Mexico. These inventories came from various sections of the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City and the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain (see De Vos, 2001 and 2007). This list enabled the identification of 17 key pharmacy texts of the Spanish empire published between late 15th and 18th centuries, 15 of which made regular references to earlier authors as sources of information, for a total of 77 authors who were referred to at least once. A tally was kept of the number of books that referred to each author, for a total of 415 references, in order to identify the most influential texts (i.e., those most commonly referred to among the 15 texts examined) leading up to and following the invention of print. This information enabled the identification of a series of different periods in which pharmacy writing flourished as well as the identification of the most important works within these periods (see Table 1).
Table 1.
Place | Time Period | Number of Authors | % of Total Authors (n=77) | Number of References in Early Modern Works | % of Total References (n=415) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greece | 400s–300s BC | 4 | 5.2 | 25 | 6.02 |
Rome | 00s–100s AD | 6 | 7.8 | 47 | 11.3 |
Byzantium | 300s–1200s AD | 5 | 6.5 | 30 | 7.2 |
Arabia | 800s–1100s AD | 8 | 10.4 | 47 | 11.3 |
Western Europe – Late Medieval | 1100s–1300s AD | 15 | 19.5 | 73 | 17.6 |
Western Europe – Renaissance | 1400s–1500s AD | 39 | 50.6 | 193 | 46.5 |
Total | 77 | 100 | 415 | 100 |
II.2. Determining the Western Pharmacopoeia
Once the textual tradition and major periods of pharmacological and pharmaceutical development were determined, these key texts were located and most downloaded as PDF files from Google books. Those unavailable for download were located as digitalized works from the online catalogue of the Faculty of Pharmacy Library of the Compultense University of Madrid. After consultation of these works, it was determined which books dealt mainly with “simples”, or materia medica that consisted of one substance, as opposed to “compounds” which involve the mixing of two or more different substances. Books of simples (or books with sections dealing specifically with simples) largely correlate with what are today referred to as pharmacopoeia or in the early modern period as “herbals” even though they included material from animal and mineral sources as well. From these books, lists of simples were compiled, with care taken to eliminate overlap by seeking out Latin, Spanish, and English translations for each substance named. In cases where several different varieties of a plant were named (such as long, round, and thin birthwort) the identifications were collapsed into one parent category (pepper).
In total, twelve different sources containing unambiguous lists of simples (i.e., simples listed in separate tables of contents or in indexes) were consulted, beginning with the Hippocratic Corpus of the 5th century BC and ending with the Farmacopea Española of 1865 (see Table 2). The list of combined simples totaled 985, with 439 of those occurring in at least 4 of the 12 sources (see Table 3), which were then identified through various mechanisms (i.e., consulting translations and identifications in academic articles and books and using the Internet, encyclopedias, etc.). The Latin binomial nomenclature of most of the plants was located in Beck’s recent translation of Dioscorides, in Riddle’s work on the simples listed in the Hippocratic Corpus, in Lardos’s identification of medicines in the Iatrosophikon of Cyrpus, and, failing that, in the International Plant Names Index (Riddle, 1987; Beck, 2005; Lardos, 2006; www.ipni.org). All names were cross-checked with the USDA’s Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) online database (http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl). However, 15 of the 439 identifications were inconclusive with regard to scientific name, and a number of the simples could only be identified by genus, as the specific species was not indicated in the plant name (see Holmes, 1888 on the difficulties and errors involved in identifying species of asafoetida plants). Even those identified may be erroneous, as modern identifications of plants from classical works often accepted as definitive may in fact be unreliable (Raven, 2000, pp. 5–6, 23). Further research in this area will undoubtedly reveal inconsistencies in the translations given, and will hopefully lead to further clarification as to species and variety of plants indicated.
Table 2.
Author | Title | Place Produced or Published | Date Produced or Published | Text Used | Total Simples in Work |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hippocrates, ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC | Hippocratic Corpus, Various Works | Greece - Cos | 5th–4th- Century BC | John Riddle, “Folk Tradition and Folk Medicine: Recognition of Drugs in Classical Antiquity” in Folklore and Folk Medicines, John Scarborough, ed. Wisconsin: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1987, pp. 47–61. | 257 |
Dioscorides, Pedanius, ca. 49–90 AD | De Materia Medica | Roman Empire – Asia Minor | 60–78 AD | Andres de Laguna, Pedacio Dioscórides Anazarbeo [1555]. Madrid: Instituto de España, 1968–9. | 592 |
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius, ca 25 BC – ca 50 AD | De Medicina, Book 5 | Roman Empire | 1st Century AD | A Translation of the Eight Books of Aul. Corn. Celsus on Medicine, 2nd. Ed. George Frederick Collier trans. Simpkin and Marshal, 1831. | 99 |
Galen, ca. 130- 200 AD | De Simplicium Medicamentorum Facultatibus | Roman Empire | 2nd Century AD | Claudii Galeni de simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus libri XI. Apud Gulielmum Rouillium, 1561 | 808 |
Paul of Aegina (ca. 625–690 AD) | De Re Medica Libri Septem, Book 7 | Egypt - Alexandria | 600s | The Seven Books of Paulus, Vol. 3. Francis Adams, trans. London: Syndenham Society of London, 1844. | 398 |
Serapion Junior, c. 12th century | Liber de Simplici medicina | Arabia | 1100s | Serapionis medici arabis celeberrimi practica, studiosis medicinae utilissima. Andreas Alpagus Bellunensis, trans. Venice: Apud Iuntas, 1550. | 261 |
Platerius, Mattheus 1120–1161 | Circa Instans, Book of Simple Medicines | Italy - Salerno | 1100s | Practica Io. Serapionis dicta breuiarium. Liber Serapionis de simplici medicina. Liber de simplici medicina, dictus circa instants. Practica platearii. Venetijs: Andree Toresani de Ansula per Bernadinum Vercellensem, 1503. | 207 |
Sylvaticus, Mattheus (1285–1342) | Liber pandectarum medicinae | Italy - Salerno | 1300s | Pandectae medicinae.. Lyon: Apud Theobaldum Paganum, 1541. | 278 |
Saladino | Compendium aromatariorum | Italy – Bologne | 1488 | Compendio de los boticarios. Alonso Rodríguez de Tudela, trans.. Valladolid, 1515. | 199 |
Fragoso | De succedaneis medicamentis | Spain - Madrid | 1575 | De succedaneis medicamentis liber denuo auctus: eiusdem animaduersiones in quamplurima medicamenta composita. Madrid: Petrus Cosin, 1575. | 340 |
Palacios, Félix | Palestra Pharmaceutica Chymico-Galenica | Spain – Madrid | 1706 | Palestra pharmaceutica chymico-galenica: en la qual se trata de la eleccion de los simples, sus preparaciones chymicas y galenicas y de las mas selectas composiciones antiguas y modernas. Madrid: Juan Garcia Insancon, 1706. | 488 |
Farmacopea Espanola | Spain – Madrid | 1865 | Farmacopea Española 5th ed. Madrid: Imprenta Nacional, 1865. | 312 |
Table 3.
Materia Medica – Name in Texts | Scientific Name | Source of Scientific Name1 | English Translation | Number of Works Listed in (n=12) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abrotano | Artemisia abrotanum | Beck | Southernwood | 12 |
Acacia | Acacia | Beck | Acacia | 12 |
Alumbre, alumen | Mineral/Inorganic | Alum | 12 | |
Asphaltum, betun, bitumen judaico | Mineral/Inorganic | Asphalt | 12 | |
Balsamo | Commiphora opobalsamum, Commiphora gileadensis | Beck, GRIN | Mecca Balsam | 12 |
Cardamomo | Elettaria cardamomum, | Beck | Cardamom | 12 |
Cassia | Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum aromaticum | Beck, GRIN | Cassia | 12 |
Euphorbium, euforbio | Euphorbia patyphyllos, Euphorbia | Beck, GRIN | Bastard spurge, spurge, broad- leaved spurge | 12 |
Myrra | Commiphora myrrha | Beck | Myrrh | 12 |
Piper, pimienta | Piper nigrum, Piper officinarum, Piper album | Beck | Pepper- black, long, white | 12 |
Pulegium | Mentha pulegium | Beck | Pennyroyal | 12 |
Ruta, ruda, rhu | Ruta graveolens | Beck | Rue | 12 |
Styrax, storax, estoraque, liquidambar | Styrax officinalis | Beck | Sweetgum, Storax | 12 |
Terebinthina, trementina | Pistacia terebinthus | Beck | Turpentine, terebinth | 12 |
Absinthij, artemisa, ajenjo | Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia campestris, Artemisia abrotonon | Beck | Wormwood, Absinthe | 11 |
Agni casti, agno casto | Vitex Agnus-castus | Beck | Chaste tree, Chaste berry, Monk’s pepper | 11 |
Amomo, amomum, grana de paradyso | Amomum subulatum | Beck, Riddle, GRIN | Amomum, Grains of paradise, False cardamom, Nepal cardamom, Indian cardamom | 11 |
Amygdale, almendra | Prunus amygdalus, Amygdalus communis, Prunus dulcis | Beck, Riddle, GRIN | Almond - bitter and sweet | 11 |
Centaurea | Centaurium erythraea | Beck, Lardos | Common Centaury | 11 |
Cinnamomum, canela | Cinnamomum verum | Beck, GRIN | Cinnamon | 11 |
Helleborus, eleboro | Helleborus cyclophyllus, Helleborus niger | Beck, GRIN | Helleborus, Black hellebore | 11 |
Lactuca, lechugas | Lactuca, Lactuca graeca, Lactuca sativa | Beck | Lettuce, Iceburg lettuce | 11 |
Marrubium album | Marrubium vulgare, Marrubium creticum | Beck | Horehound | 11 |
Peonia, glyciside | Paeonia mascula | Beck, GRIN | Peony | 11 |
Rosa | Rosa | Beck | Rose | 11 |
Sulphur, azufre | Mineral/Inorganic | Sulphur | 11 | |
Agarico | Polyporus | Beck | Mushroom, Agaric | 10 |
Allium, ajo | Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Allium nigrum | Beck, Lardos | Garlic, Onion | 10 |
Aloe, azibar, acibar, acibar socotrina | Aloe vera | Beck | Aloe | 10 |
Anagallis | Anagallis phoenicea, Anagallis arvensis | Beck, GRIN | Scarlet Pimpernel, Red chickweed | 10 |
Anisum, anis | Pimpinella anisum | Beck | Anis, Anise | 10 |
Apij, apio, apium | Apium graveolens, Petroselinum crispum | Beck, GRIN | Parsley, Celery | 10 |
Aristolochia | Aristolochia sempervivens, Aristolochia clematitis, Aristolochia longa, Aristolochia rotunda | Lardos, Beck | Birthwort | 10 |
Asparagi, aspergula, sparagus | Asparagus acutifolius, Asparagus stipularis, Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus aspartilis | Beck, Lardos | Asparagus, Wild Asparagus | 10 |
Bdellium, bedellio | Commiphora wightii | Beck, GRIN | Bdellium | 10 |
Betonica | Stachys officinalis | Beck | Bettany, Betony | 10 |
Calamos aromaticus, calamo aromatico, indicus | Acorus calamus | Beck | Calamos, Sweet flag | 10 |
Castoreo | Animal product | Castor | 10 | |
Colocynthidis | Citrullus colocynthis | Beck | Bitter gourd, Colocynth | 10 |
Crocus, azafran | Crocus sativus | Beck | Saffron | 10 |
Cupressus, cipres | Cupressus sempervirens | Lardos | Cypress | 10 |
Dictamni | Origanum dictamnus, Dictamnus albus | Beck, GRIN | Dittany | 10 |
Foeniculum, feniculus, feniculo, hinojo | Foeniculum vulgare | Beck | Fennel | 10 |
Hyocyami, hyocyamus, iusquiamus, insquiamos | Hyoscyamus muticus, Hycoscyamus niger | Beck, GRIN | Henbane | 10 |
Hyssopum, hyssopus | Satureia graeca, Hyssopus officinalis | Beck, GRIN | Hyssop | 10 |
Iuniperi, enebro | Juniperus communis | Beck, GRIN | Juniper | 10 |
Lapathum, lapathi, acetosa, buglossa, alkanna, acederas | Rumex, Rumex aquaticus, Rumex acetosa | Beck | Dock, Water dock, Sorrel, Cow’s tongue | 10 |
Lilium, lirio | Lilium candidum | Beck | Lily | 10 |
Lini, lino, linum, linaza | Linum usitatissimum | Beck | Linseed, flax | 10 |
Maiorana | Origanum majorana, Origanum viride | Beck, GRIN | Marjoram | 10 |
Mandragora | Mandragora officinarum | Beck, GRIN | Mandrake | 10 |
Mastiches, almaciga | Pistacia lentiscus | Beck | Mastic, Lentisk | 10 |
Meliloti, melilotum | Melilotus | Beck | Mellilot, Sweet clover | 10 |
Menthe | Mentha | Beck | Mint | 10 |
Nitre salpetra, salitre, nitro, nitri, nitrum, sal nitro | Mineral/Inorganic | Nitre or soda | 10 | |
Ocimo, ocimum, ocimon, basilicum, albaca | Ocimum basilicum | Beck | Basil | 10 |
Olibanum, thus | Boswellia sacra | Beck, GRIN | Frankincense, Olibanum tree | 10 |
Papaveris, amapolas, adormidera | Papaver somniferum | Beck | Poppy | 10 |
Plumbum, plomo | Mineral/Inorganic | Lead | 10 | |
Psylio, psyllium | Plantago arenaria, Plantago afra | Beck, GRIN | Fleawort, Psyllium | 10 |
Sinapi, sinopo, sinapida, mostaza | Sinapis alba | Beck | Mustard | 10 |
Squilla, scilla | Drimia maritima | Beck, GRIN | Scilla | 10 |
Viola | Viola odorata, Viola sororia, Viola wiedemannii | Beck, GRIN | Violet | 10 |
Zingiber, zinziber, gengibre | Zingiber officinale | Beck | Ginger | 10 |
Acoro, acorum | Ruscus aculeatus | Beck | Butcher’s broom | 9 |
Aes, cobre | Mineral/Inorganic | Copper | 9 | |
Ammoniaco, ammoniacum | Ferula marmarica, Dorema ammoniacum | Beck, GRIN | Ammoniacum, Gum ammoniac | 9 |
Anethum, eneldo | Anethum graveolens | Beck | Dill | 9 |
Antimonium, antimonio | Mineral/Inorganic | Antimony | 9 | |
Camomela, manzanilla | Anthemis rosea, Chamaemelum nobile, Matricaria chamomilla | Beck, GRIN | Chamomile | 9 |
Capillus veneris, adianto, culantrillo | Adiantum capillus- veneris | Beck | Maidenhair | 9 |
Cappares, alcaparras | Capparis spinosa | Beck | Capers | 9 |
Cerusa, albayalde | Mineral/Inorganic | White lead | 9 | |
Chamaepitys, camepitys | Ajuga chamaepytis | Beck | Ground-pine | 9 |
Cicuta | Conium maculatum | Beck | Hemlock | 9 |
Cucumeris | Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo | Beck, Riddle, GRIN | Cucumber, Canteloupe, Melon | 9 |
Enula, inula, helenio | Inula helenium | Beck | Helenium, Elecampane | 9 |
Epithymum, epitimo | Cuscuta epithymum | Beck, GRIN | Dodder, Dodder of thyme, Clove dodder | 9 |
Eupatorium, eupatior | Eupatorium cannabinum | GRIN | Hemp-agrimony | 9 |
Ferrum, hierro | Mineral/Inorganic | Iron | 9 | |
Ficus, higos | Ficus carica | Beck | Figs | 9 |
Foenum graecum, fenugrecum, alolbas | Trigonella foenum graecum | Beck | Fenugreek | 9 |
Gallia, galla cummunes, agallas, gallis muscata | Animal | Gall, Bile | 9 | |
Goma arabiga | Acacia Senegal | Lardos | Gum-arabic | 9 |
Hedera arborea, hiedra arborea | Hedera helix | Beck | Ivy | 9 |
Helxine, parietaria, hederecea | Parietaria officinalis, Helxine soleirolii, Soleirolia soleirolii | Riddle, GRIN | Helxine, Babytears, Pellitory-of-the-wall | 9 |
Lignum aloes, agallocum | Aquilaria agallocha, Aquilaria crassna, Aquilaria malaccensis | Beck, GRIN | Aloewood, Lignum aquila, Eagle-wood or Agilawood | 9 |
Liquidritae, Glycyrrhiza, orozuz, liquiricia | Glycyrrhiza glabra, Glycyrrhiza echinata | Beck, GRIN | Licorice | 9 |
Lithargyrio | Mineral/Inorganic | Litharge, Lead monoxide | 9 | |
Malvas | Malva sylvestris | Beck | Mallow | 9 |
Mel, miel | Animal product | Honey | 9 | |
Meu, meum | Meum athamanticum | Beck | Spignel, Bauldmony | 9 |
Mora, morus | Morus nigra | Beck | Blueberry, Mulberry | 9 |
Nasturtium, mastuerso, mastuerco | Nasturtium officinale | Beck | Water cress | 9 |
Nymphae, nenufar | Nelumbo nucifera, Nymphaea alba, Nuphar luteum | Beck | Water lily | 9 |
Pertroselini, peregil | Petroselinum hortense, Petroselinum crispum | Beck | Parsley | 9 |
Pino, pinus | Pinus | Beck | Pine | 9 |
Plantago, plantaginis, platago – llanten | Plantago, Plantago major | Beck | Plantain | 9 |
Polipodium quercini, polypodium | Polypodium vulgare | Beck | Polypody | 9 |
Resina communis, resina pini seu communis | Pinus | Beck | Resin, Common resin, Pine resin | 9 |
Sabina, savina | Juniperus sabina | Beck | Savin | 9 |
Sal comun | Mineral/Inorganic | Common salt | 9 | |
Salvia | Salvia officinalis | Beck, GRIN | Sage | 9 |
Scammonium, escamonea | Convulvus scammonia | Beck | Scammony | 9 |
Sempervivum | Sempervivum arboretum, Sempervivum tectorum | Beck, GRIN | Houseleek, Live- forever | 9 |
Tamarisci, tamarix, taray | Tamarix, Tamarix tetrandra | Beck, GRIN | Tamarisk, Salt cedar | 9 |
Aeris flos, aerugo, verdigris, cardenillo raydo | Mineral/Inorganic | Verdigrease | 8 | |
Ammeos, ameos, ammi | Ammi | IPNI | Ammi fruit | 8 |
Calaminta | Calamintha incana, Clinopodium nepeta, Clinopodium menthifolium | Lardos, GRIN | Calamint | 8 |
Calx | Mineral/Inorganic | Lime | 8 | |
Camedrys, camedreos | Teucrium micropodioides | Lardos | Germander | 8 |
Cantharides | Meloe | Riddle | Spanish fly, Blister beetle | 8 |
Carthami, cartamus, cnicus | Cartharmus tinctorius | Beck | Safflower | 8 |
Caryophilli, caryophyllata, gariofilus, clavo | Syzygium aromaticum | Lardos | Clove | 8 |
Chelidonium, celidonia | Chelidonium majus, Aquilegia vularis | Beck, GRIN | Columbine, Celandine | 8 |
Cicera, garvanco | Cicer arietinum, Astragalus cicer | Beck, GRIN | Garbanzo, Vetch, Chick pea | 8 |
Ciminum, cymini, siseris, cominos | Cuminum cyminum | Beck | Cumin | 8 |
Cinnabaris | Mineral/Inorganic | Cinnabar | 8 | |
Corallium, coralia | Mineral/Animal | Coral | 8 | |
Costus arabicu, costum, costos | Saussurea lappa | Beck | Costus root | 8 |
Cucurbite | Cucurbita maxima | Riddle | Gourd, Squash | 8 |
Daucus, dauci, dauco, staphylinus | Daucus carota | Beck | Carrot | 8 |
Fabarum, habas | Vicia faba, Phaseolus vulgaris | Riddle | Bean | 8 |
Galbanum, galvano | Ferula galbaniflua, Ferula gummosa | Beck, GRIN | Galbanum gum | 8 |
Granata, granatum, granada, malum granatum | Punica granatum | Beck | Pomegranate | 8 |
Hyperici, ipericon, hipericon | Hypericum perforatum, Hypericum vulgare | Beck, GRIN | St. John’s wort | 8 |
Hypocistide, ipoquistido | Cytinus hypocistis | Beck | Hypocracy tree, Hypocist | 8 |
Lapis lazuli, ceruleo, azul, cyano | Mineral/Inorganic | Lapis lazuli | 8 | |
Macer, macias | Holarrhena antidysenterica, Myristica fragrans | Beck, GRIN | Mace | 8 |
Myrti, myrtus-arrayan | Myrtus communis, Cyrilla racemiflora | Beck, GRIN | Myrtle | 8 |
Nux unguentaria, Nues Moscada, Nux Moschata, Moschocaryon, Musicste, Myristica or Aromatica | Myristica fragrans | Lardos | Nutmeg | 8 |
Origanum, oregano, origanis | Origanum heracleoticum, Origanum vulgare | Beck, GRIN | Oregano | 8 |
Pix graeca, pez griega, see apochyma, zopissa | Mineral/Inorganic | Pitch | 8 | |
Populus arbor | Populus nigra, Populus alba | Beck | Poplar – black, white | 8 |
Rapae, rapum, nabos | Brassica rapa | Beck | Turnip | 8 |
Rosmarinus, romero | Rosmarinus officinalis | Beck | Rosemary | 8 |
Rubi, rubus, rubum, frutos de zarca | Rubus idaeus | Beck | Bramble, Raspberry | 8 |
Rubia, rubea, rubeus | Mineral/Inorganic | Ruby | 8 | |
Salix, salicis, sauce | Salix | Beck | Willow | 8 |
Sambuci, sambucus, sauco, sauz | Sambucus ebulus, Sambucus nigra | Beck, GRIN | Elder, Dwarf elder | 8 |
Sangue, sangre, various | Animal | Blood | 8 | |
Sarcocola | Astragalus fasciculifolius | Beck | Sarcocola | 8 |
Saxifraga | Inconclusive | Saxifrage | 8 | |
Scordium, scordeon, escordio | Teucrium scordium | IPNI, GRIN | Water germander | 8 |
Serpillum, serpylum | Inconclusive | Wild thyme | 8 | |
Solanum, yerva mora | Solanum | IPNI | Nightshades, Horsenettles | 8 |
Spica, spica nardi | Nardostachys jatamansi, Nardostachys grandiflora | Beck, GRIN | Spikenard | 8 |
Sumach, rhus, zumaque | Rhus coriaria | Beck | Sumach | 8 |
Symphytum, colsolida major | Symphytum bulbosum, Symphytum officinale | Beck, GRIN | Comfrey | 8 |
Tragacanthum, alquitira, gum | Astragalus gummifer, Astragalus microcephalus | Beck | Tragacanth | 8 |
Acetum, vinagre | Mineral/Inorganic | Vinegar | 7 | |
Achilea, aquilegia, millefolium | Achillea millefolium, Achillea tomentosa | Beck | Yarrow, Milfoil, Achilles’ woundwort | 7 |
Aranea, arana tela | Animal | Spider web | 7 | |
Argentums viuum, sublimado | Mineral/Inorganic | Silver | 7 | |
Arum, aro | Colocasia antiquorum, Colocasia esculenta, Arum maculatum | Beck, GRIN | Cuckooo-pint, Indian turnip, Sakerobin | 7 |
Asafetida, ferula | Ferula marmarica, Ferula communis | Beck | Giant fennel | 7 |
Asarum | Asarum | IPNI | European snake root, Wild ginger unguent | 7 |
Atriplex, atripicis, armuelles | Atriplex hortensis | Beck | Saltbush, Orach | 7 |
Auropigmenta | Mineral/Inorganic | Orpiment, Arsenic sulfide | 7 | |
Avena vires | Avena sativa | Beck | Oats | 7 |
Balaustria, balaustis | Inconclusive | Flower of pomegranate | 7 | |
Bryonia, brionia | Bryonia dioica | Beck | Bryony | 7 |
Cardo, cardus benedictus | Carduus benedictus, Centaurea benedicta | IPNI, GRIN | Blessed thistle | 7 |
Cataputia | Euphorbia | Beck | Spurge | 7 |
Cera | Mineral/Inorganic | Wax | 7 | |
Cerasa, cerata, guindas | Prunus avium | Beck | Cherry | 7 |
Coriandrum, coriandri | Coriandrum sativum | Beck | Coriander | 7 |
Cubeba | Piper cubeba | Lardos | Cubeb, Tailed pepper, Java pepper | 7 |
Dactili | Phoenix dactylifera | Beck | Date, Date palm | 7 |
Ebano, ebenus | Diospyros melanoxylon, Diospyros ebenum | Beck | Ebeny, Ebony plant | 7 |
Eruca | Eruca sativa, Eruca vesicaria | Beck, GRIN | Arugula, Rocket | 7 |
Fraxinus, fraxini, fresno | Fraxinus excelsior | IPNI, GRIN | Ash tree | 7 |
Gentiana | Gentiana lutea, Gentiana purpurea | Beck | Gentian | 7 |
Grama, gramen, graminis, gramina | Arundo donax | Lardos | Graminis, Giant Reed | 7 |
Lac, leche | Animal | Milk (various sources) | 7 | |
Lapis haematites, hematite, amatitis | Mineral/Inorganic | Haematite, Bloodstone | 7 | |
Lentisco | Pistacia lentiscus | Lardos | Lentisk | 7 |
Lentium, lente, lenteja | Ervum lens, Lens culinaris | Beck, GRIN | Lentil | 7 |
Levistici, levisticum, linguisticum, lingustico, lybysticum | Levisticum officinale | Beck | Lovage root | 7 |
Lupinus, altramuzes | Lupinus | Beck | Lupine | 7 |
Malabathrum, folium indum | Cinnamomum tamala,, Cinnamomum iners, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Pogostemon patchouli | Beck | Malabar leaf | 7 |
Manna | Fraxinus ornus, Astragalus brachycalyx | Beck, GRIN | Manna | 7 |
Melissa, torongil, toronjil | Melissa officinalis | Balm, Lemon balm | 7 | |
Mercurialium, mercuriales, mercurius | Mercurialis annua, Chenopodium bonus- henricus | Beck, GRIN | Mercury | 7 |
Mumia, pissasphalto | Mineral/Inorganic | Mummy, or embalming fluid for Egyptian mummies | 7 | |
Nardo gallico o celtico | Valeriana celtica | Beck | Celtic nard | 7 |
Nigela, nigella | Nigella hispanica, Nigella sativa | IPNI, GRIN | Gith, Fennel flower | 7 |
Oleum olivarum | Olea europaea | Beck | Olive oil, Olive tree | 7 |
Opoponaco, opoponax | Opopanax hispidus | Beck | Opopanax, Sweet myrrh | 7 |
Pastinaca | Pastinaca sativa | Beck | Parsnip | 7 |
Portulaca, verdolacas | Portulaca oleracea | Beck | Common purslane | 7 |
Pruna damascena | Prunus domestica | Beck | Plum | 7 |
Pulmones | Animal | Lung, various sources | 7 | |
Quinquefolio, pentaphyllum | Potentilla reptans, Potentilla erecta | Beck, GRIN | Cinquefoil | 7 |
Rhaphanus, raphani, ravanos | Raphanus sativus | Beck | Radish | 7 |
Sacchar, saccharinum, zuccara, zucharum | Saccharum officinarum | Lardos | Sugar cane | 7 |
Sal ammoniacum | Mineral/Inorganic | Sal ammoniac | 7 | |
Spongia marina | Animal | Sponge | 7 | |
Testiculi, testiculos, various | Animal | Testicles, various sources | 7 | |
Thymum, tomillo | Thymus sibthorpii, Thymus vulgaris | Beck, GRIN | Thyme | 7 |
Tithymalli, titymalos | Euphorbia | Beck, Riddle | Spurge | 7 |
Tribolus, tribulo | Tribulus terrestris | Beck | Caltrops, Tribulus | 7 |
Tussilaginis, tusilago | Tussilago farfara | Beck | Coltsfoot | 7 |
Vinum, vino | See grape | Wine | 7 | |
Althaea, malvaviscos | Althaea officinalis, Hibiscus moscheutos | Beck, GRIN | Marshmallow | 6 |
Anacardia, maranon | Anacardium occidentale | GRIN | Cashew | 6 |
Arsenico, arcinico | Mineral/Inorganic | Arsenic | 6 | |
Avellana, nux avellana | Corylus avellana | Beck | Hazelnut, Filbert | 6 |
Bolus armena, bolo armenico Oriental | Mineral/Inorganic | Armenian bol | 6 | |
Borraginis | Ornithogalum umbellatum, Borago officinalis | Beck, IPNI | Borage, Starflower | 6 |
Canchr, cancer, cancri | Animal | Crab | 6 | |
Cedro | Juniperus | Beck | Cedar | 6 |
Cerebrum | Animal | Brain, various sources | 6 | |
Cyclaminis | Cyclamen hederifolium | Beck | Sow-bread | 6 |
Dorcynium, dorycnium, doronici | Convulvus oleaefolius, Ptelea trifoliata | Beck, GRIN | Shrub trefoil, Dorycnion | 6 |
Ebuli | Sambucus ebulus | GRIN | Dwarf elder | 6 |
Endiveia, seris | Cichorium endivia | Beck | Endive | 6 |
Eryngio, eryngium, erugij | Eryngium campestre, Eryngium martinum, Acanthus mollis | Beck, GRIN | Eryngo, Sea holly | 6 |
Esula, leche de esula | Euphorbia esula | GRIN | Leafy spurge | 6 |
Filicis, filix | Polystichum filix | Beck | Fern | 6 |
Galanga mayor y minor | Alpinia officinarum | GRIN | Galangal, Thai ginger | 6 |
Grana kermes, grana tinctorium, chermes granorum | Animal product | Kermes, Vermillion, Scarlet grain | 6 | |
Hemionitis, scolopedium, lengua de ciervo, hemionite | Scolopendrium hemionitis | Beck | Moon fern, Mule fern | 6 |
Hermodactiyli | Colchicum autumnale | GRIN | Hermodactyl, Autumn-crocus, Colchicum, Meadow-Saffron | 6 |
Hordeum, hordei electi, cebada | Hordeum vulgare | Beck, GRIN | Barley | 6 |
Hyacinthus, jacinto | Scilla bifolia, Hyacinthus orientalis | Beck, GRIN | Hyacinth | 6 |
Junco coloroso, juncus quadratus | Juncus (Rush) | Beck | Rush | 6 |
Ladanum, labdanum, ladano, cistus, cisto | Cistus, Cistus creticus, Cistus ladanifer | Beck, GRIN | Labdanum, Rock rose, Gum labdanum | 6 |
Lapis magnetes, magnes, piedra iman | Mineral/Inorganic | Magnet | 6 | |
Lepidio, lepidium | Lepidium, Lepidium sativum, Lepidium latifolium, Lepidium ruderale | Beck, Riddle, GRIN | Pepper grass, Pepperweed, Garden cress | 6 |
Limones | Citrus limon | GRIN | Lime, Lemon, Citron | 6 |
Lotus, loti, lotos | Nelumbu nucifera | Beck | Lotus | 6 |
Mala, poma, manzana | Pyrus malus, Malus domestica, Malus pumila | Beck, GRIN | Apple | 6 |
Margarita, perlas | Mineral/Inorganic | Pearl | 6 | |
Misy | Mineral/Inorganic | Copiapite, Yellow copperas | 6 | |
Myrobalani | Myrobalanus bellirica, Myrobalanus citrina, Terminalia bellirica | IPNI, GRIN | Myrobalan | 6 |
Narcisso, narcissus | Narcissus poeticus, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, Narcissus tazetta | Beck, GRIN | Daffodil | 6 |
Opio | Papaver somniferum | Beck | Poppy | 6 |
Ova, ovum, huevos | Animal | Egg (includes white, yolk, and shell) | 6 | |
Palma | Palma | IPNI | Palm tree | 6 |
Panace asclepio, panax asclepq. | Ferula nodosa, Echinophora tenuifolia | Beck | All-heal, Aesculpaius’ allheal | 6 |
Passula, passas grandes – passum | See grape. | Raisin | 6 | |
Persisci, persicaria, melocoton | Prunus persica | Beck | Peach | 6 |
Peucedanum, peucedani | Peucedanum officinale | Riddle | Hog’s fennel | 6 |
Quercus, encina | Quercus | Beck | Oak | 6 |
Rana | Animal | Frog | 6 | |
Rhabarbari | Rheum ribes, Rheum officinale, Rheum rhabarbarum, Rheum rhaponticum | Beck, GRIN | Rhubarb | 6 |
Rhaponitici, reuponticum | Rhaponticum | IPNI | Rhaponticum | 6 |
Rubia tinctorum, rubea tinctor | Rubia tinctorum | Beck | Madder | 6 |
Sagapenum, sagapeno | Ferula persica | Beck | Sagapen, Sagapenon | 6 |
Sandaraca | Mineral/Inorganic | Sandarach, Red arsenic | 6 | |
Santalum album, rubrum, cintrimun, sandalo | Santalum | IPNI | Sandalwood | 6 |
Sapo | Animal | Toad | 6 | |
Satureia, saturegia, satureja, algedrea | Satureia thymbra, Satureja hortensis, Satureja montana | Beck, GRIN | Savory | 6 |
Satyrion, satyrium | Unident-Orchidaceae, Orchis papilionacea, Orchis morio | Beck, GRIN | Orchid | 6 |
Sebesten | Inconclusive | Sebesten | 6 | |
Senna folia | Cassia acutifolia, Senna alexandrina | Lardos, GRIN | Senna, Alexandrian senna | 6 |
Seseli | Tordylium officinale, Tordylium maximum, Bupleurum fruticosum, Seseli tortuosum | Beck, GRIN | Hartwort | 6 |
Sorbus, sorba, servas secas | Sorbus domestica, Sorbus aria | Beck, GRIN | Serviceberry, Sorb apple | 6 |
Stercus, estiercol | Animal product | Dung | 6 | |
Terra sigillata | Mineral/Inorganic | Stamped earth | 6 | |
Trifolium | Psoralea bituminosa, Bituminaria bituminosa | Beck, GRIN | Clover | 6 |
Uva | Vitis vinifera, Vitis sylvestris | Beck | Grape | 6 |
Valeriana | Valeriana officinalis | GRIN | Valerian | 6 |
Verbascum, gordolobo, gnaphalium | Verbascum | Beck | Petty mullein, Cudweed, Candlewick | 6 |
Verbena | Lycopus europaeus, Verbena officinalis | Beck, GRIN | Vervain | 6 |
Vitriolum | Mineral/Inorganic | Vitriol | 6 | |
Acanthus | Acanthus | IPNI | Acanthus, Bear’s breeches | 5 |
Adeps, adipes, pinguedo | Animal product | Lard, fat, suet | 5 | |
Agrimonia | Agrimonia eupatoria | Beck | Agrimony | 5 |
Alsine | Stellaria media | GRIN | Chick-weed | 5 |
Aurum | Mineral/Inorganic | Gold | 5 | |
Ben, behen, ben grana | Moringa Arabica | Beck | Ben, Behen | 5 |
Berberis | Berberis vulgaris | GRIN | Barberries | 5 |
Bledos, bleta, amaranthus blitum | Amaranthus blitum | Beck | Amaranth, Blite | 5 |
Bretannica, britanica | Rumex aquaticus, Rumex hydrolapathum | Beck, GRIN | Water dock | 5 |
Bulbo, bulbus, bulbonae, bolbos | Inconclusive | Corm (of root) | 5 | |
Bunium, bunio, bunias | Bunius orientalis | GRIN | Warty cabbage, Turkish rocket, Corn rocket | 5 |
Buprestes | Meloe variegatus | Riddle | Blister beetle | 5 |
Bursa pastoria | Capsella bursa pastoris | Beck | Shepherd’s purse | 5 |
Cadmia | Mineral/Inorganic | Calamine, Zinc oxide | 5 | |
Cameleonta al., ni., chamaileon melas | Cardopatium corymbosum | Beck | Cameleon, Chameleon thistle | 5 |
Canfora, camphor | Cinnamonum camphora | Lardos | Camphor | 5 |
Caracoles, cochlearia | Animal/Mineral | Snail | 5 | |
Caucalide, caucalis | Daucus carota sylvestris, Caucalis grandiflora | Beck | Wild carrot, Caucalis | 5 |
Cepea | Allium cepa | GRIN | Shallots | 5 |
Ceterach, doradilla | Asplenium ceterach | GRIN | Rustyback fern | 5 |
Chrysocolla | Mineral/Inorganic | Metal | 5 | |
Cichorium | Cichorium intybus | Beck | Chicory, Succory | 5 |
Coagulum | Animal | Rennet | 5 | |
Conyza | Inula graveolens, Inula viscose | Beck | Fleabane, Horseweed, Butterweed | 5 |
Corno, cornu capri, cervi | Plantago coronopus, Astrophytum capricorne | Beck, GRIN | Goatshorn, Hartshorn | 5 |
Cuscuta | Orobanche crenata, Cuscuta | Beck, GRIN | Dodder | 5 |
Dragon marino, draconculus, dracontium | Arum dracunculus, Dracunculus vulgaris | Beck, GRIN | Dragon herb, Dragon arrowroot, Dragon arum | 5 |
Elaterio, elacterium | Ecballium elaterium | Beck | Juice of wild/squirting cucumber, Elaterion | 5 |
Filipendula, saxifraga rubra | Spiraea filipendula, Filipendula vulgaris, Filipendula ulmaria | Beck, GRIN | Meadowsweet, Dropwort | 5 |
Fumariae | Fumaria officinalis, Corydalis claviculata | Beck | Fumitory | 5 |
Fungus, hongos | Fungi | Beck | Mushroom | 5 |
Hirudines, hirudinaria, sanguijuela | Animal | Leeches | 5 | |
Iris | Iris, Iris Florentina, Iris foetidissima | Beck, GRIN | Fleur-de-lys, Iris, Gladwyn | 5 |
Iujubae, jujuba, azufayfas | Ziziphus zizyphus, Ziziphus jujube | IPNI | Jujube or Chinese or Red Date | 5 |
Lacca | Mineral/Inorganic | Shellac, Lake, Laquer | 5 | |
Lanas | Animal | Wool | 5 | |
Lapis armenia, armenus | Mineral/Inorganic | Armenian stone | 5 | |
Lapis iudaisucs, iudaica, judaica | Mineral/Inorganic | Jews’ stone | 5 | |
Laserpitium, laserpitio, silphium | Ferula tingitana, Ferula asa foetida | Beck | Laserwort | 5 |
Laurel | Laurus nobilis | Riddle | Bay tree | 5 |
Lichen | Animal/Plant | Lichen | 5 | |
Lycio, licyum, licium, lycion | Rhamnus petiolaris, Rhamnus lycoides, Rhamnus punctata, Lycium barbarum, Lyciuim chinense | Beck, GRIN | Wolfberry, Buckthorn, Lycion | 5 |
Matricaria | Matricaria chamomilla | Beck | German chamomile, Wild chamomile, Dyer’s chamomile | 5 |
Melonum, melones | Cucumis melo | GRIJN | Melon | 5 |
Minium | Mineral/Inorganic | Red lead, Lead oxide | 5 | |
Musco, muscus | Animal | Musk | 5 | |
Nepeta, nepitha | Nepeta cataria | GRIN | Catnip, Catmint | 5 |
Nux indica | Cocos nucifera | GRIN | Coconut | 5 |
Nux juglans, juglandis, nux gallica, inglandis, nuezes o nogal | Juglans regia | Beck | Walnut | 5 |
Ochre, ocra | Mineral/Inorganic | Ochre | 5 | |
Ossa, huesos | Animal | Bones, various sources | 5 | |
Pistacia, pistacium, alfonfigos | Pistacia vera | Beck | Pistachio tree | 5 |
Purpurae, purpura | Inconclusive | Purple spots? | 5 | |
Pyrethra, pelitre, pyrethron | Parietaria officinalis, Anacyclus officinarum | Beck, GRIN | Pellitory | 5 |
Ricino, ricinus | Ricinus communis | Lardos | Palma christi, Castor oil tree | 5 |
Sanguis draconis, sangre de drago | Dracaena | Riddle | Dragon’s blood | 5 |
Serapinum | Inconclusive | Serapinum | 5 | |
Smilace aspera, smilax | Calystegia sepium, Convulvus arvensis, Smilax aspera | Lardos, Beck | Bindweed, Yew, Rough Bindweed | 5 |
Spina, spina alba, Arabica | Crataegus monogyna | GRIN | Hawthorn | 5 |
Spodio, spodium, cinis, cenizes | Mineral/Inorganic | Ashes, various substances | 5 | |
Spuma matis, salis, artgenti | Mineral/Inorganic | Litharge | 5 | |
Squinantiam, schoenanthi, esquinanto | Cymbopogon schoenanthus | Beck | Type of aromatic rush, Camel Hay, Camel Grass | 5 |
Staphidis agria, staphysagria | Delphinium staphisagria | Beck | Delphinium, Stavesacre, Larkspur | 5 |
Stoecados, sticados, cantuesso | Lavendula stoechas, Lavendula dentata | Beck, GRIN | French lavender, Spike | 5 |
Succinum, electrum | Mineral/Inorganic | Amber | 5 | |
Tamarindi | Tamarindus indica | Lardos | Tamarind | 5 |
Thapsi, thapsia | Thapsia garganica | Beck | Deadly carrot | 5 |
Thiaspi, thlapi, thlaspi | Thlapsi | IPNI | Thlapsi | 5 |
Tormentilla | Potentilla erecta | GRIN | Tormentil | 5 |
Turpeti, turbith | Operculina turpethum | GRIN | Turpeth | 5 |
Unas | Animal | Hoof, claws, various sources | 5 | |
Urtica | Urtica dioica | Beck, GRIN | Nettle | 5 |
Vipera sicca | Animal | Viper | 5 | |
Virga pastoris | Dipsacus fullonum, Dipsacus sylvestris | Beck | Teasel | 5 |
Vitis folia | Vitis | IPNI | Vine | 5 |
Zedoaria | Curcuma zedoaria | GRIN | Zedoary Root, White Turmeric | 5 |
Aconito, aconitum | Aconitum napellus, Aconitum lycoctonum | Beck | Wolfsbane | 4 |
Adarce, adarces, adarcion | Mineral/Inorganic | Dried sea salt, Carbonate of lime | 4 | |
Agerato, ageratum, ageratum | Ageratum | IPNI | Sweet milfoil, Maudin | 4 |
Alcarabea, carus | Carum carvi | Beck | Caraway | 4 |
Alkekengi, alquequenjos | Physalis alkekengi | GRI N | Bladder Cherry, Chinese Lantern | 4 |
Alysso, alysson | Asperugo procumbens, Biscutella | Beck | Madwort | 4 |
Ambra, ambra grisca | Animal product | Ambergris | 4 | |
Amidum, amylum | Plant product | Starch | 4 | |
Anemone | Anemone coronaria | Beck | Poppy anemone | 4 |
Antirrinon, antirrino | Antirrhinum orontium, Antirrhinum majus | Beck, GRIN | Snapdragon | 4 |
Artamita, cyclamen, arthamita | Cyclamen graecum, Lonicera periclymenum | Beck | Cyclamen | 4 |
Aster attico, aster atticus | Aster atticus | IPNI | Starwort | 4 |
Auricular muris | Gnaphalium uliginosum, Hieracium | GRIN | Mouse-ear, Hawkweed | 4 |
Ballote, balot, ballota | Ballota acetabulosa, Balota nigra | Beck | Black horehound, false dittany | 4 |
Bistorta | Bistorta officinalis | GRIN | Bistort, Dracunculus, Guinea Worm | 4 |
Borax | Mineral/Inorganic | Borax, Sodium borate | 4 | |
Botrytis, botry, botris, botrys | Botrys | IPNI | Goosefoot, Feathered geranium | 4 |
Bupthalmum, buphtalmo | Chysanthemum coronarium | Beck | Oxeye | 4 |
Cacalia | Senecio thapsoides, Mercurialis tomentosa | Beck | Caccalia | 4 |
Calciteide, chalcitis | Mineral/Inorganic | Chalcitis | 4 | |
Cannabis, canamon | Cannabis sativa | Beck | Hemp | 4 |
Caries ligni corrosa | Inconclusive | Carious wood | 4 | |
Castanas | Castanea vulgaris, Castanea sativa | Beck, GRIN | Chestnut | 4 |
Chondrile, condrila | Chondrilla juncea | GRIN | Gum succory | 4 |
Chondrus, condro | Animal/Plant | Irish moss, algae | 4 | |
Cicada, cigarras | Animal | Cicada | 4 | |
Colofonia | Inconclusive | Colophony | 4 | |
Diphryge | Inconclusive | Husk of brass | 4 | |
Dragontea, dragantum | Artemisia dracunculus | GRIN | Common dragon | 4 |
Elatine | Elatine, Linaria vulgaris | IPNI, GRIN | Toadflax | 4 |
Ephemeron, ephemero | Polygonatum multiflorum, Polygonatum verticillatum, Dietes grandiflora | Beck, GRIN | Wild iris, Ephemeron | 4 |
Epimedium, epimedio | Epimedium alpinum, Epimedium grandiflorum | GRIN | Barren wort, Epimedion | 4 |
Gallos y gallinas | Animal | Roosters and hens | 4 | |
Garum, garo | Mineral/Inorganic | Brine of pickled fish | 4 | |
Genista | Genista, Cytisus scoparius | IPNI, GRIN | Broom | 4 |
Geranium | Geranium | IPNI | Geranium | 4 |
Gladiolo, xiphio | Gladiolus | IPNI | Gladiola | 4 |
Heapr, higados, various | Animal | Liver, various sources | 4 | |
Hepatica, various | Inconclusive | Liverwort | 4 | |
Hiel, various | Animal | Fat, grease, various sources | 4 | |
Isopyrum, isopyro | Isopyrum, Menyanthes trifoliate | IPNI, GRIN | Faseolus, bog bean | 4 |
Lapis alabastrite, alabastrum | Mineral/Inorganic | Alabaster | 4 | |
Lapis specularis | Mineral/Inorganic | Translucent gypsum | 4 | |
Laureola | Daphne laureola | Beck | Laurel daphne | 4 |
Ligustrum, ligustri | Ligustrum vulgare | GRIN | Privet | 4 |
Lingua (avis) | Animal | Tongue - bird | 4 | |
Lithospermum, lithospermo, linospermon | Lithospermum officinale | Beck | Gromwel, Groomwell | 4 |
Lombrici, vermes terreni, gusano | Animal | Earthworm | 4 | |
Lonchitis, lonchite | Serapias lingua, Lonchitis tenuifolia, Hypolepis tenuifolia | Beck, GRIN | Rough spleenwort, Lonchitis | 4 |
Lysimachium | Lysimachia vulgaris | Beck | Loosestrife, Looseleaf strife | 4 |
Manteca, various | Animal | Fat, grease | 4 | |
Mesereum | Daphne cnidium, Thymelaea passerina | Beck | Spurge flax, Mezereum | 4 |
Mespila, mespilum siccata, nisperos secos | Mespilus germanica | GRIN | Medlar | 4 |
Milla pedae sicca | Animal | Slaters | 4 | |
Millij, milium, mijo | Panicum miliaceume | GRIN | Panic millet, Broom millet | 4 |
Omphacium, omphacio | See grape | Juice of unripe grape | 4 | |
Ononidis, anonis, seu anonidis, unas gatas | Onosma echinoides | Beck | Stone bugloss | 4 |
Oriza, arroz, oryza | Oryza sativa | Beck | Rice | 4 |
Oxyacanta, oxyacanthos | Inconclusive | Evergreen thorn | 4 | |
Peplus, peplo, peplos | Euphorbia peplus, Euphorbia peplis | Riddle | Petty spurge, Peplus spurge, Peplis spurge | 4 |
Petasite, petasitidis | Petasites officinalis, Petasites hybridus | Beck, GRIN | Butter-burr | 4 |
Petroleo, petroleum | Mineral/Inorganic | Petroleum | 4 | |
Picea | Picea | IPNI | Pitch tree | 4 |
Pityusa, esula minor | Esula | IPNI | Pine spurge | 4 |
Polygonnum, sanguinaria | Polygonum aviculare | Beck | Bloodroot, knotgrass | 4 |
Pompholyge, pompholyx | Inconclusive | Type of eczema? | 4 | |
Porrum, porri, puerros | Allium porrum | Beck | Leeks | 4 |
Potamogiton, potamogeton | Ottelia alismoides | Beck | Pondweed | 4 |
Ramno, rhamnus catharticus | Rhamnus cathartica | IPNI | Buckthorn | 4 |
Sal gemma | Mineral/Inorganic | Halite | 4 | |
Salamandra | Animal | Salamander | 4 | |
Scabiosa | Scabiosa columbaria | IPNI | Scabious | 4 |
Scandice, scandix | Scandix pecten-veneris, Anthriscus sylvestris | Beck | Shepherd’s needle, Wild chervil | 4 |
Scinci, scincus | Animal | Skink | 4 | |
Scolopendra | Animal | Centipede | 4 | |
Scordoprason, scorodopraso | Allium descendens, Allium sphaerocephalon | Beck, GRIN | Garlic-leek | 4 |
Scorpio | Animal | Scorpion | 4 | |
Scorpionides, scorpioide, scorpiodes | Coronilla scorpioides | Beck | Scorpionwort | 4 |
Serpentaria | Inconclusive | Snakeroot | ||
Smaragdus, smeraldus – Esmeralda | Mineral/Inorganic | Emerald | 4 | |
Sonco, sonchus | Emilia sonchifolia, Sonchus oleraceus | Beck, GRIN | Sow-thistle, Sonchos | 4 |
Sory, soricis | Mineral/Inorganic | Green vitriol | 4 | |
Sparaganium, sparganio, sparagna | Sparganium ramosum, Sparganium eurycarpum | Beck, GRIN | Bur-reed | 4 |
Spelta | Triticum aestivum | Beck, GRIN | Far, Spelt | 4 |
Stachy, stachys | Stachys | Beck | Base horehound | 4 |
Stannum, estano | Mineral/Inorganic | Tin | 4 | |
Tanaceti, tenceto - tanacetum | Tanacetum vulgare | GRIN | Tansy | 4 |
Telephium, telephio | Andrachna telephioides, Sedum telephium, Hylotelephium telephium | Beck, Riddle, GRIN | Telephonion, Orpine, Sedamine | 4 |
Teucrio, teucrium | Teucrium flavum, Teucrium fruticans | Beck, GRIN | Tree germander | 4 |
Thymbra | Satureia thymbra, Satureja hortensis, Satureja montana | Beck, GRIN | Savory | 4 |
Thymelea | Daphne gnidium | Riddle | Thymelea | 4 |
Torpedo | Animal | Cramp-fish | 4 | |
Urina, orina | Animal | Urine, various sources | 4 | |
Viscum corylinum | Inconclusive (various sources) | Birdlime | 4 | |
Xanthium, xanthio | Xanthium strumarium | Beck | Clutburr, Burweed, Broad-leaved burweed | 4 |
Sources include: 1)International Plant Names Index (IPNI), URL: www.ipni.org; 2) USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) Online Database. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl; 3) Lily Y. Beck trans. 2005. Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus: De Materia Medica. Hildesheim, Zurich, New York: Olms-Weidmann, 406–489; 4) Andreas Lardos. 2006. The botanical materia medica of the Iastrosophikon – A collection of prescriptions from a monastery in Cyprus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 104(2006), 392–404; and 5) John M. Riddle. 1987. Folk Tradition and Folk Medicine: Recognition of Drugs in Classical Antiquity. Folklore and Folk Medicines, ed. John Scarborough. Madison, WI: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 47–61. Identifications were made by first checking Beck’s “Index of Plants and Plant Products” which included scientific names for the majority of botanical simples listed here. For those plants not listed in Beck, Riddle and Lardos were consulted. For those plants not listed in any of these three publications, the name(s) given for the simple in traditional texts (i.e., not the common/translated name) were input into the “genus” category in the IPNI. All scientific names were cross-checked in the USDA/GRIN database by inputting the common English names for plants and/or the scientific name in order to insure that modern standardized spelling and nomenclature were used. GRIN is indicated in the “source” category if any changes were made. Scientific names with only one-word designations indicate the name of the genus; the specific species and/or varieties in these cases are unknown.
II.3. Interpreting the Western Pharmacopoeia: Degree of Consistency
All but 5 simples were identified and categorized as plant, animal, or mineral. The individual lists of simples from each author were then compared with the materia medica of the two earliest works, the Hippocratic Corpus (ca. 500 BC) and Dioscorides’s De materia medica (ca. 60–78 AD) by determining the percentage of simples they shared in common, labeled their “degree of consistency”. The individual authors and their materia medica were then arranged by time period in order to see if there were any periods of major change, i.e., if the materia medica changed significantly with regard to with major historical events and the potential political, social, or cultural upheaval that would follow, such as the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 AD; the rise of the Arabian empires ca. 600–700 AD; the rise of medieval universities ca. 1200; the European discovery of America, the establishment of print, and the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries; and the European Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.
II.4. Interpreting the Western Pharmacopoeia: Consistency of Therapeutic Use
In order to determine consistency of designated therapeutic qualities and use – the “virtue” in contemporary parlance – of individual simples over time, the 14 most common simples were identified, e.g., those that were cited in all of the 12 sources consulted. For each of those 14, at least one ancient and one medieval source were consulted and its “virtue” recorded and compared. Early modern and modern sources were also consulted, but it was found that these sources only listed simples without identifying their virtue. No attempt was made to evaluate the efficacy or validity of these virtues, however, and no claim is made here to that effect. The purpose here is only to present the pharmacopoeia of western medicine and evaluate its consistency over the centuries.
Finally, an attempt was made corroborate the 14 most common simples with materia medica from present-day herbal and alternative medicine in the U.S., using lists from the National Institutes of Health’s Medline Plus – Herbal Medicine website and from its National Center for Complementary and Alternative medicine. These lists were compared with the list of compiled simples, looking to see how many of the present-day herbal medicines were included first in the full list of 985 simples, then with the top 439 most common (those that occurred in at least 4 of the 12 sources consulted), then the top 267 (those that occurred in at least 6 of the 12 sources consulted), then the top 159 (those that occurred in at least 8 of the 12 sources consulted), then the top 26 (those that occurred in at least 11 of the 12 sources consulted) and the top 14 (those that occurred in all of the 12 sources consulted). Finally, the virtues/uses of 4 of the historically most common simples were compared with those that were also listed on the modern website.
III. Results
III.1. Western Pharmacopoeia
Out of 439 simples, the majority were from plant sources. Plants made up 341, or 78% of the total, while there were 45, or approximately 10% from animals and 49, or 11% from minerals (see Table 4). Many of these simples served a variety of purposes in addition to medicine: they were also used to make artisanal/industrial products such as cosmetics, perfumes, pigments, varnishes, candy, beverages, jewelry, shoe polish, embalming fluid, amulets, and sealers.
Table 4.
Source | Number | Percentage of Total (439) |
---|---|---|
Plant | 341 | 77.68 |
Animal | 45 | 10.25 |
Mineral | 49 | 11.16 |
Unknown | 4 | .91 |
Total | 439 | 100 |
III.2. Degree of Consistency among Authors
Analysis of the correspondence between different traditions, authors, and time periods revealed a significantly higher correspondence between each work and that of Dioscorides than with Hippocrates or among time periods. The number of simples in common between Hippocrates and later works was remarkably consistent, with an average of 43.5% in common (see Table 5). Only Celsus from the 1st century AD veers from this, with a 54% correspondence, and there is no consistent trend showing a gradual veering away from a Hippocratic base. This is not as true, however, for Dioscorides (see Table 6). Here there is a higher degree of correspondence: on average, comparisons of Dioscorides and other works revealed a 72% correspondence, meaning that on average they contained 72% of the same simples. There is also some indication of a pattern of a lessening of correspondence over time, though it must be pointed out that these numbers still show remarkable consistency, and this downward trend was not entirely uniform. Whereas ancient works had approximately 75–85% of their simples in common with Dioscorides, that figure was somewhat lower for the later periods, all of which fell within the range of 65–69%, with the 65–68% range for medieval works slightly higher than the 65% and 67% respectively for the 18th–19th century works. A slight anomaly in this downward trend lies in the fact that the two Renaissance works had a correlation of 68% and 69% respectively, which may be explained by the Renaissance emphasis on the recovery of ancient texts and direct translations, bypassing Arabian translations and commentaries. This anomaly, however, does not alter the overall picture of a high degree of consistency with the materia medica of Dioscorides.
Table 5.
Hippocratic Tradition – Degree of Consistency between Hippocrates and… | Number of Simples in Top 439 | Simples in Common with Hippocrates - Top 439 | Degree of Consistency – Simples in Common as Percentage of Simples in Work | Difference from Average Degree of Consistency (absolute value) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dioscorides | 311 | 129 | 41.48 | 2.08 |
Celsus | 97 | 53 | 54.64 | 11.08 |
Galen | 277 | 123 | 44.40 | .84 |
Paul of Aegina | 315 | 138 | 43.81 | .25 |
Serapion | 248 | 106 | 42.74 | .82 |
Platearius | 203 | 89 | 43.84 | .28 |
Sylvatico | 255 | 107 | 41.96 | 1.6 |
Saladino | 179 | 75 | 41.89 | 1.67 |
Fragoso | 296 | 115 | 38.85 | 4.71 |
Palacios | 302 | 123 | 40.73 | 2.83 |
Farmacopea Espanola | 268 | 120 | 44.78 | 1.22 |
Average degree of consistency | 43.56 |
Table 6.
Dioscordean Tradition – Degree of Consistency between Dioscorides and… | Number of Simples in Top 439 | Simples in Common -Top 439 | Degree of Consistency – Simples in Common as Percentage of Simples in Work | Difference from Average Degree of Consistency (absolute value) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hippocrates | 168 | 129 | 76.79 | 4.64 |
Celsus | 97 | 81 | 83.50 | 11.35 |
Galen | 277 | 226 | 81.59 | 9.44 |
Paul of Aegina | 315 | 253 | 80.32 | 8.17 |
Serapion | 248 | 167 | 67.34 | 4.81 |
Platerius | 203 | 133 | 65.52 | 6.63 |
Sylvatico | 255 | 175 | 68.63 | 3.52 |
Saladino | 179 | 123 | 68.71 | 3.44 |
Fragoso | 296 | 205 | 69.26 | 2.89 |
Palacios | 302 | 197 | 65.23 | 6.92 |
Farmacopea Espanola | 268 | 179 | 66.79 | 5.36 |
Average degree of consistency | 72.15 |
This trend toward lessening of correspondence over time is even more apparent when comparisons are made based upon total simples rather than the top 439 (see Table 7). In that case, the consistency with Dioscorides – with an average of 57% correspondence - is highest for earlier periods and tapers off over time more dramatically (though again it is not a uniform decline). While ancient authors’ degree of correspondence with Dioscorides was between 62 and 82% (with the significant exception of Hippocrates, whose work came several centuries earlier, and Galen, whose work contained an unusually high number of over 800 simples, thus skewing the results when considered in total), medieval correspondence dropped to 62–64%, with early modern levels slightly lower at 61% and 60%. The 18th–19th-century works, with a correspondence of 40 and 57% respectively, were lower still, though it is a testament to the longevity of the Dioscordean tradition that the 19th-century Farmacopea Española still had almost three-fifths of its simples in common with the 1st century De Materia Medica.
Table 7.
Dioscordean Tradition – Degree of Consistency between Dioscorides and… | Number of Simples in work, total | Simples in Common – Total | Degree of Consistency – Simples in Common as Percentage of Simples in Work | Difference from Average Degree of Consistency (absolute value) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hippocrates | 257 | 129 | 50.19 | 7.27 |
Celsus | 99 | 81 | 81.82 | 24.36 |
Galen | 808 | 223 | 27.59 | 29.86 |
Paul of Aegina | 398 | 250 | 62.81 | 5.35 |
Serapion | 261 | 166 | 63.60 | 6.14 |
Platearius | 207 | 133 | 64.25 | 6.79 |
Sylvatico | 278 | 174 | 62.59 | 5.13 |
Saladino | 199 | 123 | 61.80 | 4.35 |
Fragoso | 340 | 204 | 60.00 | 2.54 |
Palacios | 488 | 197 | 40.37 | 17.09 |
Farmacopea Espanola | 312 | 178 | 57.05 | 0.41 |
Average degree of consistency | 57.46 |
III.3. Degree of Consistency among time periods
Furthermore, analysis of the consistency of simples within different time periods does not reveal a strong correlation, though it does show increasing levels of correspondence over time (See Table 8). There is an average degree of only 34% consistency among ancient authors (Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galen, and Paul of Aegina), 56% among medieval authors, and 57% among 15th–16th-century works. The two works from the 18th and 19th centuries, Palacios’s Palestra Farmacútica and the Farmacopea Española, did exhibit a higher degree of consistency, averaging 76%, but this can be attributed to the fact that later Spanish pharmacopoeias were largely new editions of Palacios’s work (see Lanning, 1985 and De Vos, 2007) and perhaps a general trend of increasing standardization over time. Overall, these results indicate that there is greater consistency and correlation between Dioscorides and all later works than there is among time periods, and that increasing standardization would have been centered on Diocorides’ work. The overall picture, thus, is one in which Dioscorides remains the consistent basis for herbal medicine, even through major watershed events in history (see section II.3).
Table 8.
Author/Period | Number of Simples in Common – Top 439 | Number of Simples in Work – Top 439 | Degree of Consistency within Time Period (Simples in Common as Percentage of Simples in Work – Top 439) | Difference from Average Degree of Consistency (absolute value) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ancient | 86 | |||
Hippocrates | 86 | 168 | 51.19 | 16.90 |
Dioscorides | 86 | 311 | 27.65 | 6.63 |
Galen | 86 | 277 | 31.04 | 3.24 |
Paul of Aegina | 86 | 315 | 27.30 | 6.98 |
Average Degree of Consistency –Ancient Period | 34.29 | |||
Medieval | 131 | |||
Serapion the Younger | 131 | 248 | 52.82 | 3.42 |
Platerius | 131 | 203 | 64.53 | 8.29 |
Silvaticus | 131 | 255 | 51.37 | 4.87 |
Average Degree of Consistency – Medieval Period | 56.24 | |||
15th–16th Centuries | 128 | |||
Saladino | 128 | 179 | 71.51 | 14.13 |
Fragoso | 128 | 296 | 43.24 | 14.13 |
Average Degree of Consistency – 15th–16th Centuries | 57.38 | |||
18th–19th Centuries | 215 | |||
Palacios | 215 | 302 | 71.19 | 4.51 |
Farmacopea Española | 215 | 268 | 80.22 | 4.51 |
Average Degree of Consistency – 18th–19th Centuries | 75.71 |
III.4. Comparison of Therapeutic Use over time
Finally, a survey of the ancient and medieval “virtues” – the therapeutic qualities and uses – attributed to each of the top 14 most prominent simples (those that appeared in all of the 12 sources consulted) demonstrates significant consistency over time as well, with a strong reliance on the descriptions of both Dioscorides and Galen (see Table 9). Beginning with Saladino’s work in 1488, however, the virtues for simples are no longer given. Among those surveyed here, there was not one single work written after 1488 that included descriptions of virtues for each simple. Instead, they either discussed botanical properties of herbal medicine (Saladino) or possible drug substitutions (Fragoso) or the part of the plant or animal used (Palacios, Farmacopea Española), going into detailed discussion of therapeutic uses for compound medicines only.
Table 9.
Simple | Description of Healing Qualities/Uses by Dioscorides, De Materia Medica, 1st Century (from Beck translation, 2005) | Description of Healing Qualities/Uses from Paul of Aegina, De Re Medica Libri Septem, Book 7, 7th Century (from Adams translation, 1844) | Description of Healing Qualities and Uses from Serapion, Liber de Simplici medicina, 12th Century (from Alpagus Bellunensis translation, 1550) |
---|---|---|---|
Acacia | (Shittah Tree) Astringent and cooling properties; helps with eye diseases and erysipelas, shingles, chilblains, eye growths, mouth sores, and prolapses of the eyes and uterus; stops diarrhea. | Desiccant in the 3rd degree, cooling in the first (but if washed, of the second). It is sour and terrene. | Cold and dry in first degree. Comforts eye and ulcers of the mouth and eyes; gets rid of old humors from womb. |
Alum | Warm, astringent, clear the corneas, reduce overgrown fleshes; beneficial for thrush, pustules, ear rheums, leprosies, itches, chilblains, cancers, spreading ulcers, nits, pediculosis, burns, swellings, and armpit and groin odors. Induces menstruation, stops barrenness, and expels embryos/fetuses. Helps with inflammation sof the gums, uvulas, tonsils, and mouth. | Sour. | Calefactive, abstergent; heals scabies and other ulcers; abscindit menstruation. |
Asphalt/Bitumen | Anti-inflammatory, agglutinative, dispersive, emollient, and beneficial for uterine suffocations and prolapses; checks epileptic attacks; provokes menstruation; helpful for chronic coughs, asthma, tics, dyspnea, snake bits, pains of the hip joints and side, bowel ailments, catarrhs, toothache, gout, and arthritis. | Hot and dry in the second degree; agglutinative of fresh wounds. | Hot and dry in second degree. Prevents abscesses; is softening and resolutive; used for epilepsy; provokes urine and menstruation. |
Balsam | Counteracts uterine chills and draws down afterbirth and embryos/fetuses; dilates cervix; cleanses sores, eyes, and wild animal bites. Aids in pleurisy, inflammations of the lungs, coughs, epileptics, dizziness, colic. Diuretic. | Desiccant and heating in second degree. | Hot and dry in the second degree. Comforts frigidity of the womb for birth, moves ulcers, provokes urine; good for asthma because it matures superflidities (superfluitates). |
Cardamom | Has warming, astringent, desiccative, soporific, and analgesic properties. Soothes inflammations of the eyes, internal organs, liver disease, kidney disease, gout, and female disorders. | Acrid, bitter, destroys intestinal worms, clears away scabies. | Hot and dry in first degree. Resolves and fortifies; comforts stomach, syncopi (fainting), and vomiting. |
Cassia (linea and fistula) | Has warming, diuretic, desiccative, and mildly astringent properties. Improves shortsightedness; removes birthmarks; draws down the menses, helps for snake bits, all internal inflammations and for the kidneys; used by women in sitz baths and to dilate the cervix. | Heating and desiccative in the third order, acrid, astringent, incisive, discutient, imparts strength to organs, is emmenagogue. | Temperate; extinguishes activity of the blood, resolves hard apostemas, comforts the stomach and liver pain; purges cholera; relaxes the stomach. |
Myrrh | Has heating, soporific, agglutinative, desiccative, and astringent properties; softens the uterus and opens it when closed; draws down the menses and embryos/fetuses; also helps with chronic cough, pain of the side and chest, diarrhea, dysentery, and shivering fits; mends roughness of the trachea and horseness of voice; kills intestinal worms, cures bad breakth and armpit odor; strengthens teeth and gums; heals head- wounds, bruised ears, exposed bones, ear afflictions, facial eruptions, afflictions of the eyes. | Heating and desiccative in the 2nd order; emmenagogue, promotes expectoration from the chest and lungs. Agglutinates wounds of the head; bitter; abortifacient; kills worms. Detergent, expectorant. | Hot and dry in 3rd degree. Cleanser, coagulant; gets rid of worms. Helps with cough, asthma, and pain in the lungs. Heats, mollifies, and resolves. Provokes menstruation and expels fetus. |
Pennyroyal | Warms, thins, promotes digestion. Draws the menses, afterbirth, and embryos/fetuses. Brings up phlegm from the lungs; relieves nausea and stomach pain; soothes inflammations, gout, and itching. Use in a sitz bath for uterine inflations, indurations, and twistings.. | Strongly calefacient and attenuant; rubefacient when applied externally; promotes expectoration of thick humor lodged in chest and lungs. | Drying and heating in the 3rd degree. Resolvent, diuretic; calefactive, applied externally for pleurisy; helps with asthma, nausea, purges flegmatic humors; provokes menstruation, expels fetus; rubefacient, helps spleen. |
Pepper | Warms, helps digestion, promotes urine production, perspiration, and cleanses eyes; helps with shivering fits, wild animal bites, draws embryos/fetuses; causes barenness; helps for all chest afflictions, spleen inflammation, digestion, and sore throats, ends colic, purges phlegm, stimulates appetite; analgesic, warming; dissipates scrofulous swellings of the glands and leprosies. | Acrid, heating, dessicative. | Both white and black pepper are hot and dry in 4th degree. desiccative, calefactive, fortifying, cleansing. Provokes urine. |
Rue | Warms, burns, ulcerates, is diuretic and emmenagogic; ends diarrhea; is antidote to poison; stops colic; good for pains on the side and chest, coughs, inflammation of the lungs, pain of the hips or joints; good for inflations of the colon, uterus and intestine; relieves uterine suffocation; expels intestinal worms, sharpens vision; helps with headaches, inflammation of the testicles, leprosy, warts, earaches, erysipelas, shingles and scurf. | Terrene, cold and subtile substance. Hence it relieve sprains and ruptures and astringent. Alleviates spitting of blood, coliac and dysenteric affections. Cures hepatic (liver) complaints. | Hot and dry in 3rd degree. Resolves thick, viscous humors; purges and expels through urine; provokes urine and menstruation, comforts suffocation of the uterus. Helps digestive ailments. |
Southernwood | Helps with orthopnea, ruptures, spasms, hip ailmets, difficult micturation, and delayed menstruation; serves as antidote for poisons and for shivers; helps with spider and scorpion bites, and inflammations of the eyes. | Warm, dry in third degree, discutient (dispersive), desiccative; cures periodical rigors, alopecia (hair loss). | Hot and dry in 3rd; abstersive, resolutive, incisive. Helps with retention of menstruation. |
Spurge | Removes hair; allays toothache; removes warts, carbuncles, cankers, gangrenes, fistulas; purges the bowel. | Caustic. | Hot and dry in 4th degree. Cleanses the eye; warms humors; aids dropsy and other similar cold afflictions. |
Storax | Has heating, emollient, and digestive properties; is effective for coughs, catarrhs, discharges from the hostrils, hoarseness of voice, loss of voice, and ringing in the ears. Draws down the menses, stimulates cervical dilation, softens the bowel; warms, softens, and is soporific. | Calefacient, emollient, digestive. Useful in coughs, catarrhs, and defluxion; promotes menstruation. | Hot and dry in the first degree. Emollient, maturative, aids in coughs, colds; cleanses uterus after birth and provokes menstruation. |
Turpentine | Warms, softens, relaxes; helps with coughs, cleanses impurities from the chest; diurectic; softens stool, helps with digestion, genital itching, leprosy, and pains in the side. | Heating in the second degree and desiccative in the first, in the second when dried. Fruit is desiccative in the third order. Diuretic and useful for the spleen. | Hot and dry in 3rd degree. (Softening) Mollifactive, dissolutive, cleansing, comforts cough and ulcers of the lungs and bloody sputum; provokes urine, softens the stomach. |
The therapeutic qualities and uses attributed to these medicines appear to be remarkably consistent over approximately 1400 years. Many of the same qualities and uses are noted for medicines described by Dioscorides, Paul of Aegina, and medieval authors Serapion and Silvatico. Not only was there consistency across time, but there was consistency among the medicines as well. Fully 13 of the 14 simples (93%) were classified as hot and dry, or calefactive and dessicative in the Galenic system, with properties of being diuretic and expectorant, able to remove obstructions. These medicines were employed largely to expel thick humors, as an expectorant of thick mucus from the chest and to aid afflictions of the lungs in general, especially asthma. Eight of the 15 (53%) were used particularly in women’s health (among other uses) as emmenagogues and to “expel the fetus” – though whether as an abortifacient or to stimulate labor and delivery is not specified. (see Riddle, 1997 for more information on drugs for women’s health)
Consistency in the use of materia medica in the Mediterranean/European tradition is thus clear through the ancient, medieval, and early modern period to 1865. One does see a major shift, however, between the 19th and the 21st centuries. A comparison between traditional materia medica and NIH/Medline’s current list of 60 herbs and supplements (see Table 10) revealed the opposite trend to what has been discussed thus far: of the 60 herbs listed, only a little more than half (33) were found within the traditional pharmacopoeia (see Table 11). These 33, furthermore, do not match up with the ones that were the most important up to 1865 (see Table 12). Only 1 (.1% of total 985 simples) of these herbs, pennyroyal, was found in all sources; only 3 (.3% of total) of these herbs – pennyroyal, almond, and horehound - were found in the top 26 simples for the earlier period. Seventeen (1.7%) of them were to be found within the top 150 simples, 21 (2.1%) in the top 267, and 25 (2.5%) within the top 439. Thus unlike the two millennia prior, there is very little consistency between 1865 and 2010. Furthermore, a comparison of the therapeutic quality and uses of pennyroyal, almond, and horehound with their attributed historic virtues (see Table 13) reveals mixed results: two, horehound and pennyroyal, demonstrate obvious similarities with the 2010 description, while almond is less clear. Horehound, an expectorant, is still used in European cough drops today, and pennyroyal is recognized as a powerful emmenagogue and aboritfacient, similar to earlier descriptions of it. Almond, however, is given a use that would have been impossible in ancient or medieval medical thought: sweet almond is thought to have “a beneficial effect on blood lipids” in lowering cholesterol levels, while earlier works describe is as laxative, diuretic, expelling of thick humors including menstrual blood and mucus in the chest. While this attribution could arguably produce consistent results (i.e., a thinning effect), it is not conclusive.
Table 10.
Medicines from Medline Plus “All Herbs and Supplements” |
---|
Alfalfa |
Aloe |
Arginine |
Belladonna |
Betel Nut |
Bilberry |
Black Tea |
Blessed Thistle |
Boron |
Bromelian |
Burdock |
Calendula |
Chamomile |
Clay |
Clove |
Copper |
Cranberry |
Creatine |
Dandelion |
Danshen |
Devil’s Claw |
Don quai, Chinese Angelica |
Echinacea |
Elder |
Ephedra |
Eucalyptus |
Evening Primrose |
Flaxseed |
Garlic |
Ginger |
Ginko |
Ginseng |
Green Tea |
Horse Chestnut |
Horsetail |
Iodine |
Iron |
Kava |
Lavender |
Licorice |
Passion flower |
Pennyroyal |
Peppermint |
Propolis (Bees) |
Psyllium |
Pygeum (Africa) |
Red yeast rice |
Saw Palmetto (America) |
Scotch Broom (Broom) |
Seaweed |
Soy |
Spirulina |
St. John’s Wort |
Sweet Almond |
Tea Tree Oil (Australia) |
Turmeric and Curcumin |
Valerian |
White Horehound |
Wild Yam (Americas – Mexico) |
Yohimbe |
Zinc |
Table 11.
In Common –Total – 985 (in at least 1 of 12 sources) | In top 439 (in at least 4 of 12 sources) | In top 267 (in at least 6 out of 12 sources) | In top 150 (in at least 8 of 12 sources) | In Top 26 Simples (in at least 11 of 12 sources) | In Top 14 Simples (in 12 of 12 sources) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Almond, Sweet/Bitter | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Aloe | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Blessed Thistle (Cardus Beneditctus) | 1 | 1 | |||
Bitter Orange (2) | |||||
Calendula (2) | |||||
Chamomile | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Clay (Stamped Earth) | 1 | 1 | |||
Clove | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Copper | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Don quai, Chinese Angelica (as Angelica) (3) | |||||
Elder | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Evening Primrose (3) | |||||
Fenugreek | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Flaxseed | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Garlic | 1 | ||||
Ginger | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Ginkgo (Maidenhair) | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Ginseng (Quinquefolium) | 1 | 1 | |||
Hawthorn | 1 | ||||
Horsetail (3) | |||||
Iron | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Licorice | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Pennyroyal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Peppermint (Mint) | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
lPropolis (3) | |||||
Psyllium | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Scotch Broom (Broom) | 1 | ||||
St. John’s Wort | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Turmeric (3) | |||||
Valerian | 1 | 1 | |||
White Horehound | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Zinc (as Calamine) | 1 | ||||
Total: 33 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 3 | 1 |
Table 12.
Simples | Number | Degree of Consistency for traditional medicines (n=985) |
---|---|---|
Medline Simples in Top 14 Medicines (cited in 12 of 12 sources) | 1 | 0.1% |
Medline Simples in Top 26 Medicines (cited in at least 11 of 12 sources) | 3 | 0.3% |
Medline Simples in Top 150 Medicines (cited in at least 8 of 12 sources) | 17 | 1.7% |
Medline Simples in Top 267 (cited in at least 6 of 12 sources) | 21 | 2.1% |
Medline Simples in Top 439 (cited in at least 4 of 12 sources) | 25 | 2.5% |
Medline Simples in all simples (cited in at least 1 of 12 sources) | 33 | 3.4% |
Table 13.
Simple | Dioscorides – 100 AD | Paul of Aegina – 600 AD | Late Medieval Texts, 1000 AD – 1300 AD | National Institutes of Health, 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Almond (Bitter and Sweet) | Laxative, soporific, diuretic; use for pain, inflammation of the lungs, sores, flatulence, cough, stones, heartburn, dog bites, shingles, headache; provokes menstruation when used as a pessary. Gets rid of freckles. Bitter is stronger than sweet. | Bitter: attenuant and deobstruent of thick humors; detergent. Sweet: moderately hot. | Hot and humid in 1st degree. Sweet almond is weaker than bitter; provokes urine. Bitter is warming, abstergent, expels thick viscous humors from the chest and lungs; cures pain of the side, spleen; brings on birth, provokes menstruation; helps with pain, abscesses, ulcers. | Sweet almonds are a popular nutritious food. Researchers are especially interested in their level of monounsaturated fats, as these appear to have a beneficial effect on blood lipids. Note: Sweet almond should not be confused with bitter almond, which contains amygdalin and can be broken down into the poisonous substance hydrocyanic acid (cyanide). http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-sweetalmond.html Accessed 14 January 2010. |
Horehound (White) | Given to tuberulars, asthmatics, and people who cough; brings up congestive matter from the chest; brings on menstruation and afterbirth; cleanses sores and ulcers; relieves side pain; sharpens the sight; used for earaches. | Calefacient in 2nd degree but more dessicative. Removes obstructions about the liver and spleen and those of the chest and lungs. Promotes menstruation. Detergent, discutient, incisive. | Hot and dry in the 3rd degree. Is diuretic; helps chest and asthma by moving cold and viscous humors; works against cough; helps with strangury (inability to urinate). | Since ancient Egypt, white horehound ( Marrubium vulgare L.) has been used as an expectorant (to facilitate removal of mucus from the lungs or throat). Ayurvedic, Native American, and Australian Aboriginal medicines have traditionally used white horehound to treat respiratory (lung) conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned horehound from cough drops in 1989 due to insufficient evidence supporting its efficacy. However, horehound is currently widely used in Europe, and it can be found in European- made herbal cough remedies sold in the United States (for example, Ricola®). There is a lack of well-defined clinical evidence to support any therapeutic use of white horehound. The expert German panel, the Commission E, has approved white horehound for lack of appetite, dyspepsia (heartburn), and as a choleretic. There is promising early evidence favoring the use of white horehound as a hypoglycemic agent for diabetes mellitus and as a non-opioid pain reliever. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-whitehorehound.html Accessed 14 January 2010. |
Pennyroyal | Warms, thins, promotes digestion. Draws the menses, afterbirth, and embryos/fetuses. Brings up phlegm from the lungs; relieves nausea and stomach pain; soothes inflammations, gout, and itching. Use in a sitz bath for uterine inflations, indurations, and twistings. | Strongly calefacient and attenuant; rubefacient when applied externally; promotes expectoration of thick humor lodged in chest and lungs. | Drying and heating in the 3rd degree. Resolvent, diuretic; calefactive, applied externally for pleurisy; expels viscous humors in the 3rd from the chest and lungs; helps with asthma, nausea, purges phlegmatic and superfluous humors; provokes menstruation, expels fetus; rubefacient, helps spleen. (humors?), helps with asthma, nausea, purges flegmatic humors, helps with wind in the uterus [ventositabus matrices]. | The essential oil of pennyroyal may act as an emmenagogue (menstrual flow stimulant) and induce abortion. However, it may do so at lethal or near-lethal doses, making this action unpredictable and dangerous. Future research to determine the safety and efficacy of the less toxic parts of the pennyroyal plant on the menstrual cycle is needed before a recommendation can be made. Medline Plus website, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-pennyroyal.html Accessed 14 January 2010. |
IV. Discussion and Conclusion
The findings here concur with recent studies that have shown continuity of use of materia medica in the Mediterranean (Fiore, et al., 2005; Pollio et al., 2008; Leonti, et al., 2009), but it also attempts to outline the parameters of the entire chronology of the Mediterranean/European pharmacopoeia over two millennia. One of the most outstanding characteristics of this pharmacopoeia is its remarkable continuity. Although there was a relatively low correspondence (averaging 43.5%) between Hippocratic simples and those of later works, that figure remains remarkably stable for works from the 6th century to the 19th. In fact, the degree of consistency between the Hippocratic Corpus and the simples listed in the Farmacopea Española of 1865 (45%) is higher than all medieval and early modern works. These figures serve to demonstrate the constancy of a significant portion of simples throughout 25 centuries of Mediterranean history, and through the early years of the Industrial Revolution. It is most probably explained as the result of a historical trend in which Hippocratic simples provided an early basis of compiled knowledge of simples which was then built upon significantly by Dioscorides. Thus, while Hippocratic medicine may have provided an early basis for knowledge and use of materia medica, it was definitively superseded by the work of Dioscorides in the first century A.D. The figures indicate that from that point on, the importance of Dioscorides De materia medica was unparalleled in providing the basis for the Mediterranean/European pharmacopoeia. It is also clear that this influence continued through several major watershed periods: as late as 1865, his materia medica remained the core of the western pharmacopoeia. This influence thus transcended historical context, including changes in medical practices and theories.
Nevertheless, there was an apparent decrease, however gradual and at times inconsistent, in the degree of correspondence between Dioscorides and later works. This may be explained by, first, the addition of a number of simples of Asian origin by Arabian medical authors in the medieval period, and second, by the addition of materia medica from the Americas after 1492 (see Hamarneh, 1962; 1969; 1980 see Hamarneh, 1982; Riddle, 1964; and Touwaide, 2003). This trend is especially clear when total simples (985) were taken into account. However, these changes do not alter the place of Dioscorides’s work as the basis for western materia medica. The importance of his work is also supported by the fact that pharmacopoeias published after 1500 did not include descriptions of therapeutic uses for simples. The lack of information about “virtues” implies that earlier works had provided sufficient description and that the therapeutic usage was accepted as fact and not in need of revision. To determine therapeutic use/virtue, early modern professionals would have consulted the latest translation of Dioscorides or another medieval herbal. Instead, pharmaceutical publications written after 1500 tend to emphasize compound medicines, their uses and how to prepare them, or are pedagogical works for apothecaries in training; thus, this is an important period for the proliferation of different genres of pharmaceutical works, a topic that needs further elaboration but is beyond the scope of this article.
Nevertheless, the basic consistency in materia medica elucidated here supports John Riddle’s argument that the timelessness of Dioscorides’ work resulted from an empirical tradition based on trial and error; that it worked for generation after generation despite social and cultural changes and changes in medical theory. According to Riddle,
Dioscorides deliberately stayed away from medical theory and the swirling controversies of his day. This characteristic of his work prevented it from having a debilitating linkage with the transitory theories that succeeded on another down to the modern era. The empirical quality gave his work a timeless position in medical history. (Riddle, 1985, xix)
If a medicine proved effective time and time again, it mattered little what cause was given – as Riddle says, “If one knew the causes, the ailments could be prevented, but once one has the affliction, the cure is paramount”. (Riddle, 1985, xix) The fact that these medicines were thought to have provided effective cures time after time may serve to explain the longevity of Mediterranean materia medica, particularly once it was recorded in written texts. Indeed, it has been argued that knowledge of materia medica dates back to the first human hunter-gatherer societies and even today “is rarely embedded in complete and systematic theories of medicine”. (Christian, 2000; Miranda Chaves and Reinhard, 2003; Srithi, 2009)
The empirical basis for materia medica is evident in the therapeutic uses attributed to pennyroyal and horehound. According to Galenic medicine, these substances were effective due to their hot, dry qualities. Although modern medicine no longer classifies drug actions in this way, the present-day use and effects attributed to these medicines are almost identical to their earlier ones. Thus it is the actions of the simples that counts - or in other words, the theory or the “how and why” a medicine works may not be as important in these cases as the simple fact that these medicines were effective.
Despite the demonstrated longevity and probable effectiveness of traditional western materia medica, however, it is clear that that tradition was largely undermined sometime between 1865 and the present day. Only a handful of simples from the traditional pharmacopea are today recognized among the institutional medical world of the west, represented here by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and its listing of herbal remedies. This dramatic change can be attributed to a number of contributing causes in the history of pharmacy and medical chemistry: the development of organic and analytical chemistry, the rise of germ theory, the development of synthetic drugs, and the effect of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of pharmaceutical companies. All of these factors would have contributed to the diminishing use of traditional medicine, due to scientific, political, and economic motives. Yet these medicines, used for thousands of years, may very well provide important new avenues for pharmaceutical research. This study therefore seeks to urge researchers to collaborate across disciplines in order to better understand and exploit the historical record of traditional medicines in the west, and to conduct research into the bioactive compounds of the most prominent herbal, animal, and mineral substances of the western pharmacopoeia. This work has begun, but there is still much to be done, though it is imperative that research be pursued with regard to potential for healing rather than profit.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Professor John M. Riddle who read and commented upon the manuscript and who provided valuable suggestions and support for the project. The research and writing of this article was made possible by a 2009–2010 Grant for Scholarly Works in Biomedicine and Health from the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine and a semester sabbatical from San Diego State University. I am very grateful to both of these institutions.
Footnotes
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