Among the curatives used in ancient medicine were all types of plant, animal (all parts nearly) and mineral compounds. The use of these compounds led to an extensive compendium of curative recipes, some still available today. For example, yeast was recognized for its healing qualities and was applied to leg ulcers and swellings. Yeast's were also taken internally for digestive disorders and were an effective cure for ulcers. Herbal ingredients are common in the old medical formulations. Ancient medical prescriptions books contain large variety of herbal species used to make the remedies for different diseases. Usually herbs are used to prepare a tea or decoct, but healers also used juice from fresh herbs, or extract from root or fruit, etc.
One of frequently used herb is Sweetclower. The Yellow Sweetclover or Meliot has aromatic, emollient and carminative properties. It was formerly much esteemed in medicine as an emollient and digestive and is recommended for many complaints, the juice for clearing the eyesight, and, boiled with lard and other ingredients, as an application to veins and ulcers. One of the most popular plants for use in the medical purposes was Papaver Somniferum (Opium Poppy). The drug collected from Opium Poppy was known in very remote times and the Greeks and Romans collected it. It is probable that the physicians of the Arabian school introduced the drug into India, as well as into Europe. It was originally used only as a medicine. Opium Poppy is used by medieval medicine like ?cure for all diseases? and it may be found in different prescriptions, from cures for the skin diseases to the psychiatric illness.
Today medicine and pharmacy kept many of those herbs for those proven healing effect in the ill conditions. In fact active ingredients derived from those herbs are unavoidable part of today pharmacotherapy.
As the conclusion, it will be wise to read again and again old medical prescriptions, determine which diseases are cured by specific herb or mixture of herbs, found what are chemical constituents of those plants and is there a possibility for use in modern medicine. This task is not a easy one, especially analyzing chemical constituents of herbs, even today is impossible to determine all chemical ingredients for some plants. Chicory for example, precise chemical constituents of the herb have not yet been recorded.
Vladeta S. Jocic Medical doctor, General surgeon, Magister of science at Belgrade University, Chef of the surgical department at Health Center Obrenovac. Webmaster of http://www.oldpreparation.com | |
