ABSTRACT
The pharmacopeia used by physicians and laypeople in medieval Europe has largely been dismissed as placebo or superstition. While we now recognize that some of the materia medica used by medieval physicians could have had useful biological properties, research in this area is limited by the labor-intensive process of searching and interpreting historical medical texts. Here, we demonstrate the potential power of turning medieval medical texts into contextualized electronic databases amenable to exploration by the use of an algorithm. We used established methodologies from network science to reveal patterns in ingredient selection and usage in a key text, the 15th-century Lylye of Medicynes, focusing on remedies to treat symptoms of microbial infection. In providing a worked example of data-driven textual analysis, we demonstrate the potential of this approach to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and to shine a new light on the ethnopharmacology of historical medical texts.IMPORTANCE We used established methodologies from network science to identify patterns in medicinal ingredient combinations in a key medieval text, the 15th-century Lylye of Medicynes, focusing on recipes for topical treatments for symptoms of microbial infection. We conducted experiments screening the antimicrobial activity of selected ingredients. These experiments revealed interesting examples of ingredients that potentiated or interfered with each other's activity and that would be useful bases for future, more detailed experiments. Our results highlight (i) the potential to use methodologies from network science to analyze medieval data sets and detect patterns of ingredient combination, (ii) the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration to reveal different aspects of the ethnopharmacology of historical medical texts, and (iii) the potential development of novel therapeutics inspired by premodern remedies in a time of increased need for new antibiotics.
Subject(s)
Communicable Disease Control/methods , Communicable Diseases/history , Data Mining , Materia Medica/therapeutic use , Reference Books, Medical , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Electronic Data Processing , Ethnopharmacology , History, Medieval , HumansSubject(s)
Economics, Pharmaceutical/history , Education, Pharmacy/history , History of Pharmacy , Analgesics, Opioid/history , Analgesics, Opioid/therapeutic use , Colonialism/history , Communicable Diseases/drug therapy , Communicable Diseases/history , Education, Pharmacy/methods , Emigrants and Immigrants/history , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , Malaysia , Opium/history , Opium/therapeutic use , Pharmaceutical Preparations/history , Pharmaceutical Preparations/supply & distribution , Pharmacy/organization & administration , Singapore , United KingdomABSTRACT
Marcus Barros talks about how tropical diseases influenced his decision to study medicine. He tells a number of stories about his family, which moved from Alto Juruá to Manaus to escape malaria and other fevers. He says it is essential to adopt homeopathy, acupuncture, and other indigenous knowledge and practices in treating disease. Barros also talks about measures taken when he was president of Brazil's national environmental institute, Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama)--all part of an effort to prevent and combat these diseases and halt deforestation and burn-offs.
Subject(s)
Communicable Diseases/history , Environment , Environmental Health/history , Tropical Climate , Brazil , Communicable Disease Control/methods , History, 20th Century , Medicine, Traditional , Tropical MedicineSubject(s)
Caregivers/history , Chronic Disease , Communicable Diseases/history , Correspondence as Topic/history , Cost of Illness , Documentation/history , Famous Persons , Home Nursing/history , Homeopathy/history , Medical Records , Medicine in Literature , Poetry as Topic/history , Psychophysiologic Disorders/history , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Germany , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prussia , Young AdultABSTRACT
Marcus Barros fala sobre a influência que as doenças tropicais exerceram em sua escolha pela carreira de médico. Conta várias histórias, como a da mudança da família do Alto Juruá para Manaus, fugindo da malária e de outras febres. Diz ser fundamental adotar a homeopatia, a acupuntura e os conhecimentos e práticas indígenas na cura de doenças. Relata as atividades que exerceu como presidente do Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama), visando a prevenção e o combate a essas doenças, bem como as medidas de controle ambiental que adotou: a repressão ao desmatamento, levando à sua diminuição nos últimos anos, e a prisão de funcionários públicos corruptos.