ABSTRACT
Hyoscyamus, the henbane, is one of the drugs of the ancients. Initially used both as a poison and narcotic, it was widely adopted by witches, wizards and soothsayers as a component of their hallucinatory and flying ointments. It was also used by notorious poisoners such as Madame Voisin in France. Eventually, in the nineteenth century its active principle was isolated by Ladenburg and called l-hyoscine. It proved to be a tropane alkaloid very similar to atropine. These two alkaloids proved to be very important in the study of the parasympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system, and together with physostigmine, allowed the major neurotransmitter acetylcholine to be isolated and its mechanisms of action to be characterised. The Crippen murder case in 1910 gave hyoscine further fame, indeed, notoriety. The unassuming homeopathic doctor murdered his wife with the alkaloid and then decamped for Canada with his mistress Ethel Le Neve. The case became a worldwide sensation for several reasons: the arrest of the fugitive couple by wireless telegraphy (Marconigram) and the extensive chemical and histological evidence presented by Willcox and Spilsbury. Some authorities claim that this was the beginning of the science of forensic medicine in Britain. Hyoscine is now hardly ever used in modern therapeutics but its history from antiquity to the witches and on to Dr Crippen is both bizarre and fascinating.
Subject(s)
Homicide/history , Hyoscyamus , Plant Extracts/history , Poisoning/history , Witchcraft/history , Forensic Medicine/history , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, Ancient , History, Medieval , Homeopathy/history , Humans , Hyoscyamus/poisoning , United KingdomABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: De Materia Medica written by Pedanios Dioscorides (1 century CE) has shaped European and Mediterranean herbal medicine to a large extent. Despite its fundamental importance for modern medico-botanical traditions the content of this work has never been systematically assessed. PURPOSE: We present a quantitative survey of the botanical drugs described in De Materia Medica (ex Matthioli, 1568) and identify overall therapeutic, diachronic and botanical patterns. The extracted data may serve as a baseline and help to better contextualize research on herbal drugs and phytotherapy. METHODS: Therapeutic uses of herbal drugs were extracted through line-by-line reading of a digitized version of the treatise. For each plant usage mentioned in the text we recorded (I) the chapter number, (II) the putative botanical identity, (III) the plant part, (IV) the symptoms or disease, (V) the mode of administration, (VI) our biomedical interpretation of the ancient ailment or disease description as well as (VII) the organ- and symptom-defined category under which the use was filed. SECTIONS: An introduction to Dioscorides' De Materia Medica and Matthioli's Renaissance commentary is followed by a description of the employed methodology. The results and discussion section introduces the generated database comprising 5314 unique therapeutic uses of 536 plant taxa and 924 herbal drugs. Separate subsections address salient patterns such as the frequent recommendation of Fabaceae seeds for dermatology, Apiaceae seeds as antidotes and Apiaceae exudates for neurology and psychosomatic disorders as well as the heavy reliance on subterranean parts as drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The therapeutic knowledge described in De Materia Medica (ex Matthioli, 1568) offers unique insights into classical Mediterranean epidemiology and herbal medicine. Drugs that lost importance over time as well as remedies used for diseases now controlled by preventive medicine and industrially produced drugs may be interesting starting points for research on herbal medicine and drug discovery. Apart from promoting future data mining, the study may also help to prove the tradition of use, which is required for the regulatory approval of certain herbal products.
Subject(s)
Materia Medica/history , Medicine, Traditional/history , Phytotherapy/history , Plant Extracts/history , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plants, Medicinal/chemistry , Europe , History, 16th Century , History, Ancient , Humans , Plant Extracts/chemistryABSTRACT
The relationship between homeopathy and the Dr Bach system of flower remedies is explored. A historical perspective is given, doctrinal similarities and dissimilarities between both systems are discussed and the relationship between remedies used in homeopathy as well as in Dr Bach's system of flower remedies is explored. It is concluded that although both systems are clearly different, some common ground exists and that both systems may have a complementary role which is perhaps insufficiently recognised.
Subject(s)
Homeopathy/history , Phytotherapy/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Plant Extracts/history , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , United KingdomABSTRACT
The discovery of the neuromuscular blocking activity of malouetine isolated from Malouetia bequaertiana Woodson by Quevauviller and Lainé in 1960 stimulated interest in aminosteroids as potential neuromuscular blockers. Alauddin (a pharmacist) and Martin-Smith (a medicinal chemist) began research in this area, which was then taken up by pharmaceutical companies. Pure pancuronium was synthesised in 1964 by Savage and his co-workers, directed by Hewett. Pharmacologists headed by Buckett discovered that pancuronium was far more potent than d-tubocurarine and had minimal side-effects. Buckett quickly recognised the value of pancuronium, and his persistence resulted in successful clinical trials, followed by the commercial launch of pancuronium in 1968. Vecuronium was synthesised, tested and the studies published by Buckett, Hewett and Savage in 1973, but this was before anaesthetists called for a 'clean muscle relaxant' and, furthermore, it was unstable in aqueous solution. Hence, it was only promoted for clinical trials six years later.