Introduction - Uppsala Monitoring Centre

the Christian era it was well known that herbs can be poisonous and that hellebore
can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and convulsions. The main effects of the poppy were
known and it was also known that henbane could cause madness. ‘Known’ means
that there was written evidence, but it is likely that much more was known but not
recorded. From Titus Lucretius Carus in 47 BC we learn that animals and humans
may react differently and that there is individual variation in response to herbs with
humans. The dating of a report gives us no information as to when the event
reported took place and that is especially relevant during this early period.
Chapter 2. Biblical period to 1200 AD
F
rom the time of Christ (30 AD) until 1200 AD covering the Roman age and the
beginning of the Dark Ages, the Early Middle Ages and the start of the High
Middle Ages.
30 AD Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC–?37 AD) says in his book ‘De
Medicina’ [Concerning medicine]… ‘A great deal has also been
recorded concerning the powers of medicaments, as in the works of
Zeno 19 or of Andreas 20 or of Apollonius 21 , surnamed Mys. On the
other hand, Asclepiades 22 dispensed with the use of these for the
most part, not without reason; and ’since nearly all medicaments
harm the stomach and contain bad juices, he transferred his
treatment rather to the management of the actual diet’.
Book 2, 12. ‘Some endeavour to induce sleep by draught of
pepper or hyoscyamus’. He also stated that a boiled vinegar extract
of willow leaves could be employed for the relief of pain (Rainsford,
2004). It appeared in print in 1478 soon after the introduction of the
printing press. Although a Roman he used a few Greek words
directly and also latinised other Greek words as well as translating
Greek words into Latin (Wulff, 2004). He mentions white hellebore for
an emetic and the black hellebore as a purgative. Opium/henbane:
‘If… patients are wakeful, some endeavour to induce sleep by
draughts of decoction of poppy or hyoscyamus.’ He used henbane
19 Zeno = Greek philosopher c490-430 BC
20 Andreas = physician to Ptolomy IV died 217 BC
21 Appolonius = physician c30BC-c30AD
22 Asclepiades = Greek physician 124BC-c40 BC who reduced the use of drugs, venesection and purgatives,
preferring diet and water