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37 results
  • Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Asteraceae. Coneflower. Distribution: North America. Austin (2004) records that the roots were chewed, or used as a tincture for coughs by the Choctaw. It was combined with Rhus typhina to treat venereal disease by the Delaware. Very little record of this being used by Native Americans, who used E. angustifolia very widely - Regarded as a panacea and magical herb. This and E. pallida were used to treat snakebite, spider bite, cancer, toothache, burns, sores, wounds, flu and colds. E. purpurea in modern times has been used as an ‘immunostimulant’, but is known to cause a fall in white cell count, and to be purely a placebo. Licensed for use as a Traditional Herbal Medicine, which does not require proof of efficacy, in the UK. Licensed as a Traditional Herbal Remedy in the UK (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Lamiaceae. Baikal skullcap. Distribution: China. There are several hundred species of Scutellaria, also known as skull caps, so correct identification is important - in particular from Scutellaria lateriflora an American species known as Blue skullcap. The latter is used as an abortifacient and to expel placenta by the Cherokee and for cleaning the throat by the Iroquois (Austin, 2004). Much vaunted as a treatment for rabies with unlikely statistics (1,400 cases cured by one doctor alone). Also as ‘antispasmodic, nervine, [for] chorea, convulsions, tetanus, tremors, delirium tremens, [and as a] diaphoretic and diuretic'. Toxicity symptoms include mental confusion, stupor, headache, vertigo, photophobia, dilated pupils, difficulty in micturition, bradycardia, tremulousness and languor, followed by wakefulness and restlessness (Milspaugh, 1974). Hutchens (1991) reported that it reduces sexual desire and was used for almost every nervous illness. Scutellaria baicalensis contains baicalin, baicalein and wogonin (European Medicines Agency, September 2010). It is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treating inflammation, cancer, bacterial and viral infections of the lungs and gut and is one of the '50 Chinese herbs' in the lists of some authors. Scutellaria lateriflora (combined with Verbena officinalis, Passiflora incarnata and the seed of Avena sativa (oats) is licensed for use in Britain as a herbal medicine for temporary relief of mild symptoms of stress such as mild anxiety and to aid sleep, based upon traditional use only. Scutellaria baicalensis is not licensed for use in the UK (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Asteraceae. Coneflower. Distribution: North America. Austin (2004) records that the roots were chewed, or used as a tincture for coughs by the Choctaw. It was combined with Rhus typhina to treat venereal disease by the Delaware. Very little record of this being used by Native Americans, who used E. angustifolia very widely - Regarded as a panacea and magical herb. This and E. pallida were used to treat snakebite, spider bite, cancer, toothache, burns, sores, wounds, flu and colds. E. purpurea in modern times has been used as an ‘immunostimulant’, but is known to cause a fall in white cell count, and to be purely a placebo. Licensed for use as a Traditional Herbal Medicine, which does not require proof of efficacy, in the UK. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Asteraceae. Coneflower. Distribution: North America. Austin (2004) records that the roots were chewed, or used as a tincture for coughs by the Choctaw. Combined with Rhus typhina to treat venereal disease by the Delaware. Very little record of this being used by Native Americans, who used E. angustifolia very widely - Regarded as a panacea and magical herb. This and E. pallida were used to treat snakebite, spider bite, cancer, toothache, burns, sores, wounds, flu and colds. E. purpurea in modern times has been used as an ‘immunostimulant’, but is known to cause a fall in white cell count, and to be purely a placebo. Licensed for use as a Traditional Herbal Medicine, which does not require proof of efficacy, in the UK. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Asteraceae. Coneflower. Distribution: North America. Austin (2004) records that the roots were chewed, or used as a tincture for coughs by the Choctaw. It was combined with Rhus typhina to treat venereal disease by the Delaware. Very little record of this being used by Native Americans, who used E. angustifolia very widely - Regarded as a panacea and magical herb. This and E. pallida were used to treat snakebite, spider bite, cancer, toothache, burns, sores, wounds, flu and colds. E. purpurea in modern times has been used as an ‘immunostimulant’, but is known to cause a fall in white cell count, and to be purely a placebo. Licensed for use as a Traditional Herbal Medicine, which does not require proof of efficacy, in the UK. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Arctium lappa L. Asteraceae. Greater Burdock. Distribution: Europe to India and Japan. Dioscorides (Beck, 2003) writes: '... helps those who spit blood and who suffer from abscesses ... plastered on it stems the pains around the joints that stem from twistings. The Leaves are applied beneficially on old ulcers.' Culpeper (1650) writes: ‘Burdanae, etc. Of Bur, Clot-Bur or Burdock, ... helps such as spit blood and matter, bruised and mixed salt and applied to the place, helpeth the bitings of mad dogs. It expels wind, easeth pains of the teeth, strengthens the back, helps the running of the reins, and the whites in women, being taken inwardly.’ The roots contain inulin, which is made into a non-digestible sweetener for diabetics. It has a multitude of uses in herbal medicine, in particular it is a component of a compound called ‘essiac’ that has been widely used as a treatment of cancers in the USA, but which is of no proven benefit. The young roots can be eaten raw or cooked. The seeds are hairy and care should be taken when harvesting them as inhaled they are reported as ‘toxic’. The root is licensed for use in Traditional Herbal Medicines in the UK (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Viola canina L. Violaceae Distribution: Europe. Culpeper (1650) writes 'Violets (to whit the blew ones, for I know little or no use of the white ones in physic) ... provoke sleep, loosen the belly, resist fevers, help inflammations, ... ease pains in the head, help the roughness of the windpipe, soreness in the throat, inflammations in the breast and sides, pleurisies, open stoppings of the liver and help the yellow jaundice'. 'Violet leaves, they are cool, ease pains in the head proceeding of heat, and frenzies, either inwardly taken or outwardly applied, heat of the stomach, or inflammation of the lungs.' It still has the same reputation in modern herbal medicine, and while its safety is not known, it is regarded as edible and flowers are used to garnish salads. Larger quantities are emetic – make one vomit. Not licensed for use in Traditional Herbal Medicines in the UK (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Text on traditional Chinese medicine.
  • Text on traditional Chinese medicine.
  • A human anatomical figure. Drawing, Nepalese, ca. 1800 (?).
  • A human anatomical figure. Drawing, Nepalese, ca. 1800 (?).
  • A man carrying a blue sack tied around his shoulder and a grey pouch with a hut beyond in a rural setting; represention of a man leaving for another country to earn money not AIDS ; an advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • An Indian woman wearing an elaborate headscarf and pierced ear ornament hands a condom to a man in front of a door within a decorative leaf border; an advertisement for Nirodh condoms as a safe-sex and AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A man sitting with his arms around 2 women, the same man taking medication, then escorting his pregnant wife away from a rural health clinic [?] and then embracing their baby; a warning about the dangers of multiple partners and the importance of protection against AIDS by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A fisherman who has AIDS hauling in a net of fish from his boat as his female partner stands holding a fish in one hand while balancing a large bowl of fish on her head within a red and turquoise dotted decorative border; with the message who will catch the fish (when he has died?); an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • An Indian woman between two other women wearing headscarves in front of 3 arches within a decorative border; with a message about how AIDS is not spread as an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • Two women tending to a man sick with AIDS surrounded by 4 men in a rural setting within a brown and mustard lined decorative border; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by S. Ghosh for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A woman welcoming a female patient at a health clinic in India; with further smaller illustrations relating to the ways in which AIDS can be transmitted including a couple having unprotected sex, blood transfusions, pregnancy and injecting drugs; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • First edition of Bencao Gangmu; Chinese, 1590
  • Three Indian women dressed in saris sit together with the message that men deserve to go abroad to make money but to avoid foreign women to prevent the spread of AIDS in his own home; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by S. Ghosh for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A bewildered looking man raises a finger to his mouth as he looks at a row of men and women representing the difficulties of recognising someone who has AIDS; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A gloved hand holding up a bird cage inscribed 'Blood bank' containing the HIV virus cell with the warning 'No escape for AIDS'; an advertisement issued by Ortho Diagnostic Systems, a division of Johnson & Johnson Limited. Colour lithograph, ca. 1998.
  • A dripping blood transfusion bag with the warning 'ensure it is AIDS free' and a pink ticket bearing the lettering 'Certified HIV free'; an advertisement issued by Ortho Diagnostic Systems. Colour lithograph, ca. 1998.
  • An Indian man reaches out to touch his young bride who wears a red sari that covers her face; a woman raising her arms in terror as flames envelop her and all her belongings, a man setting off to earn his fortune abroad with a blue sack over his shoulder and a woman (his wife?) staying at home stirring a pot; an AIDS prevention advertisement within a decorative border by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A man dressed in white with a blue turban holding a white sack greets a woman in a blue sari and her child on a rural road next to her hut; his horse and cart with further white sacks wait idle nearby; with a message about the dangers of having unprotected sex with foreign women; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • Chinese Materia Medica illustration, Ming: Cassia blossom
  • Ruscus aculeatus L. Ruscaceae Butchers Broom., Box holly, Knee Holly, Jew’s myrtle. Distribution: Mediterranean to Britain. Aculeatus means 'prickly' which describes the plant well. Dioscorides in 70 AD (Gunther, 1959) says of this plant ‘... ye leaves and berries drunk in wine have ye force to move urine, expel the menstrua, and to break ye stones in ye bladder ...’ and adds also ‘ ... it cures also ye Icterus and ye strangurie and ye headache.' Its use did not change for a millennium and a half
  • Inula helenium L. Asteraceae. Elecampine, Elecampane, Enulae campinae Distribution: Britain, S. Europe to the Himalayas. Used medicinally for 2,000 years. Culpeper (1650) writes ‘Elecampane, is ... wholesome for the stomach, resists poison, helps old coughs and shortness of breath, helps ruptures and provokes lust
  • Hylotelephium telephium syn. Sedum telephium 'Matrona'
  • Vitex agnus-castus var. latifolia