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Valeriana officinalis L. Valerianaceae Valerianus, Phu, Nardus sylvestris, Setwal. Distribution: Europe. Popular herbalism attributes sedation to Valerian, but this is not mentioned by Coles (1657) or Gerard (1633) or Lobel (1576) or Lyte (1578) or Dioscorides (ex Gunther, 1959) or Fuchs (1553), where he quotes Pliny, Dioscorides and Galen, or Parkinson (1640), or Pomet (1712). The English translation of Tournefort (1719-1730) covers a whole page of the uses of all the different valerians, but never mentions sedation or treating anxiety. Quincy (1718) does not mention it. Because it was used in epilepsy, for which Woodville (1792) says it was useless, Haller, in his Historia stirpium indegenarum Helvetae inchoatae (1768) advocates it for those with irritability of the nervous system, as does Thomson's London Dispensatory (1811) although he lists it as an 'antispasmodic and stimulant' and for inducing menstruation. Lindley (1838) notes (as many did) that the roots smell terrible and that this makes cats excited, and in man, in large doses, induce 'scintillations, agitation and even convulsions' so used in asthenic fever, epilepsy, chorea, hysteria and as an antihelminthic.' Fluckiger & Hanbury (1879) give a wonderful account of the history of its names, but give its use as 'stimulant and antispasmodic' as do Barton & Castle (1877). but by 1936 (Martindale's Extra Pharmacopoeia) its only use was 'Given in hysterical and neurotic conditions as a sedative. Its action has been attributed to its unpleasant smell'. The European Medicines Agency (2006) approves its use as a traditional herbal medicine for mild anxiety and sleeplessness for up to 4 weeks. Despite what is written continuously about its use in ancient Greece and Rome, the only reason for its use has been because it was thought, for a brief while, to be good for epilepsy and therefore might deal with persons of a nervous disposition because of its foul smell. It has been suggested that even its Greek name, 'Phu' came from the expression of disgust which is made when one sniffs an unpleasant odour. For 1,800 years, before the last century, no-one had thought it sedative. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
Dr Henry Oakeley- Digital Images
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Primula veris L. Primulaceae Cowslip, Herba paralysis Distribution: W. Asia, Europe. Fuchs ((1542) quotes Dioscorides Pliny and Galen, with numerous uses, from bruises, toothache, as a hair dye, for oedema, inflamed eye, and mixed with honey, wine or vinegar for ulcer and wounds, for scorpion bites, and pain in the sides and chest, and more. Lobel (1576) calls them Primula veriflorae, Phlomides, Primula veris, Verbascula. Lyte (1578) calls them Cowslippe, Petie mulleyn, Verbasculum odoratum, Primula veris, Herbae paralysis and Artheticae. Along with cowslips and oxeslips, he says they are 'used dayly among other pot herbes, but in Physicke there is no great account of them. They are good for the head and synewes ...'. Like other herbals of the 16th and 17th century, the woodcuts leave one in no doubt that Primula veris was being written about. However, other translators of Dioscorides (Gunther, 1959 with Goodyear's 1655 translation
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Reseda lutea L. Resedaceae Wild Mignonette. Dyers Rocket. Herbaceous plant. Distribution: Eurasia and North Africa. This plant, and in particular R. luteola, is the source of 'weld' a yellow dye from luteolin a flavonoid in the sap. It is said to have been used since the first millennium BC, but curiously Dioscorides, Lyte, Gerard, Lobel, Fuchs, Coles, Quincy, Linnaeus (1782) either do not mention it or make it synonymous with Eruca, Rocket, and make no reference to it as a dye source. The name Resedo means 'I sit up' in Latin, which Stearn (1994) interprets as 'I heal' which makes its absence even more strange. It is noted as the dye source by Bentley (1861). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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FUCHS: Commentaires tres excellens de l'hyst
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Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique / Par François Levaillant.
Le Vaillant, François, 1753-1824.Date: 7, 1799-1808- Books
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Description du blanchiment des toiles et des fils par l'acide muriatique oxigéné ; et de quelques autres propriétés de cette liqueur, relatives aux arts / [Claude-Louis Berthollet].
Berthollet, Claude-Louis, 1748-1822Date: An 3 [1795?]- Books
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Expériences sur le galvanisme, et en général sur l'irritation des fibres musculaires et nerveuses / de Frédéric-Alexandre Humboldt; traduction de l'allemand, publiée, avec des additions, par J. Fr. N. Jadelot.
Jadelot Jean-François-Nicolas, 1771-1855.Date: 1799- Books
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Essai sur l'histoire générale des sciences pendant la Révolution française / Par J.B. Biot.
Biot, Jean-Baptiste, 1774-1862.Date: An 11 - 1803- Books
Mémoires physiologiques et pratiques sur l'anéurisme et la ligature des artères / J.P. Maunoir.
Maunoir, J. P. (Jean Pierre), 1768-1861.Date: [1802]- Books
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Recherches physiologiques, et expériences sur la vitalité / Par J.J. Sue ... Suivies d'une nouvelle édition de son Opinion sur le supplice de la guillotine ou sur la douleur qui survit à la décolation.
Sue, J. J. (Jean Joseph), 1760-1830.Date: An VI (1797)- Books
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Voyages chez différentes nations sauvages de l'Amérique septentrionale; renfermant des détails curieux sur les mœurs, usages, cérémonies religieuses, le systême militaire, &c. des Cahnuagas, des Indiens des Cinq & Six Nations, Mohawks, Connecedagas, Iroquois, &c. des Indiens Chippeways, & autres sauvages de divers tribus ... avec un état exact des postes situés sur le fleuve S. Laurent, le lac Ontario, &c., &c / traduits de l'anglois avec des notes, etc. par J.B.L.J. Billecocq.
Long, J. (John), Indian trader.Date: [1794]- Books
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Traité de la gonorrhée et des maladies des voies urinaires. Avec un recueil d'observations analogues / [Fr Teytaud].
Teytaud, Fr., b. approximately 1750.Date: An VI [1798]- Books
Examen critique de la doctrine et des procédés du C[itoy]en Sacombe dans l'art des accouchements, ou Sacombe en contradiction avec les autres accoucheurs, avec la physique, avec la géometrie, et avec lui-même. Ouvrage terminé par une description de l'Hospice et de l'École Pratique d'Accouchement de Copenhague, etc. ... / Par J.B. Demangeon.
Demangeon, J. B. (Jean Baptiste), 1764-1844.Date: An VII. [1799]- Books
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Esquisse d'une histoire de la médecine et de la chirurgie depuis leur commencement jusqu'a nos jours : ainsi que de leurs principaux auteurs progres, imperfections, et erreurs / Traduite de l'anglois de M. W. Black, par Coray.
Black, William, 1749-1829.Date: 1798- Books
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Expériences sur le galvanisme et en général sur l'irritation des fibres musculaires et nerveuses / de Frédéric-Alexandre Humboldt; Traduction de l'allemand [by Gruvel or Gravel], publiée, avec des additions, par J. Fr. N. Jadelot.
Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859.Date: An VII-1799- Books
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Hippocrate dépaïsé: ou la version paraphrasee de ses aphorismes / en vers françois. Par M. L[ouis] de F[ontenettes] [Doct. en Med. dans P.].
HippocratesDate: 1654- Books
Essai sur la vie / Par P.J.A. Lorenz.
Lorenz, Paul Joseph Adam, -1808.Date: An xi 1803- Books
Operum ... tomus primus[-tertius]: Omnia ab authore ipso paulo ante mortem recognita, aucta & locupletata / [Leonhart Fuchs].
Fuchs, Leonhart, 1501-1566.Date: 1566-1567- Digital Images
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Galanthus nivalis L. Amaryllidaceae Snowdrop. Hardy, bulbous herb. Distribution: Europe. A chemical, galantamine, is sourced principally from the Caucasian snowdrop, Galanthus woronowii but is present in our ‘English’ snowdrop and related genera. It is a competitive, reversible, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor so increases brain acetylcholine, a chemical of great importance in cerebral function. As such it has been recommended for ameliorating the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, but not for mild cognitive impairment as in US clinical trials there was an increased mortality. Johnson (Gerard, 1633) calls it the bulbous violet, Viola theophrasti
Dr Henry Oakeley- Books
De la médecine opératoire, ou des opérations de chirurgie qui se pratiquent le plus fréquemment ... / Par le C.en Sabatier.
Sabatier, M. (Raphaël Bienvenu), 1732-1811.Date: 1796