Pharmacology Using Plants and Herbs: Dioscorides Project Page....Introduction....Dioscorides....Hildegard....Gerard....Conclusion  What, exactly, is pharmacology? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says
that pharmacology is "the science of drugs including their origin,
composition, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic use, and toxicology" and
"the properties and reactions of drugs especially with relation to
their therapeutic value." So, has this field of pharmacology always
been around? Not exactly. John Parascandola, a scholar and historian
of science and medicine, has said that "Pharmacology was slower to gain
a foothold in pharmaceutical education. Courses in pharmacology did
not replace materia medica courses until well into the 20th century at most American schools of pharmacy." So if this is all true, then it seems like materia medica is the background and history of the more modern pharmacology. This leads us to one more question. What is materia medica? Materia medica is
the "term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic
properties of any substance used for healing" ("Materia"). To learn more about materia medica, we need to learn about Pedanius Dioscorides, who lived in the first century A.D. Pedanius Dioscorides was a physician and surgeon for the army. No one knows for sure which army he served in, but most scholars believe he either served in Nero's army, Caligula's army, or Claudius' army. All three men served as Roman Emperors during the first century A.D. Because he was a physician and surgeon, it was vital that Dioscorides had knowledge of plants with useful medicinal value. Scholars think that sometime around the year 60 A.D., Dioscorides wrote his definitive work, De Materia medica. He dedicated his work to a fellow physician and friend, Areius. In the book, Dioscorides wrote a little bit about his life, saying that he had traveled extensively with his work as a soldier and physician. He also mentioned that he had always been interested in the subject of medicine and medicinal substances. Apparently, it was his friend Areius who encouraged him to bring his knowledge together into a book. Dioscorides gathered the information for his book from many sources. He admitted to referring to others' knowledge of medicinal plants, and he supplemented that knowledge with the discoveries and observations he made while studying plants during all his travels. Dioscorides wrote De Materia medica in Greek, but it wasn't too long before the book was translated into many languages. At first, it was translated into Syriac, Arabic, Persian, and Latin, and later on it was translated into more modern languages such as German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Bohemian. All of these many translations help to show how important De Materia medica became all over the world. It was widely referred to in Byzantium, the Near East, and all over Europe. It has been the basic model for most herbals written for centuries after Dioscorides lived. It not only survived, but even thrived for at least 1,500 years after its conception. Some major historical herbals that frequently cite it are Gart der Gesundheit, the Hortus Sanitatis, the Herbarius Latinus, and even Pharmacopoeia Officinalis. This last one in particular is significant because it was written in 1720, which speaks to the lasting power of De Materia medica.  De Materia Medica. Weblink: UVa. It is also important to note the form in which Dioscorides wrote De Materia medica. Prior to his writing, herbals did exist. However, often, rather than explaining the medicinal value of plants, they explained less relevant facts (at least according to Dioscorides). For example, in his writings, Theophrastus "might very well engage them in a serene and lengthy discussion of the form, structure, and reproductive processes of some particular plant" (Anderson). Dioscorides' approach to plants has been termed "pragmatic." If he didn't think a plant, vegetable, or herb was useful in some way, it was discounted. This practical nature with which Dioscorides wrote made him the authority on plants in his time. The original version of De Materia medica contained descriptions of at least six-hundred plants. Dioscorides gave particular, special attention to the medicinal uses of each plant. When compared to other botanists and physicians, it is obvious that Dioscorides' knowledge was vast. It is even said that "Dioscorides is generally accepted as the originator of the materia medica. During his travels he described approximately 600 plants, one hundred or so more than Theophrastus. Hippocrates knew around 150 of these. Out of the 600, close to 100 are still in use today" (Krivatsky). One creature that is probably not used today for any medicinal purposes is a creature called the Draco Marinus. It is a strange looking creature that is described as being Chinese or Javanese in style. It is said to be a cross between a reptile, a butterfly, a goldfish, and an ape. In reality, this dragon-like creature is probably based on a stingray. Of this creature, Dioscorides said "being opened and so applied it is a cure for wounds made by its barbs." One of the many plants Dioscorides listed in his book is the rose, or rhodon. He proposed many uses for the rose plant. He suggested that rose petals be made into a paste to use as an eye salve, and he also said that rose petal dust could be mixed with wine to help treat headaches and earaches. These two medicinal elements are only a couple of the many Dioscorides wrote about in De Materia medica. In my opinion, Dioscorides should be studied by students in science classes, just like we learn about other early physicians like Hippocrates, Galen, and others. Dioscorides' materia medica was revolutionary, in that he basically created an entire field of scientific and medical study. Without the work he did, imagine how much further behind in medicine we might possibly be today because no one thought to study drugs, their uses, how they're made, how they're misused, and many other things along those lines. For centuries, plants were one of the best things to use for medicine. Many ancient people, people from the Middle Ages, and even modern people would have suffered more than necessary if Dioscorides hadn't set out to study and record plants for their specific medicinal value.  Rhodon. An Illustration from the Pages of De Materia Medica. Weblink: Vienna Dioscorides at UVa. Primary Sources: Anderson, Frank J.. An Illustrated History of the Herbals. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. "Vienna Dioscorides." University of Virginia Health System 2008 12 Nov 2008 Weblink: UVa Secondary Sources: Debus, Allen G.. Man and Nature in the Renaissance. 1st. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Krivatsky, Peter. "Medical Incunabula and the Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge." The National Library of Medicine May-Oct 1984 17 Nov 2008 Weblink: NLM PDF. Lindberg, David C.. The Beginnings of Western Science. 2nd. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. "Materia Medica." Wikipedia 2008 12 Nov 2008 Weblink: Wikipedia. Parascandola, John. "The Pharmaceutical Sciences in America, 1852-1902." National Library of Medicine 12 Nov 2008 Weblink: NLM PDF 2. "Pharmacology." Merriam-Webster OnLine. 12 Nov 2008 Weblink: Merriam. Notes: The primary sources provided the image for the page, as well as the descriptions of Dioscorides' use of Draco Marinus and Rhodon. These treatments aren't really relevant today, so they didn't really influence my interpretation. The secondary sources, and their explanations of how vital Dioscorides' work was to herbals for centuries to come, is really what influenced my interpretation that Dioscorides is under-taught and under-appreciated. The first and third secondary sources listed above are reliable because both authors have direct, firsthand knowledge of the primary source as they are both professors of the history of science, and also because both books are published by prominent university publishing companies. The second and fifth secondary sources are reliable because the authors are listed, and because they come from the National Library of Medicine which is a reputable source. The fourth source might be considered less reliable because it is from Wikipedia, but it only serves to provide one short definition. The sixth primary source is reliable because it provides a definition for pharmacology from a recognized, highly-used dictionary. Image Information: Dioscorides. Website: Order From Chaos Weblink: http://wwwwww.amsocbotartists.org/HIBD/Exhibitions/OrderFromChaos/OFC-Pages/01Pre-Linnaean%20botany/tradition.shtml De Materia Medica. Website: University of Virginia Health Sciences Library Weblink: http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/rare_books/herbalism/vienna.cfm Rhodon. An Illustration from the Pages of De Materia Medica. Website: University of Virginia Health Sciences Library Weblink: http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/rare_books/herbalism/vienna.cfm Web Project by Samantha Aaron Email Me. |