Krzysztof Jagusiak, Konrad Tadajczyk, Maciej Kokoszko

Mandrake in ancient Graeco-Roman and early Byzantine medicine
2023-10-26

Belonging to Mandragora genus and to the Solanaceae family, mandrake (Mandragora officinarum L.) is a plant native to the Mediterranean area. According to modern science, due to the presence of alkaloids such as atropine, scopolamine, belladonnine and hyoscyamine in its root and leaves, it is classified as a poisonous plant.

It was a remedy used in both Hippocratic/Galenic and domestic medicine and, according to the Greek and Latin written sources from ancient and early mediaeval times it was quite popular. Most information about its applications was provided by the authors of medical writings, who, from the time of Hippocrates through Galen to the late ancient/early Byzantine treatises of Aetius of Amida and Paul of Aegina, described the properties and uses of mandrake in the treatment of specific diseases. Testimonies left by the physicians can be supplemented by the data provided by ancient non-medical authors (e.g. Theophrastus, Celsus, and Pliny the Elder) whose interests also concerned in the art of healing and natural history.

The analysis of the written material shows that the population of Mediterranean area was – in general – aware of strong properties of mandrake and its dangerous influence on the human body. The plant was often described as poisonous. In the same time it (namely its leaves, roots, juice, peel, fruits) was present in the medical (or connected with medicine) treatises as a drug. It was recommended in various treatments of many health problems of different kinds. Among them were ophthalmological, gynaecological, dermatological, psychiatric, etc. On the other hand, short testimonies from Pliny’s and Galen’s works inform in more or less direct way, about the possibility of overuse of mandrake in medical therapies, what can be harmful for health.

The character of the fragments about mandrake varies. Part of descriptions is detailed, giving quite precise information about a quantity of a drug, or processing the plant. However many of them are very general, often giving no additional information except the fact of the use of the plant.

Keywords: mandrake, ancient medicine, byzantine medicine.

© Farm Pol, 2023, 79(6): 329–334